By Steve Lansdale
AUSTIN, Texas — It may or may not be a coincidence, but a Most Valuable Player award often goes to the best player on the best team, and in many cases, that player is the deserving recipient.
Such is the case in this abbreviated college softball season. Miranda Elish, the ace pitcher and utility player for the No. 1/3 ranked Texas Longhorns, has been named the 2020 Softball America Shortened Season National Player of the Year.
Softball America also named [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]Elish a first-team Shortened Season All-American, while second baseman Janae Jefferson was named to the second team.
The Longhorns finished the abbreviated season with a 24-3 record, and final rankings of No. 1 in the Softball America and No. 3 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls.
Elish led the Big 12 Conference and ranked sixth in Div. I with 11 victories while compiling an earned run average of just 1.25. She threw 11 complete games and four shutouts, and racked up 96 strikeouts in 84.0 innings while allowing opponents a batting average of just .158. She also hit .370, with four home runs, seven doubles and 19 runs batted in. She was named NFCA National Player of the Week Feb. 11 after hitting .818 with four home runs and 17 RBI during the six-game Texas Classic, and throwing her second career perfect game in a 7-0 victory March 8 over New Mexico.
Jefferson led the Big 12 and ranked third in Div. I by hitting .554. She also led the conference with 41 hits (fourth in Div. I) and in on-base percentage (.607, which ranked third in the country). She had eight extra-base hits, drew 13 walks and stole 10 bases, and led the Longhorns with 13 multi-hit games in the abbreviated season. Her career batting average of .425 is the best in UT program history.
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