The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Former Softball All-American Jefferson guides Texas Smoke to WPF Championship
08.16.2023 | Softball
The former four-time All-American helps first-year organization to first league championship
AUSTIN, TX – On the heels of being named the player of the year in the Women's Fastpitch League a week ago, former University of Texas All-American Janae Jefferson led the Texas Smoke to the organization's first ever Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) championship on Sunday, August 13.
The Smoke knocked off the USSSA Pride, 14-2 and 5-4, to take the best-of-three series and lift the league's championship trophy at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.
Additionally, Jefferson was named the playoff's most valuable player after finishing the league's championship series with six runs scored, a home run and a stolen base to go along with a batting average of higher than .500. She set the tone for the three-game series against the Pride by going 4-for-4 with a home run, two singles and a double in game one.
The first-seeded Smoke opened the postseason by bouncing back from a two-run loss to the fourth-seeded Sis Vipers to take the second and third games, 6-4 and 2-1, respectively.
Jefferson was one of four representatives from the Smoke organization to earn a WPF major award at the league's annual awards banquet earlier this month. In addition to Jefferson's Player of the Year award, the organization picked up the league's Coaching Staff of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year.
Over the course of a five-year collegiate softball career on the Forty Acres, Jefferson became the program's career leader in total hits (362) and batting average (.424). She also became just the fourth freshman in program history and 12th student-athlete overall to earn NFCA All-American honors after being appointed to the second team after the 2018 season.
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