Florida State softball had 2 freshmen earn All-American honors and a forgotten 1 got snubbed due to injury

Florida State softball depended on several freshmen to play impactful roles this season, a trend that has become the norm under Coach Lonni Alameda over the past few years.

This sentiment was known going into the season, and most of the young players probably overdelivered on expectations.

It was great to see that two were recognized by D1Softball as Freshmen All-Americans on Thursday:

Florida State has a bevy of young players who could follow in the footsteps of the class of Isa Torres, Jaysoni Beachum, Kennedy Harp, and Ashtyn Danley.

These two players are well deserving, with Hinde hitting .344 with nine home runs and 43 RBI’s. She has some big hits over the course of the season, though her baserunning mistake against UCF in the Tallahassee Regional probably overshadows them now. Sturgis is a player I highlighted early in March because she wasn’t getting much recognition for her level of play.

In fact, she stepped into a role and played well when fellow freshman Marin Heller went down with a season-ending injury against Boston College. Heller is the freshman who likely got snubbed because of that injury.

Heller batted .353 with two home runs and 25 RBI’s. Heller had 15 doubles (tied for third on the team) and four triples (second on the team). She had an on-base percentage of .451 and tied for the team lead with 13 stolen bases with Isa Torres. She was also rock solid on defense at second base with a .983 fielding percentage.

Heller started all 48 games she played in, but saw her season end on the final play of the Georgia Tech game on April 24th, as she ran into a runner trying to field a ball at second base. Heller’s absence from the lineup was a big deal because she’s great at finding ways to get on base and can put pressure on teams once on the basepaths. It also allowed Sturgis to play in the outfield or wherever else she was needed.

Heller had surgery due to the injury, but should fully recover and be ready to roll next year. This trio of players should be a solid nucleus for the Florida State program in the years to come.  

Congrats to Anna and Makenna, but I would have expected Marin to receive this recognition as well.

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