June 1, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior Heather Johnson and junior Dani Miller were both part of the 2011 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-American third team, it was announced Wednesday afternoon. The duo continued a three-year streak of third-team honorees produced by the Notre Dame softball program, following the path traveled by Katie Fleury in 2010 and Christine Lux in 2009.
In all, Notre Dame players have earned 20 All-American honors dating back to 1994 (four second team, 16 third team).
No other BIG EAST Conference players were named to this season’s first, second or third team.
Johnson, a fifth-year senior third baseman from Los Alamitos, Calif., put up huge offensive numbers in 2011 with a .383 batting average and .651 slugging percentage. Johnson accounted for 67 hits, 11 doubles, 12 home runs, 64 RBI and 114 total bases. She drew 17 walks and was fanned on just 10 occasions in 175 at-bats.
Johnson was also the 2011 BIG EAST Player of the year, a first-team all-league choice and a second-team all-region selection.
An infielder from Huntington Beach, Calif., Miller parlayed a recently earned third all-region honor into her first All-American accolade. With 11 home runs this past season, Miller became the first Irish player ever to smack double-digit home runs in the first three seasons with the program.
Miller hit .333 on the year and drove in 37 runs with a .563 slugging percentage. Most impressively, she did not commit an error in 210 chances while playing both first and second base for the Irish.
Miller was named to the third team at the utility position.
Notre Dame, the BIG EAST regular season champions, finished the season with a 46-11 overall record and made a 13th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
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