As the accolades begin to pile up for the pitching staff of Mississippi State’s softball team, one of the Bulldogs’ hurlers earned an honor the team hasn’t seen since 2002.
In the midst of the Bulldogs’ run to the NCAA Super Regionals, pitcher Peja Goold was named a Second Team All-American selection by Softball America on Tuesday. Goold, who was also tabbed as a Second Team All-SEC selection, becomes the program’s 33rd All-American and first Bulldog hurler to make the team since Kellie Wilkerson did it 24 years ago.
The honor doesn’t come as much of a surprise for Goold, who has been a standout ace for the Bulldogs all season and has produced some of the best numbers in the country from the circle. Goold, a second-round selection by the Oklahoma City Spark in the AUSL Draft, has a 2.12 ERA through 148.1 innings with 178 strikeouts. She’s held opposing batters to just a .177 batting average and ranks fourth nationally with eight shutouts. In just one year with the program, the Stockton, Ca., native entered State’s top-10 list for career shutouts, strikeouts per seven innings and total strikeouts and was named the SEC’s Newcomer of the Year by USA Today Sports.
Goold and the No. 20 Bulldogs are coming off a three-win sweep in the Eugene Regional and will battle No. 4 Oklahoma this weekend in the Norman Super Regional for a berth in the Women’s College World Series. The series begins Friday at noon and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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