NOTRE DAME, Ind. — After an explosive season saw University of Notre Dame softball senior Cait Brooks shatter the program’s single-season home run record and lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in five statistical categories, she was named the ACC Softball Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s coaches Tuesday.
Brooks headlined the All-ACC awards and team announcements and joined fellow senior Melissa Rochford and freshman pitcher Payton Tidd on the first team. Junior Katie Marino and freshman Emma Clark earned Second Team All-ACC accolades, while both Tidd and Clark were featured on the All-Freshman Team.
At the conclusion of the regular season, Brooks leads the conference in batting average (.433), home runs (20), total bases (129), slugging percentage (.915) and on-base percentage (.525), marking the fifth time in league history that a player led the league in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage. She also ranks second in the league in RBI (56), ninth in hits (61) and 10th in runs scored (44). Additionally, Brooks leads the league in ACC games in batting average (.529), hits (37), home runs (10), total bases (72), on-base percentage (.626) and slugging percentage (1.029). Her 20 total home runs set an Irish single-season mark, besting the previous record of 17 last set by Laura Winter in 2013.
Tidd has become the Irish ace in the circle, leading the team with a 24-7 record, including 15-2 in ACC play. Her 24 wins are good for third in the ACC (first among ACC freshman) and ranks third among freshman nationally. She ranks sixth in the league in starts (27), seventh in ERA (2.46), eighth in opponent batting average (.233) and ninth in strikeouts (136). In ACC play, she leads the league in wins (15) and ranks fourth in starts (14), sixth in complete games (5) and opponent batting average (.223) and seventh in ERA (2.16) and strikeouts (71).
Rochford leads the league with 31 RBI in conference play with her 44 overall good for eighth in the conference. She ranks 14th in the league in assists with 87, and she boasts a .945 fielding percentage from third base. She’s second on the team with 11 doubles on the season, and third on the team with 53 total hits. This is her third career All-ACC nod, having earned second-team laurels each of the past two seasons.
Marino makes her first All-ACC team appearance, ranking second in the league in runs scored (60), fourth in walks (34), fifth in on-base percentage (.486) and ninth in doubles (12). She also ranks second on the team in slugging (.664) and home runs (10). Clark has worked her way into a key role in the starting lineup, taking over everyday right field duties and ranking third on the team in batting average (.363) and sixth in on-base percentage (.414).
Notre Dame travels to Tallahassee, Florida, this week to compete at the ACC Championships. The third-seeded Irish will face six-seed Duke in a second-round match-up at 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday. The game will be available for streaming on Fox Sports Go.
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Cait BrooksMelissa RochfordPayton TiddEmma ClarkKatie MarinoLaura Winter
Brooks Earns ACC Player of the Year
Five Irish players earn All-ACC accolades TuesdayFeatured in this articleCait BrooksMelissa RochfordPayton TiddEmma ClarkKatie MarinoLaura Winter