Although it was a shortened season due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there’s several accolades that Texas softball should be proud of.
Not only did the Longhorns finish as the No. 1 team in the nation, they also featured the National Player of the Year. According to Softball America, senior pitcher Miranda Elish was the most dominant player both on the mound and at the plate in 2020.
🚨 NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR ALERT 🚨
Texas senior pitcher @elish_miranda has just been named the @SoftbalAmerica 2020 Shortened Season National Player of the Year!
She went 11-3 with a 1.25 ERA, her second career perfect game and hit .370 overall with four HR's & 19 RBIs. pic.twitter.com/rMdOm9ZiWz
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) April 8, 2020
Throughout the first weekend of the year, Elish exploded at the plate with four home runs and 17 RBI’s within six games. She finished the season with a .370 batting average including seven doubles, four home runs and 19 RBI’s in 23 games played.
In the circle, Elish served as the Longhorn’s ace. Her most impressive accomplishments were tossing a perfect game against New Mexico and being the only pitcher to defeat highly-ranked UCLA.
Elish had a 1.25 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 84 innings of play. Her 11 wins were the most of any pitcher in the Big 12.
Fortunately for Texas, Elish has decided to return for the 2021 season to pick up where she left off.