Florida Pitcher Kelly Barnhill Wins Best Female College Athlete At ESPYS

Florida Pitcher Kelly Barnhill Wins Best Female College Athlete At ESPYS

Last night, Florida's ace pitcher Kelly Barnhill collected yet another prestigious title at the 2017 ESPY Awards, where she was honored as the year's "Best Female College Athlete."

Jul 13, 2017 by Jennifer Zahn
Florida Pitcher Kelly Barnhill Wins Best Female College Athlete At ESPYS
Last night, Florida's ace pitcher Kelly Barnhill collected yet another prestigious title at the 2017 ESPY Awards, where she was honored as the year's "Best Female College Athlete." In May, USA Softball recognized her as 2017's National Collegiate Player of the Year.

As a sophomore, she led the Gators to a runner-up title at the Women's College World Series and capped her season with an enviable stat line: 0.51 ERA (Florida's new school record), 12.98 strikeouts per seven innings, a 26-4 record, and 359 strikeouts. She also recorded two stretches of at least 40 innings without an earned run, according to SEC Country.

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The Marietta, Georgia, native's remarkable season earned the attention of Team USA once again this year. Last week, she entered in relief in the top of the fifth to retire the opposition during the final at-bat.

In addition to yesterday's ESPY award, Barnhill's sophomore resume now includes the following:

  • 2017 Honda Sports Award
  • 2017 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
  • 2017 espnW Player of the Year
  • 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American
  • NFCA All-America First Team
  • SEC Pitcher of the Year
  • All-SEC First Team
  • Five-time SEC Pitcher of the Week

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