May 11, 2017
by Tony Jones
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Four members of the University of Notre Dame softball team officially received all-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors ahead of Thursday’s opening round of games at the 2017 ACC Championship at Anderson Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sophomore outfielder Ali Wester and senior outfielder/captain Karley Wester were both selected to the all-ACC first team, while junior infielder Morgan Reed and sophomore infielder Melissa Rochford claimed all-ACC second team accolades.
The four Notre Dame selections pushed the total number of Irish players recognized on all-ACC teams to 19 since the Irish entered the league in 2014, while Karley Wester joined Micaela Arizmendi (’16) as the program’s second three-time first team honoree in the conference. The Wester sisters are the only Notre Dame softball siblings to ever be named first team all-conference in the same season by virtue of their 2017 nods on the all-ACC first team.
After earning all-ACC second team honors as a freshman in 2016, Ali Wester reached the conference’s top team this season after leading all Notre Dame players with 22 runs scored in 24 league starts. Wester added the second-highest batting average (.415), hit total (34) and stolen bases count (5) among teammates in ACC games, reaching base at a .442 clip. The Irish left fielder made 32 putouts and three outfield assists to notch a perfect fielding percentage in ACC play during the regular season.
Karley Wester took home her fourth career all-ACC scroll after leading all Notre Dame players with a .416 batting average, 37 hits and 10 stolen bases in 24 conference appearances. Wester became just the 12th player in Irish program history to earn all-conference distinction in each of her four seasons (first team in 2014, 2015 and 2017, second team in 2016). In 88 career starts during ACC games in the regular season, Wester batted .426 with 130 hits (18 for extra bases), 46 RBI, a .490 on-base percentage, 43 stolen bases and 85 runs scored.
Reed returned to the all-ACC second team for the third straight season on the strength of a team-high 11 extra-base hits, 30 RBI and a .590 slugging percentage in 24 ACC starts in 2017. Reed joined the Wester sisters in the 20-run club in ACC play, crossing the plate an even 20 times in conference action. Her 57 career RBI in league matchups during the regular season lead all active Notre Dame hitters.
Rochford added her name to the list of Irish all-conference performers after starting all 24 ACC games at third base. Rochford batted .378 with three home runs, 21 RBI, a .568 slugging percentage, a team-high .466 on-base percentage and 10 runs. She added a standout performance in the field in league competition, posting a .973 fielding percentage in 75 chances at third base.
2017 ACC Softball Award Winners
Individual Award Winners
Player of the Year: Jessica Warren, Florida State
Pitcher of the Year: Jessica Burroughs, Florida State
Defensive Player of the Year: Jessica Warren, Florida State
Freshman of the Year: Brittany Pickett, ââ’¬North Carolina
Coach of the Year: Lonni Alameda, Florida State
All-ACC First Team
Chloe Sharabba, Boston College
Jessica Dreswick, Boston College
Jessica Warren, Florida State
Jessica Burroughs, Florida State
Morgan Klaevemann, Florida State
Alex Powers, Florida State
Meghan King, Florida State
Sydney Broderick, Florida State
Tyler Ross, NC State
Brittany Pickett, North Carolina
Karley Wester, Notre Dame
Ali Wester, Notre Dame
Sydney O’Hara, Syracuse
Alicia Hansen, Syracuse
Katie Park, Virginia
All-ACC Second Team
Annie Murphy, Boston College
Tatiana Cortez, Boston College
Cali Harrod, Florida State
Nicole Pufahl, Louisville
Maryssa Becker, Louisville
Morgan Meyer, Louisville
Jordan McNary, Louisville
Jade Caraway, NC State
Kendra Lynch, North Carolina
Taylor Wike, North Carolina
Leah Murray, North Carolina
Morgan Reed, Notre Dame
Melissa Rochford, Notre Dame
Kaitlin Fitzgerald, Virginia
Breanna Davenport, Virginia Tech
All-Freshman Team
Dani Morgan, Florida State
Caitlin Ferguson, Louisville
Jade Caraway, NC State
Peyton Silverman, NC State
Brittany Pickett, North Carolina
Valerie Ortega, Pittsburgh
Alexa Romero, Syracuse
Carrie Eberle, Virginia Tech
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.