University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Three Bruins Named NFCA All-Americans
June 01, 2016 | Softball
UCLA Softball Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Seniors Allexis Bennett and Mysha Sataraka and junior Delaney Spaulding were named NFCA All-Americans on Wednesday. Sataraka and Spaulding both earned Second Team honors, while Bennett was named to the Third Team.
It is the second All-American award for both Bennett and Spaulding, who were named First and Second Team, respectively, last season, while Sataraka earned her initial All-American nod. The three All-American awards for the Bruins were tied for third most in the nation with Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Oklahoma and Oregon. Florida and Michigan were first with four each.
Bennett, who was also named NFCA First Team All-Region and First Team All-Pac-12 Conference, leads the Bruins with a .412 batting average, 57 runs scored, 12 stolen bases and 21 multiple-hit games, also ranking second with a .500 on base percentage and 30 walks. The regular-season Pac-12 batting title champion for the second year in a row, Bennett, who has reached base in 20 of her last 22 games entering the WCWS, is tied for 31st nationally in runs scored and second among Pac-12 players in average. The All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honoree has not made an error in 81 opportunities.
Sataraka, also an All-Region and All-Pac-12 First Team honoree, leads the team with a .763 slugging, a .561 on base percentage, 59 walks and 10 doubles, is tied for first with four sacrifice flies, second with 52 runs batted in and 13 multi-RBI contests, tied for second with 13 home runs and third with a .374 batting average and 40 runs scored. Sataraka, who has reached base in 21 games in a row, is ranked fourth in the nation in walks, 10th in on base percentage, 32nd in slugging percentage and tied for 48th in sacrifice flies. Among Pac-12 players, she is first in on base percentage and walks.
Spaulding, an All-Region and All-Pac-12 First Team award winner, leads the team with 17 home runs, 61 RBI and 17 multi-RBI games, adding a .345 average. She is also second with 50 runs and a .709 slugging, tied for second with nine doubles and six stolen bases and third with 26 walks and five sacrifice hits. Spaulding is tied for 17th in the nation in RBI and tied for 22nd in homers, while also ranking third among Pac-12 players in RBI and tied for third in homers. She carried a 14-game hitting streak through the end of the regular season and into last weekend's Super Regional to tie a career high.
The Bruins open the Women's College World Series on Thursday against Auburn at 11:30 a.m. PT/1:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN.
