STARKVILLE, Miss. – UTSA senior catcher Jessica Els has been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-South Region Second Team as voted on by the region’s head coaches.
Els was the only catcher selected to the second team that consisted of 19 players from the Mid-Continent, Southeastern, Southland, Sun Belt and USA Conferences. She was one of three players from the Southland (SLC) picked for second team honors, joining Texas State pitcher Katie Ann Trahan and Nicholls State second baseman Brandi Hahn.
The 2006 SLC Tournament Most Valuable Player and a two-time first team all-conference catcher, Els is leading a potent UTSA offense with a .372 batting average to go along with 13 doubles, 15 home runs and 34 runs batted in. She also is fielding a .994 clip from behind the dish with 23 assists and just two errors in 323 chances.
Els has slugged 28 extra-base hits this season, the fourth-best performance in school history, and ranks in the top 10 on UTSA’s career hits (T-5th, 207), doubles (6th, 36), home runs (8th, 30), extra base hits (T-8th, 52), batting average (T-7th, .325), RBI (T-8th, 109), at-bats (7th, 636), walks (7th, 59) and putouts (3rd, 959).
With Els’ nod, UTSA has placed players on the all-region team for four consecutive years. Krystal Gibson (1B) made the second team in 2003, while Jessica Rogers (3B) and Christy Brownlee (2B) were selected to the first and second teams, respectively, in 2004. Last year, Jennifer Davis (OF) made the first team and Rogers (3B) was a second team honoree.
Els and the Roadrunners (37-12) face No. 3 national seed Texas in the first round of the NCAA Austin Regional on Friday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. at McCombs Field.
