Lady Vols' Abbott broke NCAA career strikeout record this season
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Tennessee ace Monica Abbott, who this season broke the NCAA career record for strikeouts, was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year on Tuesday night.
Abbott (46-3) has struck out 649 batters in 314 1/3 innings entering the Women's College World Series, which starts Thursday in Oklahoma City. She was recognized Tuesday night during opening ceremonies for the event.
Her Lady Vols are the fifth seed in the World Series. Defending champion Arizona is the top seed, with Northwestern, Texas A&M, Washington, Arizona State, Baylor and DePaul also in the field.
A 6-foot-3 left-hander, Abbott has an 0.60 ERA with 24 shutouts this season. She was a finalist for the award last year when Texas' Cat Osterman won it for the third time.
Abbott passed Osterman's NCAA strikeout record earlier this season. She needs 15 strikeouts to break the season record of 663 set by Southern Miss pitcher Courtney Blades in 2000.
Arizona State outfielder Kaitlin Cochran and Oklahoma first baseman Samantha Ricketts were the other finalists.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
