Five Longhorns named to All-Big 12 Softball Team
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Five Texas Softball players were voted to the All-Big 12 Conference Second Team, including senior catcher Megan Willis who earned her second straight Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honor, the league announced Thursday evening. Awards were voted on the by the conference's 10 head coaches. Willis earned her second defensive player of the year award and was voted to the All-Big 12 Second Team for the third consecutive season. Senior first baseman Jacqueline Williams, junior pitcher Meagan Denny, sophomore infielder/outfielder Shannon Thomas and freshman designated player Tallie Thrasher all joined Willis on the second team. In her final season on the Forty Acres, Willis is enjoying her best offensive season to date, hitting at a .298 clip with a team-best 10 doubles. The senior backstop has been stellar behind the plate, erasing 18 of the 35 baserunners attempting to take a base against her. She added 10 pickoffs to bolster the UT defense, while registering a club-best .991 fielding mark. Williams, garners the first Big12 honors of her career, after posting a career-best .281 batting average in 47 games. The Arlington, Texas, native ranks third on the squad with six homers and second on the club with 246 putouts and a .985 fielding percentage. Denny, earns the first postseason honor of her career after posting a 20-14 record and 1.63 ERA in 2007. The two-time Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week ranks atop the league in strikeouts (315), appearances (42) and starts (38). Thomas, has been the spark at the top of the Texas order all season, headlining the Horns offense with team-highs in batting average (.333), hits (56) and runs scored. The sophomore speedster has recorded a school single-season record, 32 stolen bases in 2007 and now ranks No. 2 all-time with 53 career stolen bases. Thrasher, captures second-team honors in her first collegiate season, after equaling the Texas single-season home run record with 12 long-balls in 2007. The Southlake, Texas, native ranks fifth in the league in homers and paces the Horns' with a team-best .643 slugging percentage and 83 total bases. The 18th-ranked and sixth-seeded Longhorns (33-17, 8-10 Big 12) begin play at the annual Big 12 Tournament on Friday, May 11, when they take on third-seeded Missouri (37-21, 13-4 Big 12) at 1:30 p.m. at ASA Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.
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