(Story from the Texas Lutheran University website)
SEGUIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran sophomore outfielder Kelly Jurden is one of the 25 softball players named as a contender for the 2019 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III Player of the Year honor, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced.
Jurden, the 2019 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, is tied for the national lead for stolen bases in NCAA Division III. She stole her 50th and 51st bases in Friday's 2-0 win over sixth-ranked Birmingham-Southern (Alab.) at the NCAA Division III Softball Championship's Marshall, Texas Regional.
Jurden's 51 stolen bases are TLU and SCAC records. She has been caught stealing just twice this year.
Jurden also ranks high among DIII softball players in runs per game (4th), on-base percentage (28th), batting average (39th), and walks (84th).
After Friday's win, in which she had a pair of hits, Jurden is hitting .475 with 51 runs scored, 56 hits, and 21 walks. She has an on-base percentage of .553.
TLU Softball, eighth-ranked in the latest NFCA poll for DIII, is 31-7 overall. TLU faces second-ranked East Texas Baptist at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Marshall, Texas Regional.
ETBU freshman pitcher/designated player Beatriz Lara is the lone freshman among the 25 finalists for the NFCA awards.
Virginia Wesleyan junior pitcher Hanna Hull, who has won the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year award the past two seasons, joins Jurden and Lara among the 25 student-athletes in consideration for honors.
In all, there are 16 seniors, four juniors, four sophomores, and one freshman in the group.
The list, which started with 50 names, will be cut one more time — to 10 finalists — before just one pitcher and player remain at the conclusion of the season. The two winners will come from the 10 finalists chosen at the next update.
A Pitcher of the Year award was added to the Player of the Year honor prior to this season. The NFCA's Division III All-America committee compiles the list annually.