TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – Florida State softball head coach Lonni Alameda has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Coach of the Year, as voted on by the league’s eight head coaches. The 2013 All-ACC honors also include a record-setting four Seminoles on the first team and five overall.
Positioned on the All-ACC First Team are sophomore pitcher Lacey Waldrop, redshirt senior pitcher Monica Perry, freshman first baseman Victoria East and junior centerfielder Courtney Senas. Senior outfielder Morgan Bullock rounded out the list of Florida State honorees by making the All-ACC Second Team.
Since the first and second-team formats were introduced in 2005, Florida State’s five All-ACC selections ties a school record set in 2007. The Seminoles’ list of four first-team student-athletes breaks the previous mark of three established in 2006 and 2012. The four-first team selections also tie a conference high, with Georgia Tech accomplishing the feat four times (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011) and North Carolina doing it once in 2008.
“This is a great honor to be named coach of the year,” Alameda said. “This is all based on our team’s effort and it’s been a total team effort this season. We’ve had so many players step up in the face of adversity and help turn things around for us. We have done a good job in conference play, and I don’t consider this just a coach of the year award but a coaching staff of the year award. Our assistants have done a great job once again with our ballclub.”
Serving as the team’s pitching coach, Alameda guided the Seminoles to a new record in ACC victories with 18 this season. Over the last two regular seasons, Florida State has produced 34 victories with the next closest ACC school sitting in second at 26. The fifth-year head coach was influential yet again in mentoring a pitching staff that finished the regular season as the conference’s only team to record a sub-2.00 ERA (1.95). The duo of Perry and Waldrop were also the only two ACC pitchers to record below a .200 opposing batting average, and have emerged as the conference’s best 1-2 punch over the last two seasons.
Waldrop becomes the first Seminole pitcher since former USA Softball Player of the Year Jessica van der Linden to earn an All-ACC selection in her freshman and sophomore campaigns. After earning second-team honors in 2012, Waldrop attained first-team honors by leading the conference in earned run average (1.58), opposing batting average (.184) and least amount of home runs allowed (3). The Chester, Va. native was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week three times this season and struck out a career-high 18 at Florida on March 27.
Perry was dominant in conference play and earns first-team accolades for the second consecutive season. The Whitesburg, Ga. native is 6-0 with a 1.14 ERA in 10 appearances against ACC opponents. Her ERA and opposing batting average (.153) in conference play lead the ACC, and she has recorded three shutouts and a save. Adding to her stellar numbers in conference play, Perry also leads the league with just 23 hits allowed, eight runs surrendered and only 14 walks.
Senas is on the verge of a record-breaking offensive year at Florida State. The Wahiawa, Hawaii native’s 14 home runs tie a school record and her 52 RBIs are five shy of breaking the school record. Senas is also on pace to break the program slugging percentage mark that is currently held by Seminole great Tiffany Daniels (.688). Senas’ slugging percentage is currently at .714, and she is slugging .841 in conference play. Overall, the converted third baseman is hitting .357 with 60 base hits, 54 runs scored, five triples and 120 total bases.
East has enjoyed a breakthrough first season at first base. The Pensacola, Fla. resident has been remarkably consistent, batting .346 with four home runs, 30 RBIs, a team-leading 62 base hits and 15 doubles as well as 46 runs scored. East’s 15 doubles are tied for fifth on the school’s single-season list, and her solid fielding at first base has given Florida State a reliable glove at the position. East provided arguably the biggest blast of the season when she recorded a two-out, two-run game-winning home run at Virginia Tech on April 20.
Bullock has produced her finest year as a Seminole in what is her final season. The Dacula, Ga. native’s .366 batting average is first on an offensive unit that is looking to become just the fourth FSU team to bat above .300. The slap-hitter’s .366 mark is one of the highest by a Seminole over the past decade, and she enters the ACC Tournament with both a 12-game hitting streak and an 18-game stretch of reaching base safely. Bullock has 12 multiple-hit games, including 4-hit performances against two of Florida State’s biggest rivals in North Carolina and Florida.
“We’ve had a great 1-2 punch in Monica and Lacey all season, and the offense behind us has been so consistent,” Alameda added. “It’s a great combination of defense and offense that we’ve had. They’ve all worked hard. For Morgan and Monica to get this honor in their senior seasons is pretty awesome.”
The Seminoles have now totaled a conference-best 98 all-time All-ACC selections since joining the league in 1992.
Florida State is in search of its 12th ACC postseason title. The Seminoles host the conference tournament beginning Thursday, May 9, and face eighth-seeded Boston College at 5 p.m. on ESPN3.
