VALDOSTA —
As Valdosta State’s softball team prepares to pursue more team success against Florida Southern in the NCAA South Super Regional this weekend, five Blazers earned individual accolades on Tuesday. Courtney Albritton, April Hutchens and Alanna Hadley made the Daktronics All-South Region First Team, while Morgan Johnson and Marti Littlefield earned second team nods.
The five selections tied Alabama-Huntsville for the most selections on the 2012 Daktronics All-South Region team. With Albritton, Hutchens and Hadley making the first team, all three players are eligible for All-America honors.
Albritton earned her first All-Region selection in her freshman season, while Hadley did the same in her first season at Valdosta State. Hutchens made her first All-Region team, while Johnson made her first Daktronics All-Region team after being named to the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association’s All-Region team her freshman year. Littlefield impressively made it four consecutive seasons on the All-Region squad.
In her senior season, Littlefield has cemented her legacy at Valdosta State by breaking the Gulf South Conference record for most RBIs in a career. She currently has 239 career RBIs. She hit a grand slam against Alabama-Huntsville in the second game of the South Region I Tournament. With nine home runs this season, Littlefield has knocked 56 career homers and needs just one more to tie the GSC career record for home runs. She’s batting .343 with 57 hits, nine home runs, 16 doubles, two triples and 54 RBIs. She has been walked a team-high 37 times. Littlefield also made the All-Gulf South Conference First Team.
Other seniors on the squad were Hutchens and Hadley. Hutchens has been considered one of the best defensive players in the region and maybe the nation in her three previous seasons at VSU, but this year she has put together her best offensive output to date. She is batting a career-high .313 on the year. She has scored 35 runs and has 45 hits this season, with nine doubles and a home run. So far this year, Hutchens has knocked in 25 runs. Hutchens was another All-GSC first teamer, along with Littlefield and Hadley.
Hadley has been the ace for VSU in her only season in the Blazers’ pitcher’s circle. She was named the GSC Pitcher of the Year and earned the GSC Pitcher of the Week award five times this season. With an impressive 27-3 record and a 0.97 earned run average, Hadley will lead VSU against Florida Southern. She has 11 solo shutouts on the season, with 27 complete games and 194 innings pitched. To date, she has struck out 146 batters, and opponents are batting just .174 against her.
The other two Blazers to make the Daktronics All-South Region Team have been the team’s most prolific offensive forces. The duo of Johnson and Albritton have flip-flopped throughout the season for the team’s highest batting average. Currently it’s Johnson, with a .450 batting average and a team-high .520 on-base percentage. Johnson has 44 RBIs, nine home runs, two triples, 17 doubles and 76 hits. She’s scored 50 runs and is slugging .734. She was another All-GSC first teamer, and knocked in the winning run against Rollins in the final game of the South Regional.
Albritton took VSU and the entire Gulf South Conference by storm in just her freshman season. She was named the GSC’s Freshman and Player of the Year while leading the conference in most categories. She is first on the VSU squad in runs scored (67), hits (88), doubles (19), triples (3), home runs (15), RBIs (58), slugging percentage (.794) and stolen bases (12-12). In the final game of the regional tournament, she robbed Rollins’ Veronica Alred of a home run in the seventh inning to secure VSU’s path to the Super Regionals.
Albritton, Hutchens, Hadley, Johnson and Littlefield will lead Valdosta State in the team’s quest to make the NCAA Division II National Tournament. The Blazers will face Florida Southern in the South Super Regional on Friday, starting at 6 p.m.
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Valdosta State’s Marti Littlefield was named to the All-South Region second team. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
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