THE CROWNING JEWEL
BROOKE MITCHELL NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
Junior pitcher becomes the 11th First-Team All-American selection in program history and first since 2000
OKLAHOMA CITY - University of Louisiana junior pitcher Brooke Mitchell received many honors for the record-breaking campaign that she experienced during the 2004 season. Of all, none was more special than the one bestowed upon her here Wednesday evening at the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Women's College World Series.
Mitchell was honored as a first-team All-America selection by Louisville Slugger and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association at the opening ceremonies held at Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium. Mitchell was in attendance, alongside her parents and co-head coach Michael Lotief, to accept her prestigious award.
Mitchell's selection marks the sixth straight season that at least one player from Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Team.
She is the program's 11th first-team selection and first since 2000 when Tiffany Clark received the honor. Mitchell is the fourth Cajuns pitcher to be a first-team honoree joining current head coach Stefni Lotief, Kyla Hall and Cheryl Longeway.
"She is the most extraordinary story in college softball," said Louisiana head coach Stefni Lotief. "She's hard working, a great student, the heart and soul of this team, good Christian and awesome role model. She is the type of person every parent would want their child to grow up to be."
"We always knew she had the talent to be an All-American and this year she went out on the field and proved it all year long," Lotief added. "We are just thrilled for her and pleased that her tireless efforts were recognized."
The selection was the 33rd in UL Lafayette softball history and since 1989. Louisiana has had at least one All-American in 15 of the last 16 seasons.
"There was never any question in my mind that she was a First-Team All-America pitcher," Lotief remarked. "She deserves all of the accolades for her hard work and accomplishments." .
Since Lotief took over the program in 2001, the Cajuns have received five All-America honors. This season marked the first time under Lotief that the Cajuns received a first team selection.
The two-time Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year and tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Mitchell completed the 2004 season with a 45-5 record, 524 strikeouts and 0.82 ERA. She was one of the 10 finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award.
She set the program records for single season and career strikeouts and averaged over 11 strikeouts per seven innings.
She became the fourth player in NCAA history to record 500-plus strikeouts, joining Courtney Blades, Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman, and the 12th ever to reach 40 wins in a season.
Her 524 strikeouts rank as the fourth-most in a single season in the NCAA record books and are the most compiled by a pitcher from a Louisiana school that sponsors softball. Her 45 wins were the fourth-most all-time and shattered the previous school-record 35 set by Melissa Coronado in 2001.
Mitchell had 29 double-digit strikeout games to her credit and struck out 15 batters five times, 16 twice and school-record 22. She allowed four-or-less hits in 16 appearances of seven-plus innings and from Feb. 8-Feb. 21 had double-digit strikeouts in eight straight appearances.
The right-handed hurler tossed six no-hitters including one of Big 12-member Missouri and defeated top-ranked Arizona at last week's NCAA Regional to snap the Wildcats streak of 16 consecutive Women's College World Series appearances.
She accounted for 45 of the Cajuns 60 victories (75 percent) and had a streak of 20 consecutive wins from March 24-May 21. She owns victories over two of the Top three finalists for the Player of the Year Award - Arizona's Alicia Hollowell and Florida State's Jessica van der Linden.
The eight-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week, Mitchell struck out six batters and allowed just three runs in a complete game against the U.S. Olympic Team at the KIA Klassic. It marked just the third time in the Olympians "Aiming for Athens" tour that they were held to less than four runs.
With her fifth strikeout of the second game of a doubleheader at Louisiana Tech on April 14, she netted her 821st career strikeout - a tally which set a new school career record by surpassing the former record of 820 set by former All-American Kyla Hall. Her strikeout tally this season increased her career total to 967 with a senior season left to complete.
The NFCA All-South Region First Team member, Mitchell erased plenty of school records this season including: single-season victories (45), win percentage (.900), games pitched (53), games started (49), innings pitched (315 2/3), strikeouts (524) and strikeouts per seven innings (11.6).
LOUISIANA SI
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