The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
05.29.2019 | Softball
The Longhorns boast multiple All-Americans from the Association for the first time since 2013
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 9 Texas softball put two players on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Teams for the first time since 2013 as sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson made the second team while junior pitcher/utility Miranda Elish was selected to the third team.
This marks the second time in both players' careers that they've been included as part of the prestigious NFCA All-America squads after Jefferson and Elish reaped second team honors in 2018.
Jefferson put together another solid season of work during 2019, registering the second-most hits in a single campaign by a Longhorns player (80) to go along with the sixth-best single-season batting average (.408). The 2019 Softball America First-Team All-American and NFCA All-Central Region Second Team selection also led Texas in runs scored (39), while rating second in on-base percentage (.438) and stolen bases (10). The Humble, Texas, product recorded a team-leading 25 multi-hit efforts, including six three-hit games (against California, No. 15/17 Arizona State, Longwood, No. 22/RV Minnesota, No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5/4 Alabama), to go with eight multi-RBI performances. She reached base safely in 52-of-62 games played and hit safely in 49-of-62 contests. During the NCAA Tuscaloosa Super Regional, Jefferson hit a team-best .600 (6-for-10) overall. Combining Texas' entire eight-game NCAA Tournament run, she batted at a .385 clip (10-for-26) to rate second on the squad.
A 2019 Softball America Honorable Mention All-American and both a NFCA All-Central Region and All-Big 12 Conference First Team selection, Elish proved very effective both in the circle and at the plate for the Longhorns during her first season on the Forty Acres. The Crown Point, Ind., native guided the Texas pitching staff with 18 wins over 29 starts to go with 20 complete games, 11 solo shutouts (first in the Big 12 and tied for eighth in NCAA Division I) and 226 strikeouts (second in the Big 12) over 185.1 innings while also boasting three saves and limiting opponents to a .174 average. At the plate, Elish batted at a .315 clip with 21 runs scored, 16 extra-base hits, including six HR's, and 27 RBIs while recording a .928 OPS. Arguably her finest single performance of the season came back on March 22 in an 11-0 (5 inn.) win over Iowa State as the junior right hander tossed her second career no-hitter while going 2-for-4 at the plate with a walk-off grand slam (the first of her career) and five RBIs. During the NCAA Austin Regional, Elish made quite a name for herself by throwing 440 total pitches over three days (429 in elimination contests) and going 4-0 with a 0.47 ERA in five appearances with 33 strikeouts over 30 innings to help Texas fight out of the loser's bracket to reach NCAA Super Regionals.
