Eight Sooners Named to All-Big 12 Team

May 9, 2001

OKLAHOMA CITY - Eight members of the sixth-ranked Oklahoma softball team were named to the All-Big 12 first and second teams as voted on by the league coaches. Seniors Ashli Barrett, Lisa Carey and Andrea Davis, junior Jennifer Stewart and sophomores Kelli Braitsch and Erin Evans all earned first-team recognition. Junior Christy Ring and sophomore Jennifer Stump were named to the second team.

Braitsch was also named the Big 12 Player of the Year. Kansas' Kara Pierce was named Freshman of the Year, Texas Tech's Carmen Grindell was selected Newcomer of the Year, while Nebraska's Rhonda Revelle was chosen the Coach of the Year. Braitsch is the fourth Sooner to earn this honor, joining pitcher Jill Most (1996), Lynette Velazquez (1999) and Carey (2000) as the other recipients.

For the third-consecutive year and fourth time in six years, the Sooners have the Big 12 Player of the Year with the selection of Braitsch. In a year where the Broken Arrow, Okla., native led the league with a .460 batting average, she also made dazzling defensive plays. She hit .491 in Big 12 games and was even above .500 at one point late in the season. Braitsch is also ranked among the league's top 10 in eight different offensive categories.

Barrett is the first-team catcher where she has been dominant during her entire four-year stay in the Big 12. She is the first player to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors in all four years at the same position. There has only been one other four-time first-team selection and that was Nebraska's Jennifer Lizama, who was the first-team shortstop in 1997, at second base in 1998 and 1999 and earned at at-large bid in 2000.

Carey hit .451 in Big 12 games and had a perfect fielding percentage in 113 chances. She also hit .409 in all games with 15 doubles, six homers and 42 RBIs. Carey was the second-team shortstop in 1998 before getting first-team honors in 1999. Since moving to first base during the 2000 campaign, the Topeka, Kan., native has been the first-team selection the past two years.

Evans earned one of three outfield selections on the first team. The sophomore centerfielder hit .324 with five doubles and two triples, but raised the bar in conference action where she hit .377. Evans also stole a team-high 13 bases and added two sacrifice hits to her total.

Stewart was the first-team pitcher after leading OU to a league-best 1.29 ERA in conference games. The lefty went 12-1 in conference games and posted four shutouts for a 1.12 ERA. She already has a 29-3 record this year and owns OU's record for career wins.

Davis was an at-large first team selection after hitting .326 with five doubles, two home runs and 14 RBIs for the Sooners. In conference games, she had a .350 average and both of her homers. Davis spent time at catcher, right field and as the designated player before a season-ending knee injury in OU's final regular-season home game.

OU's steady left fielder, Ring has a .375 batting average and led the league with 27 walks. She also has nine extra-base hits and tied Evans with a team-high 13 stolen bases. Stump hit .327 for the Sooners this year and was second on the team with eight homers. The right fielder closed out the regular season with 30 runs scored, five doubles, two triples and 31 RBIs.

The Big 12 Tournament gets underway on Wednesday, May 9, and concludes on Saturday with the championship game at 3 p.m. that will be televised on Fox Sports Net. All games will be played at the Don Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Sooners will open against the winner of the Texas A&M-Iowa State game at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The game can be heard on KREF 1400 AM or by logging onto www.SoonerSports.com.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Eight Sooners Named to All-Big 12 Team

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