Beaubien, Canfield Named to NFCA All-America Teams
5/30/2018 4:50:00 PM | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Freshman left-handed pitcher Meghan Beaubien and junior second baseman Faith Canfield of the University of Michigan softball team earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I All-America recognition, the organization announced Wednesday (May 30). U-M was one of 11 schools to earn multiple All-America nods.
Beaubien received one of five at-large berths to the first team and is the eighth Wolverine to garner All-America distinction as a freshman, joining Sara Griffin (utility, 1995), Kelsey Kollen (second base, 1999), Marissa Young (utility, 2000), Angela Findlay (outfield, 2007), Jordan Taylor (pitcher, 2008), Amanda Chidester (utility, 2009) and Sierra Romero (shortstop, 2013). Beaubien and Griffin are the only freshmen in program history to earn first team All-America selection.
It is the second consecutive All-America selection for Canfield, who earned third-team honors at second base for the second year in a row. She is the 22nd Wolverine to earn multiple All-America citations.
Michigan has boasted 40 different All-Americans -- combining for 68 total distinctions -- in its 41-year program history. The Wolverines have garnered at least two All-America honors in each of the last six seasons, including a program-high five in 2015.
Beaubien, who claimed the Big Ten's 2018 Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors, was also a top-three finalist for the NFCA's Freshman of the Year award and attended the WCWS pre-tournament banquet last night in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She was a unanimous All-Big Ten first team and NFCA All-Great Lakes Region first team honoree.
Beaubien led the Wolverines this season with a 33-6 record, 1.16 earned-run average, 266 strikeouts and a .135 opponent batting average. Her 33 wins lead the nation and share the fourth spot among U-M's single-season leaders. Beaubien also ranks fourth nationally with 3.26 hits allowed per seven innings and sixth with 12 complete-game shutouts. The Wolverine rookie tossed three no-hitters, including one in her first collegiate start against Georgia State, and combined on a fourth.
Canfield, who also earned All-Big Ten and All-Great Lakes Region first team honors, led Michigan with a .391 average with 43 runs, 77 hits -- including 13 doubles -- seven home runs, and 38 RBI -- largely from the leadoff spot in the batting order. She boasted 23 multi-hit and 10 multi-RBI games, posted a career-best 17-game hitting streak (March 9-April 6) and ranks top 15 nationally in hits and toughest to strike out (39.4). She committed just one error over 169 touches for a sterling .994 fielding percentage.
