LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the student-athletes chosen for this season’s quartet of NFCA NJCAA Division I major awards.
McLennan Community College’s Katia Reyes and Indian River State College’s J’dah Girigorie were named the Tucci/NFCA NJCAA Division I Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
Additionally, Temple College’s Adelyn Becerra earned the Diamond Sports/NFCA NJCAA Division I Catcher of the Year and Girigorie’s Pioneer teammate, Cassidy Patterson, collected the New Balance/NFCA NJCAA Division I Golden Shoe award.
Sophomore shortstop Reyes batted .426 for the Highlanders, with 61 runs, 75 hits, 15 doubles, five triples, 25 home runs and a .994 slugging percentage. Her 100 RBI ranked fourth in NJCAA Division I, and she also was perfect in the circle, going 14-0 with a 1.05 ERA, 13 complete games over 15 starts and 19 appearances, six shutouts, 26 walks and 109 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. The first-team NFCA All-American was also voted to the All-Tournament team at the NJCAA Division I World Series.
Girigorie went 37-7 for national champion Indian River State, with a 1.56 ERA, 311 strikeouts, 44 walks, four shutouts, seven saves and nine complete games over 58 appearances and 11 starts. Her wins tied for first nationally, while her strikeouts and saves (tie) both ranked second in NJCAA Division I. Freshman Girigorie also helped herself on offense with a .330 average, 31 hits and 17 stolen bases. The first-team NFCA All-American was chosen as both the Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Tournament at the NJCAA Division I World Series, where she beat top-ranked and top-seeded McLennan in back-to-back championship games.
Sophomore Becerra hit .495 with 84 runs, 103 hits and a 1.130 slugging percentage for Temple. She collected 65 extra-base hits, including 28 doubles, seven triples and an NJCAA Division I second-best 30 homers, plus 103 RBI (third nationally). The first-team NFCA All-America catcher made zero errors in 229 chances on defense and cut down seven runners attempting to steal against her this season.
Patterson stole 76 bases (second in NJCAA Division I) for the Pioneers and was caught just three times in 79 attempts. The sophomore outfielder batted .433 with 70 runs and 84 hits to earn second-team NFCA All-America recognition this season, and was named to the All-Tournament team at the NJCAA Division I World Series.
The awards are voted on by the elected members of the NFCA NJCAA Division I All-American Committee with two head coaches representing each of the three NJCAA Division I regions. To be eligible, a student-athlete’s head coach must be a member.
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