May 26, 2010
TOWSON, Md. - Senior Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) was selected to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team on Wednesday. Griffith was a First Team Academic All-District II honoree and is the first Penn State Academic All-American since 2001.
Griffith, a co-captain of the 2010 Nittany Lion softball team, earned her first CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine honor on May 6 when she was named to the All-District squad thanks to her 3.95 cumulative grade point average and stellar play on the field. The consummate team player, Griffith finished the 2010 campaign leading the nation in sacrifice bunts (22), upping her total to 55 in her four years in Happy Valley, second best for a career. She also graduated as the Nittany Lions' fourth-best career run scorer and was 10th in steals.
Griffith was fourth in team batting average (.279), notching a team best 34 runs and 27 walks. She stole a team-high 12 bases and notched a fielding percentage of .982 with just one error all season. Griffith was honored as the team's Blue-White Award winner at the team's year-end banquet for loyalty and dedication to the Penn State softball program. Griffith is also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree for softball.
The senior outfielder was just one of two Big Ten honorees on any of the three Academic All-America teams as Michigan's Angela Findlay was the other. In District II, only Gina Massaro of La Salle garnered Academic All-America laurels. Massaro was also a third-team selection.
Griffith is the eighth Nittany Lion to receive Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America. The last Penn State softball student-athletes were Allison Medellin and Karen Gulini. Medellin was a first-team honoree, while Gulini earned her second of two Academic-All America awards on the second team in 2001.
Griffith is Penn State's 157th CoSIDA Academic All-American® all-time, the nation's third highest total. Penn State has had 109 Academic All-Americans since Tim Curley became Director of Athletics in December of 1993, a total higher than any Big Ten institution has all-time since the Academic All-America program's inception in 1952.
The Nittany Lions finished the season with a 29-22 overall record and 8-11 in Big Ten competition. The 29 wins was a 10-victory improvement over last season with a young team that had just one departing senior in its everyday lineup, Griffith. Next year expects to be an exciting season in Happy Valley with the opening of Nittany Lion Softball Park, home of Beard Field, in March 2011. The Nittany Lions open 2011 play in February.
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion softball this season, visit GoPSUsports.com.
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--NITTANY LIONS--