AUSTIN — Standout performances from the Texas softball squad earned big postseason honors for multiple players on this year’s team.
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Both Janae Jefferson and Miranda Elish earned double honors as both were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Teams as well as the inaugural 2019 Softball America All-American Teams.
Freshman pitcher Shealyn O’Leary was also named a Softball America All-American, earning honorable mention honors.
The sophomore second baseman Jefferson and junior pitcher/utility player Elish made it to the NFCA list for a second season in a row, with Jefferson named to the second team and Elish making her way to the third team. Jefferson was named to the first team and Elish was honorable mention in the Softball America All-American lists.
Jefferson tallied the second-most hits in one season for a Longhorn with 80 and she also registered the sixth-highest all-time batting average in one year at .408. On top of that she led Texas in runs scored with 39, was second in on-base percentage (.438) and stolen bases (10).
Elish led the Longhorns on the mound all season long, coming in with 18 wins and 20 complete games, 11 shutout performances, which led the Big 12 and was eighth in the NCAA, and her dominant stuff led to 226 strikeouts, which was also second in the Big 12. She also threw a no-hitter against Iowa State on March 22, a game in which she also was 2-for-4 with a walkoff grand slam.
At the plate, Elish hit .315 overall with 21 runs scored, six home runs, 16 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs. Most notably, Elish pitched three days in the NCAA Regional in Austin, throwing a staggering 440 pitches in going a perfect 4-0 with a 0.47 ERA and 33 strikeouts.
O’Leary finished the season as a finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year as she led the NCAA in ERA at 0.65 and she was 14-3 overall on the season with nine complete games and four shutouts. She also racked up 65 strikeouts and had a perfect game against Big 12 foe Baylor on March 27, tossing just 63 pitches in the memorable outing as she was the first freshman with a perfect game since Texas legend Cat Osterman tossed one in 2002.
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