University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Bennett and Carda Named Finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year
UCLA Softball Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
2015 UCLA Softball Schedule | PDF Schedule
USA Softball Player of the Year Finalists
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Senior Ally Carda and junior Allexis Bennett have both been named finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, as announced by ASA/USA Softball on Wednesday.
In its 14th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, given by the National Governing Body for softball in the United States, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Previous recipients of the award include former Bruin Stacey Nuveman, the winner of the inaugural accolade in 2002.
Due to a tie, 26 individuals have been named finalists. The group is comprised of 12 seniors, 11 juniors, two sophomores and one freshman, representing 19 NCAA Division I schools and nine conferences. UCLA is among seven schools with two players represented on the list.
The Top 10 finalists will be announced on May 6 and the Top Three finalists will be announced on May 20. On May 26, prior to the start of the 2015 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed.
Carda, who was a Top Three finalist for this award a year ago, leads the Bruins in the circle with a 1.80 earned run average, a 17-4 record and 192 strikeouts in 132 1/3 innings (all statistics entering Wednesday’s game). She has held opponents to a .148 batting average, has three saves and has been a part of nine shutouts, including seven solo blankings. At the plate, Carda is first with 32 walks and seven hit by pitches, second with 33 runs batted in and 13 doubles, tied for second with 33 runs scored and tied for third with four home runs, adding a .301 batting average and a .480 on base percentage.
Named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award on Tuesday, Carda has been named NFCA National and Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week twice this season (March 9-10 and 16-17). She is in the national Top 20 in five pitching categories, ranking tied for fifth in shutouts, seventh in hits allowed per seven innings (3.65), 12th in strikeouts, tied for 14th in wins and tied for 20th in saves, while also coming in at tied for 16th in walks drawn and tied for 21st in doubles.
Carda has thrown a pair of no-hitters this season against Boise State (Feb. 15) and Illinois (March 6). She has six double-figure strikeout contests, including a career-high 14 on three occasions, and had a great month of March with a 9-0 record, two saves, a 0.79 earned run average and 94 strikeouts in 62 innings. At the plate, she has reached base in all but four games entering Wednesday’s action.
Bennett leads the Bruins and all Pac-12 players with a .500 batting average (entering Wednesday), also topping the team with a .525 on base percentage, 16 multiple-hit games and 13 stolen bases. She is also tied for second with 33 runs scored, third with a .564 slugging and tied for third with five sacrifice hits, adding five doubles and 16 runs batted in.
The junior, who entered the week tied for seventh in the nation in batting average, has hits in 34 of 39 contests, posting a pair of career-high, 11-game hitting streaks, as well as a recent nine-game streak. She hit .724 during her first 11-game streak (Feb. 7-21) and .548 during the second streak (Feb. 27-March 8). Of her 16 multiple-hit games, five were three-hit contests.