#37 Ali Wester 2017-18 Softball Roster
Outfield
HONORS AND AWARDS:
2018 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team
2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship All-Tournament Team
2017 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team
2017 All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team
2016 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 10 Finalist
2016 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team
2016 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Second Team
2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship All-Tournament Team
2016 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic Team
AS A JUNIOR (2018):
• NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First-Team selection for the third straight year.
• Chosen as a member of the ACC Championship All-Tournament Team.
• Appeared in all 57 Notre Dame games for the second consecutive season, earning a total of 51 starts.
• Led all Notre Dame hitters with a .365 batting average, 61 hits, 13 sacrifice bunts and 15 stolen bases.
• Batted .385 (15-for-39) with runners in scoring position, and added a .366 clip (15-for-41) with two outs, along with six two-out RBI.
• Paced all Irish players with 20 multiple-hit games, including 17 contests with two hits, and tied for third with six multi-RBI efforts.
• Embarked on a team-high 13-game hit streak for the season that spanned from Feb. 24 against St. John’s through March 17 at Louisville.
• Appeared as a pinch runner in the season’s first five games, scoring a run against Seattle (Feb. 9), Saint Mary’s (Feb. 9) and South Dakota (Feb. 10).
• Scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning as a pinch runner against No. 20 Michigan (Feb. 18).
• Perfect 4-for-4 with a sacrifice hit against No. 6 Texas A&M (Feb. 22) at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
• Drove in a pair of runs against St. John’s (Feb. 24).
• Knocked two hits and added two RBI in a win over UMass (March 2).
• Went 2-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs scored against Fordham (March 2).
• 2-for-3 with a steal, two RBI and two runs scored against UC Santa Barbara (March 3).
• Ripped two hits in each game and scored twice against Robert Morris (March 4) and NC State (March 10).
• Went a combined 5-for-7 (.714) with two RBI and two runs scored in a doubleheader sweep of North Florida (March 13).
• Drove in the game-winning runs on day two of an ACC series sweep at Louisville (March 16-18).
• Posted second 4-for-4 performance of the season and scored a run against Eastern Michigan (March 27).
• Accounted for five total hits during an ACC series victory at Virginia Tech (March 30-31).
• 2-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored in game two of an ACC sweep of Syracuse (April 8).
• Scored two runs and added an RBI in a win over Duke (April 14).
• Finished 2-for-3 with two RBI against Northwestern (April 18).
• 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, including what was ultimately the game-winning run, to open the NCAA Lexington Regional against No. 17 Michigan (May 18).
AS A SOPHOMORE (2017):
• NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First-Team selection.
• Earned All-ACC First-Team recognition for the first time.
• Played in all 57 games, earning 56 starts in left field.
• Notre Dame leader with a .398 batting average, 74 hits, a .429 on-base percentage and 46 runs scored – Hit total was tied for the ACC lead, the fourth straight season an Irish player named Wester (sister Karley from 2014-16) held at least a share of the league hits crown.
• Successfully stole eight bases in 10 attempts.
• Batted .413 (26-for-63) with runners in scoring position, and six of 14 total RBI were logged with two outs.
• Reached base at a .484 clip (15-for-31) leading off an inning, the highest ratio for any Notre Dame hitter with the requisite number of at-bats.
• Tied for Irish team lead with 20 multiple-hit games, including a team-best seven games with three or more hits.
• A total of 36 of 74 hits were officially credited as infield singles.
• Errorless in 92 chances in left field, which included three outfield assists.
• Kickstarted season with a 3-for-4 performance and two runs scored in a win over San Diego State (Feb. 11).
• 2-for-4 with a double during landmark Notre Dame win against No. 10 Michigan (Feb. 18) at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
• Added a 3-for-4 performance with a run scored later in the day against No. 13 Minnesota (Feb. 18).
• Chipped in two additional hits and a run scored to close the tournament against Michigan (Feb. 19).
• Posted a 3-for-4 day with an RBI and run scored versus Purdue (March 4).
• Doubled and scored a key Irish run in an extra-innings win against FIU (March 5) at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic.
• Career-high four hits and scored three times in opening game of an ACC set at Georgia Tech (March 11).
• Added a double, stolen base and two runs during an eighth inning win the following day against the Yellow Jackets (March 12).
• Went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and three runs scored in a midweek win at Mercer (March 15).
• Ripped two hits, stole one base and scored a pair of runs in a five-inning triumph to open home schedule against Michigan State (March 22).
• Finished final two games of a series sweep against Virginia Tech (March 24-25) a combined 5-for-7 with an RBI and four runs scored.
• Closed three-game set at Louisville (April 1-3) with five hits, two RBI and two runs.
• Contributed three hits, including a double, and added two RBI and a pair of runs in a midweek win over IUPUI (April 12).
• Scored a total of five runs on the strength of five hits as part of a series sweep at NC State (April 14-15).
• 3-for-4 with a stolen base, RBI and run scored in five-inning victory at Northwestern (April 25).
• Crossed as an insurance run and in a game one win over Boston College (May 6).
• Added another run during a comeback Irish victory on Senior Day against the Eagles (May 7).
• Reached base in four out of five plate appearances, driving in one run and scoring twice against Boston College (May 11) to open the ACC Championship.
• Scored a run in each game against East Tennessee State (May 20) and California (May 20) during the NCAA Auburn Regional.
AS A FRESHMAN (2016):
• Top 10 finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division 1 National Freshman of the Year award — joined sister Karley as Notre Dame finalists for national freshman of the year in the first three seasons of the award’s existence.
• NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First-Team choice.
• All-ACC Second-Team selection.
• Named to the 2016 ACC Championship All-Tournament Team.
• All-ACC Academic-Team selection.
• Appeared in all 56 games (56 starts) during the season with time divided between second base and left field.
• Ranked second on the Notre Dame roster with a .423 batting average, 77 hits, 48 runs and 22 stolen bases.
• Also finished with 40 RBI, a .443 on base percentage and a .451 slugging percentage.
• 38 of the 77 hits were officially credited as infield singles.
• Set a Notre Dame single-season freshman record with 72 singles.
• Tied Gessica Hufnagle (2007) with the most successful sacrifice bunts in any Irish season with 22 in 2016 – sacrifice hit total led the ACC.
• Ranked second on the Irish roster with 22 multiple-hit outings, and added nine multi-RBI outings.
• Closed the season riding a 15-game hit streak.
• Batted .386 (34-for-88) with runners in scoring position, and hit at a .393 clip (22-for-56) with two outs.
• Scored at least one run in 23 of first 25 collegiate games.
• Scored two runs in second career game against No. 18 Kentucky (Feb. 12).
• Went 2-for-4 with first career RBI the following day against No. 21 California (Feb. 13).
• Scored two runs and stole first career base against No. 11 Washington (Feb. 19).
• Went 2-for-3 with two RBI, a stolen base and a run scored against Cal Poly (Feb. 20).
• Finished 2-for-4 with a career-high three RBI, a stolen base and a run later in the day in a win over No. 8 UCLA (Feb. 20).
• Ripped three hits, including a double, and added a run and a stolen base in a win over No. 22 UCF (Feb. 26).
• Added three hits and scored two runs in a victory against North Florida (Feb. 27).
• Went 2-for-4 with a run scored in a victory the next day against Penn State (Feb. 28).
• Logged two base hits, a stolen base and drove in two runs in a triumph over Stony Brook (March 5) at Florida Gulf Coast.
• Added two more hits, two runs scored and an RBI in second game of the weekend against Stony Brook (March 6).
• Went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and two runs scored later in the day against Ball State (March 6).
• Drove in three runs and scored twice in a game one doubleheader win at FIU (March 9).
• Went a perfect 4-for-4, including a double with an RBI and a run scored in the nightcap against FIU (March 9).
• 2-for-4 with two RBI at home against Eastern Michigan (March 22).
• Went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run in the first game of an ACC series at Syracuse (March 25).
• Finished 2-for-4 with one run scored in game one of a doubleheader against No. 9 Florida State (April 3).
• 3-for-4 with two RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored against IUPUI (April 5).
• Perfect 3-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored in a midweek win versus DePaul (April 27).
• Logged two hits, an RBI and scored twice in a win over Louisville (May 1).
• Finished with four total hits and drove in two runs during the ACC Championship at NC State (May 12-14) to earn all-tournament team honors.
• Drove in a pair of runs in NCAA Championship debut against Miami (Ohio) at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional (May 20).
• Finished a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base against No. 2 Michigan (May 22) in the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional final.
PREP AND PERSONAL:
• Letterwinner at Edison High School.
• Selected as the Sunset League co-most valuable player and named to the MaxPreps California Large School all-state team as a senior after batting .520 with 10 doubles, four home runs, 17 RBI and 30 runs scored, reaching base at a .529 clip with a .740 slugging percentage.
• Added 27 stolen bases in 27 attempts.
• Named the Chargers most valuable player as a junior team captain in 2014 after batting .422 with 13 stolen bases.
• Tabbed to the all-Sunset League first team.
• Swiped 20 bags while adding a .351 clip during sophomore year at Edison, also earning first team all-Sunset League honors.
• .421 average and 20 stolen bases during freshman campaign, earning team rookie of the year accolades.
• Also won varsity letters in volleyball (two) and basketball (one) during prep career.
• Most recently competed with the Firecrackers-Rico on the club circuit.
• Club squad won the Colorado Fireworks and Triple Crown Sports tournaments in 2013.
• Attended the same high school as former Irish standouts Dani Miller (’12) and Casey Africano (’16).
• Daughter of Gary and Sue Wester.
• Has two sisters, Karley and Riley.
• Father, Gary, competed in track and field the University of Wisconsin.
• Sister, Karley (’17), was a two-time NFCA All-American at Notre Dame.
• Sister, Riley, is a Notre Dame softball teammate from the graduating high school class of 2017.
• The Westers are believed to be the first sister trio to each sign with the same varsity athletics program at Notre Dame.
• Enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business as a major in information technology management.