Tatum Edwards Earns All-America Honor

Oklahoma City - Junior Tatum Edwards was selected as a second-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, the organization announced on Wednesday. Edwards is the 14th player in school history to earn All-America honors, while her second-team selection marked Nebraska’s 22nd All-America award in school history.

Tatum is the first Husker to earn All-America honors since her twin sister Taylor took home third-team accolades as a freshman in 2011. Tatum is the first Husker to earn first- or second-team All-America honors since Peaches James was also a second-team selection in 2004. Edwards was one of 36 players nationally to earn first- or second-team All-America recognition.

“I was really shocked and was just so filled up with emotion when I found out,” Edwards said. “It’s one of the greatest accomplishments a player can receive. I have to give a huge shout out to my whole entire team. If my defense and my offense weren’t there, I don’t know where I would be. It’s a tremendous honor, and I’m very grateful.”

Edwards earned a spot as a utility player/pitcher, as she has excelled both at the plate and in the circle this season. As a pitcher, the right-hander is 30-9 this spring with a 1.81 ERA. She ranks 10th nationally in wins and shutouts (10), 28th in hits allowed per seven innings (4.8), 49th in strikeouts (214) and 51st in ERA. The 2013 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, Edwards has been instrumental in leading Nebraska to its first Women’s College World Series appearance since 2002. Edwards is 4-1 with a 1.62 ERA in the NCAA Tournament, posting two wins over No. 13 Stanford and one victory at No. 3 Oregon.

Offensively, Edwards is batting .292 this season, and she leads the team with a .631 slugging percentage thanks to her 11 doubles and 11 home runs. Edwards is only the ninth player in school history to produce 10 doubles and 10 home runs in the same season. Fifty-eight percent of her hits this season have gone for extra bases, while Edwards has driven in 26 runs.

The All-America honor caps a decorated junior season for the native of Murrieta, Calif. In addition to being named a second-team NFCA All-American and the 2013 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, Edwards was a first-team All-Midwest region selection, a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten pick and a two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tatum and her coaches and teammates could not be more proud of her,” Head Coach Rhonda Revelle said. “In a lot of ways, Tatum won this award during the summer and fall. She dedicated herself to becoming the best pitcher she could be and did so with a team-first mindset. She put in a tremendous amount of work in the offseason with the goal of being a player her teammates could rely on to lead this team to new heights. She has done just that leading us to the Women’s College World Series and no one is more deserving of this honor than Tatum.”

Edwards and the 14th-seeded Huskers takes on No. 11 seed Washington at 11 a.m. in the opening game of the 2013 NCAA Women’s College World Series. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and will mark the Huskers’ seventh all-time appearance in college softball’s championship event.