Aaliyah Jordan Briana PerezAaliyah Jordan Briana Perez

Freshmen Aaliyah Jordan and Briana Perez have helped the Bruins to the top spot in the nation in batting average.

Jordan, Perez Finalists for NFCA FOY Award

Softball

Jordan and Perez are two of 25 finalists for the NFCA Freshman of the Year award.


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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Aaliyah Jordan and Briana Perez were named finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Thursday.

Jordan leads the Bruins with a .483 batting average, 53 runs batted in, 14 doubles, an .808 slugging percentage, a .535 on base percentage, 58 hits, 97 total bases and four sacrifice flies, ranking second in runs scored (42) and walks (17) and tied for second in home runs (7). The redshirt freshman entered the week fourth in the nation in average and tied for fourth in RBI, while ranking first among Pac-12 Conference players in those two categories. Jordan has been named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week four times (Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 13 and April 2). She leads the team with 21 multiple-hit games and 14 multi-RBI contests.

Perez is first on the team with three triples and seven hit by pitches, tied for first with eight stolen bases, tied for second with nine doubles, third with 39 runs scored and 49 hits and tied for third with 31 RBI, adding a .392 batting average. Perez was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Feb. 13 and ranks sixth in the conference in runs scored (tied for 32nd nationally) and tied for seventh in hits. She is third on the squad with 15 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI contests.

On May 10, the current Top 25 list will be trimmed down to 10, with the Top 3 finalists announced on May 23. The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented on May 29 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

In the fourth year of the award in 2017, current redshirt sophomore Rachel Garcia was named the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year.

The third-ranked Bruins open up a three-game home series against #1 Washington on Friday at 5 p.m. at Easton Stadium. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks.