May 12, 2016
by Tony Jones
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Four members of the University of Notre Dame softball team claimed all-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors on the eve of Thursday’s first day of play at the 2016 ACC Championship at Dail Softball Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. Senior Micaela Arizmendi was tabbed to the all-ACC first team, while sophomore Morgan Reed, junior co-captain Karley Wester and freshman Ali Wester represented the Irish on the all-ACC second team.
The four Notre Dame selections pushed the total number of Irish players recognized on all-ACC teams to 15 since the team joined the league in 2014, with Arizmendi becoming the program’s first three-time first team honoree in the conference. Arizmendi is the first primary field player to earn three straight all-conference first team scrolls since Alexa Maldonado (’12) claimed top billing in the BIG EAST Conference from 2010-12. The Wester sisters became the first Notre Dame softball siblings to ever be named all-conference in the same season with their second team all-ACC nods.
One of the most prolific conference hitters in Notre Dame history, Arizmendi was up to the task once more as a senior in 2016. She batted .381 with seven doubles, six home runs, 29 RBI and 13 runs scored in 20 starts. The Huntington Beach, California native added a .778 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage in conference games. Arizmendi’s doubles total ranked second overall in ACC games amongst all league players, with her RBI mark finishing as the third most and her slugging percentage the fifth highest total in the conference.
Arizmendi will graduate as one of just 11 players in Notre Dame program history to be named an all-conference performer in each of her four seasons, adding her three all-ACC first team citations to an all-BIG EAST third team designation as a freshman in 2013. In 80 career conference games (74 starts), she batted .410 with 29 doubles, 19 home runs, 84 RBI, a .815 slugging percentage, a .466 on-base percentage and 54 runs scored.
Reed staked her claim to all-ACC second team accolades for the second straight year after storming through the second half of the Notre Dame conference slate. She tied Arizmendi for the team lead with a .381 average in ACC play, ripping four doubles and three home runs as part of nine RBI while scoring 17 runs. Reed, a native of Maylene, Alabama, slugged .587 and notched a .426 on-base percentage in 20 games.
Karley Wester, tabbed on Wednesday as one of the Top 10 Finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, brought home her third career all-ACC scroll after leading all Notre Dame players with 20 runs scored and 14 stolen bases in 20 conference appearances. The Huntington Beach native logged 23 base hits that included two doubles, one triple and one home run, driving in 12 runs as the Notre Dame leadoff hitter.
Ali Wester notched her first career all-conference mention as a standout newcomer at the top of the Notre Dame batting order. A finalist for the 2016 Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I National Freshman of the Year award, Wester batted .365 with 23 hits and six RBI to compliment seven stolen bases and 16 runs in her 20 starts. The native of Huntington Beach led all ACC hitters with 11 sacrifice bunts, and reached base at a .412 clip in conference games.
For the latest news and updates on all things Notre Dame softball, visit www.und.com/softball, follow the Irish @NDsoftball and @NDcoachGumpf on Twitter and at Instagram.com/notredamesoftball, and Like the team at Facebook.com/NDSoftball.
2016 ACC Softball Award Winners
Individual Award Winners
Player of the Year: Alex Powers, Jr., 1B, Florida State
Pitcher of the Year: Jessica Burroughs, Jr., P, Florida State
Freshman of the Year: Lauren Duff, C, ââ’¬Virginia Tech
Coach of the Year: Lonni Alameda, Florida State
All-ACC First Team
Tatiana Cortez, Jr., C, Boston College
Jessie Daulton, Sr., SS, Boston College
Jessica Burroughs, Jr., P, Florida State
Ellie Cooper, Jr., 2B, Florida State
Meghan King, Fr., P, Florida State
Morgan Klaevemann, So., OF Florida State
Alex Powers, Jr., 1B, Florida State
Jessica Warren, So., 3B, Florida State
Maryssa Becker, Jr., P, Louisville
Kristen Brown, Sr., SS, North Carolina
Kendra Lynch, Jr., P, North Carolina
Micaela Arizmendi, Sr., 1B, Notre Dame
Erin Hershman, So., OF, Pittsburgh
Lauren Duff, Fr., C, Virginia Tech
Maggie Tyler, Sr., P, Virginia Tech
All-ACC Second Team
Jesse Dreswick, So., P, Boston College
Annie Murphy, So., OF, Boston College
Carsyn Gordon, Fr., OF, Florida State
Courtney Ziese, Sr., DH, Georgia Tech
Megan Hensley, Fr., DP, Louisville
Jordan McNary, Jr., OF, Louisville
Hailey Smith, Sr., 3B, Louisville
Taylor Wike, So., 2B, North Carolina
Molly Hutchison, Jr., C, NC State
Morgan Reed, So., SS, Notre Dame
Karley Wester, Jr., OF, Notre Dame
Ali Wester, Fr., 2B, Notre Dame
Jenna Modic, Sr., DP, Pittsburgh
Maggie Sevilla, Sr., 2B, Pittsburgh
Allison Davis, So, OF, Virginia
–ND–
Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball and men’s soccer programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.