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University of Massachusets Athletics
Plourde Named All-American For Second Time
June 01, 2011 | Softball
June 1, 2011
| Sara Plourde 2011 Highlights |
AMHERST, Mass. - The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced its 2011 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-American Teams on Wednesday with UMass pitcher Sara Plourde earning third team honors for the second season in a row. The junior from Bristol, Conn. is the 19th All-American in program history and just the fourth to earn the honor multiple times after leading the NCAA in strikeouts for the second-straight season.
Plourde joins Jackie Gaw (1982-83), Sherri Kuchinskas (1992-93), and Danielle Henderson (1997-99) as the only UMass players to ever be named All-American multiple times. Henderson is the only other pitcher to accomplish the feat, doing so three times. Plourde, Henderson, and Jennifer Hadley (2002) are the only three UMass All-American pitchers.
Plourde followed up a breakout year in 2010 with another season for the ages in 2011, going 27-15 with a 1.30 ERA, 13 shutouts and 498 strikeouts in 295 1/3 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .140 batting average. She recorded double-digit strikeout totals 33 times, and had 15 or more Ks in 13 games.
Her 498 strikeouts lead the NCAA and is the 20th-highest single season total in NCAA history after she set the ninth-highest mark last season (556). Plourde's strikeout rate of 11.8 per seven innings ranks second in the country, and her 3.37 hits allowed per seven innings is fourth-fewest.
With 1,054 combined strikeouts in 2010 and 2011, Plourde has the fifth-highest two-year total of any pitcher in NCAA in history.
Plourde threw four no-hitters in 2011, running her career total to 10, including the first solo perfect game (second overall) of her career in an 8-0 six-inning win against La Salle on May 1. She set a school record with 18 2/3 consecutive no-hit innings between March 30 and April 6.
The right-hander was also named NFCA All-Northeast Region First Team, Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year, and Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team - all for the second year in a row.
Plourde will enter her senior season in 2012 ranking fist all-time at UMass in career strikeouts per seven innings (11.96), third in strikeouts (1,121), fifth in wins (73), shutouts (32), and complete games (79), and sixth in innings pitched (656.1) and starts (97).
This is the third year in a row NFCA Hall of Fame Head Coach Elaine Sortino has had an All-American. Prior to Plourde the last two seasons, Balschmiter (second team) and Carly Normandin (third team) were both honored in 2009.
