June 6, 2017
by Tony Jones
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The honors continue to roll in for University of Notre Dame softball Class of 2021 pitchers Alexis Holloway and Morgan Ryan. The incoming pitching tandem, named Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) Regional All-Americans in May, were each selected as state winners of the Gatorade Player of the Year award on Monday. Holloway was tabbed as the best high school player in Indiana, while Ryan was named the top softball standout from the state of Pennsylvania.
Holloway and Ryan are the seventh and eighth different players in Notre Dame program history to earn Gatorade Player of the Year recognition at the state level. Irish players have garnered a total of nine state Gatorade Player of the Year citations in the history of the award, with Brittany O’Donnell (’13) (New Jersey) representing Notre Dame’s only two-time honoree in both 2007-08 and 2008-09.
Holloway and Ryan are the first pair of Notre Dame signees named Gatorade Player of the Year in the same season since Jenny Kriech (’02) (Indiana) and Jarrah Myers (’02) (Kansas) in 1997-98. Other Irish players previously recognized as a state Gatorade Player of the Year include Nicole deFau (’04) (Connecticut, 1999-00) and Megan Ciolli (’05) (Indiana, 2000-01).
2016-17 Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year Alexis Holloway
Fresh off her PGF Central Region All-America nod, Holloway has continued her sensational senior season for Crown Point High School. The Lady Bulldogs reached their first state championship game (scheduled for June 10) with a pair of postseason victories in the past week. Holloway struck out 20 batters in a 3-1 win in 13 innings over No. 8 Penn, then followed up with 16 strikeouts in a one-hit showing during a 3-0 shutout of Hamilton Southeastern to claim the Class 4A Harrison semistate title on June 3.
The top-rated national pitching prospect in the high school Class of 2017 according to the FloSoftball Hot 100 Rankings (No. 2 overall player), Holloway has compiled an 18-1 record with a career-low 0.22 ERA in a career-high 157.1 innings pitched as of June 6. She has added three saves in her 26 pitching appearances, walking only 19 while striking out 271 batters. Holloway has chipped in a .436 average at the plate, driving in 24 runs and scoring 14 more. In nearly 80 career appearances in the circle for Crown Point, Holloway is 49-3 with an 0.35 ERA, 14 saves, 65 walks and 729 strikeouts in 396.2 innings pitched.
2016-17 Gatorade Pennsylvania Softball Player of the Year Morgan Ryan
Ryan, a PGF Northeast Region All-American, and Hempfield Area High School claimed a third straight WPIAL Class 6A softball championship with a 13-2 win over Latrobe on May 31. The Spartans scored 13 unanswered runs in the game, including a six-run fourth inning, to pull ahead and extend their season record to a perfect 23-0. Hempfield opens the PIAA Class 6A playoffs this week.
As of June 6, Ryan has logged an 18-0 record with 169 strikeouts to just 25 walks. She has batted at a .450 clip on offense, adding four home runs and 32 RBI. Ryan is a combined 69-6 with over 550 career strikeouts at Hempfield entering the PIAA Class 6A playoffs, and is the team’s all-time leader in pitching wins, innings pitched, home runs and RBI.
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.
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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 Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.