Morgan Perry Secures First-Team All-America Honors to Highlight Honorees
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Saint Anselm's Morgan Perry, Adelphi's Ally Muller and Ava Fitzmaurice from New Haven have been selected as All-Americans as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Overall, the NFCA selects a First, Second and Third Team in its All-America program for a total of 54 selections. Perry became the first player in Saint Anslem history to earn First-Team All-America honors, while Muller is the first Panther pitcher to be named an All-American since 1988. Fitzmaurice was a Third-Team selection and the first Charger to secure All-America recognition since two-time honoree Christa Gelardi in 2013.
A two-time D2CCA East Region Pitcher of the Year, Perry leads the NE10 with an 0.63 earned-run average and a dominant 19-1 record. Logging 18 complete games, Perry has fired 12 shutouts, registered two no-hitters and tallied the program's first-ever perfect game, doing so as a senior. She leads all NCAA Division II pitchers by averaging 12.2 strikeouts per seven innings, ranking in the top-10 nationally with 215 strikeouts. Additionally, Perry's mark of 3.81 hits allowed per seven innings is ranked fourth nationally.
In the NE10 Tournament, Perry yielded just three runs and struck out 27 batters to help Saint Anselm win its second NE10 postseason championship. Due to her effort in that tournament, Perry was named to the All-Tournament Team shortly after earning NE10 Northeast Division Pitcher of the Year. Perry also helped the Hawks capture the team's second NCAA Division II East Region Championship (2018, 2021) on Saturday. Saint Anselm heads to the NCAA Division II National Championship where they will face West Chester in the opening game on Thursday.
Muller earned Southwest Division Pitcher of the Year honors earlier this season and led Adelphi to the NE10 Championship Series. She was also named to the East Region First Team as a pitcher after leading Adelphi to its ninth-straight NCAA regional tournament appearance, backed by a regular-season record of 15-2 with 11 consecutive shutouts.
She ranks 20th in NCAA Division II with a 1.28 ERA and 17th in strikeouts with 178. Her 178 K's are second in the NE10 while she ranks third in wins with 17 and fifth in ERA. Muller has cracked Adelphi's Top 10 single-season leaderboard in both categories, and with her 13 shutouts, she is the first Panther to throw more than 10 in a single season since Kristen Peterson in 1988.
Fitzmaurice closed out the 2021 season ranked among the top-10 nationally in earned run average, leading the NE10 in overall wins and top-four in the league in batting average, Fitzmaurice tops the Blue and Gold on both sides of the ball. She capped off her junior campaign with a 1.05 earned run average, a 21-5 overall record and a .371 batting average, all of which led the Chargers.
At the plate, the righty collected 43 total hits across 116 at bats with 13 of those hits going for extra bases on seven doubles, a triple and a team-best five home runs. In the circle, Fitzmaurice threw just shy of 180 innings across 32 appearances, including 21 complete game starts. In addition to her conference-best 21 wins, she also had five saves which also led the league. Overall, she surrendered 42 total runs, 27 of which were earned, while she struck out a career-high 98 batters and walked just 19.
ABOUT THE NE10
In its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
