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Munson named to NAIA Softball Championship All-Tourney team
GULF SHORES, Ala. -- Shorter University senior
pitcher/infielder Libby Munson has been named to the 2011 NAIA
Softball National Championship All-Tournament team as announced by
the organization on Wednesday evening from Gulf Shores, Ala.
Munson, a three-time NAIA All-American, four-time Louisville Slugger/NFCA East Region First Team pick and the 2011 Southern States Athletic Conference Divisional Pitcher of the Year and Gold Glove award winner, earns NAIA All-Tournament accolades for the second consecutive year after leading the 15th-ranked Lady Hawks into the Elite Eight of the national tournament for a second year in a row.
Munson was at her best when the stakes were highest for the Lady Hawks in 2011, especially as Shorter navigated through Pool E in Gulf Shores.
She went 3-2 with a 0.85 ERA and 24 strikeouts at the national tournament as opponents hit just .172 against her. In pool play, Munson threw consecutive two-hitters in wins over Davenport University (3-1) and Notre Dame College (9-0) before turning in what head coach Al Thomas believes was the best performance of her career.
With the top spot in Pool E and a berth in the Elite Eight on the line, Munson twirled a scintillating one-hitter in Shorter's thrilling 2-1 victory over fifth-ranked Central Baptist College (Ark.), the nation's No. 1 offensive team that had set a new NAIA record with 130 homers on the year -- that total broke the old record by 34 bombs -- while leading the country in batting average, hits, runs scored, doubles and slugging percentage.
Munson was perfect through four innings against Central Baptist and engineered arguably the biggest play of the game when she forced a 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning that limited the Mustangs to one run. Shorter jumped ahead to stay in its very next at-bat.
The Suwanee, Ga., native saw her Shorter career come to an end several days ago at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex, but Munson's impact on the Lady Hawk softball program will be felt for years to come.
Munson departs Shorter with a 105-24 career record in the circle, a .359 career batting average and .977 career fielding percentage.
Her 105 wins on the rubber are a Shorter record, as are her 788 career strikeouts, 46 career shutouts, 110 career complete games and her 1.30 ERA. Munson tossed a program best 820.2 career innings and made 117 starts for the Lady Hawks.
At the plate, Munson finished as Shorter's career leader in at-bats (802), hits (288), doubles (68) and RBI (174).
Munson had a knack for finding new ways to impress Lady Hawk fans, despite appearing to have accomplished just about everything she could have possibly accomplished. This season was no exception as Munson, who at the start of her senior season had yet to hit a triple, finished with three triples in 2011.
Munson was a solid foundation for a Shorter team that lost two All-Americans and six All-SSAC performers from the 2010 team that placed fifth in the national tournament.
With the Lady Hawks introducing 11 new players to the roster this season, Munson had one of her best seasons ever, going 27-7 in the circle with a 1.32 ERA while batting .371 with 41 RBI and a team-best 17 doubles. The ERA was the second-best single season mark in her career as was her batting average. She also set a career-high with 11 stolen bases.
