The National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Diamond Sports, the NFCA’s “Official Protective Equipment,” released Tuesday the 10 catchers who have been named the winners of the 2007 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award. Diamond Sports and the NFCA present the award annually to the top catcher from NFCA member schools in each of the following divisions: NCAA (Divisions I, II and III), NAIA, NJCAA (Divisions I, II and III), Cal JC, Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) and high school.
Divisional committees consisting of NFCA member coaches determined the 2007 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award winners. The recipients of this year’s awards, by division, are as follows:
NCAA Division I — Killian Roessner, Louisiana State University
Roessner threw out nearly 60-percent of would-be base stealers as she helped lead LSU to a 55-12 overall mark and a 22-6 finish in the Southeastern Conference that resulted in the team’s eighth SEC Western Division title. The first team all-American tied for the league lead with four pick-offs while rating third on the team with a .354 batting average, six home runs and 36 RBIs.
NCAA Division II — Amber Lanier, Columbus State University
Lanier fielded at a .992 clip as she earned first team all-America accolades while guiding Columbus State to the NCAA Division II championship tournament. A starter in all 63 of the team’s games, Lanier hit .378 while leading the team with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs.
NCAA Division III — Hannah Shalett, Ithaca College
Shalett claimed the Division III award this season after a standout senior campaign in which she posted a career-best .417 average. The second player in school history to earn all-Empire 8 Conference accolades four times collected 55 hits on the year while driving in 31 runs and scoring 28 times. Defensively she notched a .993 fielding percentage while throwing out four runners on 13 attempts (.765).
NAIA — Jayme Boyer, Oklahoma Baptist University
Boyer, the co-player of the year in the Sooner Athletic Conference and Region VI, became Oklahoma Baptist’s first first-team all-American after hitting a school record 17 home runs. A .408 hitter on the year, she led the SAC in home runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Boyer threw out 11 runners on the year while tallying a .977 fielding percentage.
NJCAA Division I — Amanda Duran, Pima Community College
A starter in 63 games this season, Duran ranked second on the squad with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs. The 2006 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year hit .441 on the year while posting a .992 fielding percentage. The second-year standout threw out 10 runners in 24 opportunities.
NJCAA Division II — Renee Welty, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
Welty led Chandler-Gilbert at the plate as she collected 65 hits in 163 at-bats for a .585 average. She also paced the squad in home runs (14) and RBIs (84) while ranking second on the team in stolen bases with 14 in 17 attempts. Defensively she registered a .975 fielding percentage while successfully gunning down 13 of 15 would-be base stealers.
NJCAA Division III — Lyndsi Gocken, Joliet Junior College
Gocken paced Joliet offensively with a .505 batting average that included team-best nine home runs and 52 RBIs. Despite missing the first part of the season with an injury, she scored 40 times after reaching base at a .570 clip. Gocken registered 100 putouts, tallied a .905 fielding percentage and threw out seven of 15 runners from her catcher’s spot.
Cal JC — Keri Franks, Diablo Valley College
Franks hit .346 as Diablo Valley finished the year 31-21 and fourth in the Big 7 Conference with a 10-5 mark. She ranked second on the squad with 13 doubles, and finished the year with the squad’s third-best mark in RBIs (45) and runs (31). Franks posted a stellar year behind the plate, going errorless while compiling 169 putouts and 38 assists.
NWAACC — Kristin Wilson, Walla Walla Community College
Wilson ranked in the top 10 of nearly every offensive category in the NWAACC this season while leading the team to a 39-18 record and a second-place showing in the Eastern Division with a 19-9 mark. She hit a team second-best .474 as she helped guide WWCC to the NWAACC Playoffs, where it finished a game shy of the semifinals. She also ranked second on the squad in RBIs with 71 and home runs with 15.
High School — Starla Guffey, St. Amant High School (La.)
Guffey, a two-time first team all-American, earned her second straight Louisiana Class 5A Most Valuable Player honor after hitting .484 with 14 doubles, 11 home runs and 43 RBIs. She also scored 56 runs after tallying a .593 on-base percentage. A perfect 14-for-14 in stolen bases in 2007, she threw out five of eight runners and picked off 11 more as she compiled a .946 fielding percentage.
