#1 Kelsey Thornton 2011-12 Softball Roster

HONORS AND AWARDS:
2013 All-BIG EAST Third Team
2012 All-BIG EAST Second Team

AS A SENIOR (2013): One of two team captains during senior year … selected to the all-BIG EAST third team … BIG EAST Academic All-Star … finished Notre Dame career second all-time in stolen bases (64 in 80 attempts) and with the eighth-highest batting average (.352) … ranked second on the Notre Dame roster with a .354 batting average, the highest of any slap hitter in the Irish lineup … average was one of the top 20 in the BIG EAST Conference for players with the requisite number of at-bats … led the team with 18 stolen bases … chipped in five RBI, six sacrifice hits and 26 runs scored … stole at least one base in five of the season[apos]s first six games … contributed three base hits and a run against Wisconsin (Feb. 10) … drove in first run of the season later in the day against Presbyterian (Feb. 10) … swiped a pair of bags against Cal Poly (Feb. 15) … perfect 2-for-2 in second meeting with the Mustangs (Feb. 16) during the Campbell/Cartier Classic … recorded two hits and scored a run against eventual NCAA champion No. 1 Oklahoma (Feb. 17) … 3-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored against Liberty (Feb. 23) … began a five-game hitting streak against LIU (March 3) at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic … added a single in each game against Maryland (March 3), New Mexico State (March 9) and UC Davis (March 9) … 2-for-3 with a run scored in second game against New Mexico State (March 10) … went a combined 6-for-9 (.667) with two runs scored in a doubleheader at Georgetown (April 3) … chipped in two singles and a run in the series finale against Villanova (April 7) … legged out a pair of infield singles at Northwestern (April 9) … stroked five singles with an RBI and a run scored in a three-game BIG EAST sweep of Rutgers (April 13-14) … registered third straight two-hit game during a midweek tilt at Michigan State (April 16) … 2-for-3 with a run scored in first game at DePaul (April 27) … slapped two hits with an RBI and a run against Eastern Michigan (April 30) … batted .714 (5-for-7) with a run scored during Notre Dame[apos]s appearance at the NCAA Lexington Regional (May 17-18).

AS A JUNIOR (2012): All-BIG EAST second team selection … second on the Irish with a .348 batting average (on 57 hits) with nine RBI and 33 runs scored … team-high 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts … team-best 16-game hitting streak spanned from April 22 against DePaul until May 19 at Arizona (23-for-53 during the streak, .434 batting average) … scored a pair of runs at North Carolina (Feb. 26) … 2-for-4 with two RBI against Ohio State (March 3) … contributed two hits and scored two runs against Oregon State (March 10) … 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored at Cal State Fullerton (March 14) … offensive standout during conference set against Connecticut (March 31-April 1), batting .364 and scoring four runs in a series sweep of the Huskies … perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI, stolen base and run scored in a non-conference matchup with Valparaiso (April 18) … stroked three base hits and stole a pair of bases in a second round BIG EAST Championship win over St. John[apos]s (May 11) … batted at a .412 clip (7-for-17) during NCAA Regional play.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2011): Utilized primarily as a pinch runner throughout her second season on the squad … played in 44 games and scored 17 runs with 10 stolen bases in 14 attempts … stole one base in three straight games from April 27-April 30 … scored once in each of the three games against Connecticut (May 7-8) … had one putout in a starting effort during the Feb. 18 season opener against Miami (Ohio) … posted three separate streaks of three-straight games with one run scored.

AS A FRESHMAN (2010): Succeeded in stealing 17 bases in 20 tries … the 17 swiped bags put her in a tie for ninth on the school[apos]s single-season list … appeared in 48 games – primarily as a pinch runner – and scored 27 times … scored in her Irish debut against Creighton (Feb. 12) … stole a bag versus Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 21) … crossed the plate against George Washington and Virginia on the first day of the Cavalier Invite (Feb. 26-27) … picked up first collegiate hit in the third game of the BIG EAST opening series at Seton Hall (March 28) … scored one run in each of the eight games from March 18-28 … swiped her 10th bag of the season against Rutgers (April 3) … scored twice during the three-game series at Louisville (April 17-18) … closed the regular season with a stolen base in each of the last four games played (April 28-May 9) … stole a base and scored against Providence (May 13) in the BIG EAST Tournament.

PREP AND PERSONAL: Earned a quartet of letters at Elkins (Texas) as a prep under head coach James McClanahan … led her squad to three conference titles … area champions as a sophomore … two-time all-conference selection … team was nationally ranked three times throughout her prep career … batted .600 as a senior with 45 hits and a .647 on-base pct. … first team all-state as a senior … Texas Sports Writers Association Honorable Mention All-State as a junior … three-time all-district choice … Houston Chronicle all-area team in 2009 … hit .470 as a junior with a .500 on-base pct. while her squad finished the season with a 30-5 overall record … first team all-district choice in 2008 after taking second-team honors in 2007 … paced her club team to a pair of Texas regional titles … member of National Honor Society, English Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society … active within Habitat for Humanity and Young Life … won school[apos]s Wendy[apos]s Heisman award … graduated magna cum laude … won United States Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award in 2009 … production assistant for Scattered Voices, a play written by Notre Dame students that premiered in Houston … the performance was written and directed by sister, Shay … also lettered in volleyball … has a dog named Rudy … ventured with the Houston Power and Sudden Impact Gold club teams to China in 2007 to play softball against local and national programs … seventh member of family to graduate from Notre Dame … daughter of Jan and John Thornton … both parents graduated from Notre Dame in 1977 … has two older siblings … sister, Erin, gradated from Notre Dame in 2007 and 2009 … sister, Shay, graduated from Notre Dame in 2010 … graduated with a degree in science-business from the College of Science.