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Burkhart is named Pitcher of the Year; five earn All-NPF honors

August 28, 2008 - National Pro Fastpitch (NPF)
Philadelphia Force News Release


Allentown, Pa. - At the recently completed National Pro Fastpitch championship series, the league announced their 2008 All-NPF Team and the winners of the 2008 special awards. The Philadelphia Force garnered five All-NPF selections and one special award.

The All-NPF Team consists of 18 athletes. Six at-large winners were named, as were four pitchers, and one player for the eight remaining positions.

Katie Burkhart was named to the team and also picked up the 2008 Pitcher of the Year Award. The rookie out of Arizona State University and winning pitcher of the 2008 Women's College World Series final game posted a 13-5 record. Burkhart's 131.2 innings pitched was tied for 2nd place in the NPF and is a new Philadelphia Force season and career record. Her 149 strikeouts on the season placed her third in the NPF for the 2008 season and it sets a new Force season and career record. Burkhart started 18 games for the Force and had 15 complete games, which is good for 2nd place in the NPF and sets a new Force season and career record. She finished with a 1.88 ERA which was 2nd in the NPF and was a member of Team NPF

At second base, Emily Friedman was the All-NPF choice. The slick fielding third-year veteran had a career season with the Force. Defensively, Friedman handled 167 of 168 chances at second base cleanly, only committing one error on the season. At the plate, Friedman provided the Force three walk-off hits (a home run, a double, and a single). She batted a career high .286 on 36/126 hitting. Her 36 hits, a career high for her, were fourth on the Force. Friedman, a starter of 45 of the team's 48 games, was second the team with nine sacrifices on the year.

Friedman fellow middle infielder Chelsea Spencer was also named to the team. Spencer is in her fourth NPF season and batted .276 on the year. She was fifth in the NPF in hits with 42 and second in the league with 28 runs scored, which led the Force. The shortstop Spencer led the Force with 26 RBIs and was tied for fifth in the NPF in that category. Her hits and runs scored totals are new single-season career highs. Spencer played with Team NPF early in 2008.

Sharonda McDonald was named to the outfield of the All-NPF team. The second year pro, McDonald, batted .299 on the season which placed her ninth in the NPF for 2008. She was ranked third in the NPF with 26 runs scored and fourth in hits with 44. Both of these totals are new career highs for the centerfielder. McDonald finished second in stolen bases with a career-high 16 on the season. She started in all 43 games in which she played this season and was a member on Team NPF.

Kellie Wilkerson also earned an outfield selection. The fifth-year NPF veteran led all hitters with a .407 average. The first baseman/outfielder was second in the league in hits with 46. Wilkerson posted an on-base percentage of 0.492, which was good for second place in the NPF. She was second on the Force in RBIs with 22 and her slugging percentage of .549 was the team's best. Wilkerson was a member of Team NPF



National Pro Fastpitch Stories from August 28, 2008


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