Marshall, TX –Russell Sage College's softball outfielder Arianna Papas (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) was named the 2023 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Third Team in conjunction with the NCAA Division III College Softball World Series and the pre-championship banquet on Wednesday night. The award is the first for Papas, who had a tremendous campaign in 2023.
Link to video release of the team
RSC Head Softball Coach Erica Li commented, "Congratulations Ari!" She added, "Being named to an All-American team is a tremendous accomplishment and is so well deserved. Her three seasons as a Gator were remarkable. She constantly pushed herself to elevate her level of play, as well as those around her. She is leaving as one of the best in our program's history and this accolade is a perfect ending to her career!"
The graduate player added three straight selections to the NFCA All-Region First Team, having earned acclaim in 2021, 2022, and 2023. She also became the first Gator softball player to earn back-to-back citations from the Empire 8 as the Softball Player of the Year. Papas is the second RSC softball player to earn All-America status after Morgan Dunn was saluted by the NFCA in 2016.
Papas, the Gators' centerfielder, added 160 career hits, with 40 career doubles, 12 triples, and 14 home runs. Also voted the 2022 Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year, she also earned first-team All-E8 honors and also tapped as the E8 Conference Player of the Week on two occasions last year and also saluted this spring twice. She was also named to the 2023 Empire 8 First Team and capped her career after also leading the Gators to the 2023 Empire 8 Softball Championship game, as the team finished as the runner-up and she was also saluted with a selection to the All-Tournament Team.
On the 2023 season, she led the Gators with her.467 batting average, while connecting for a team-best 64 hits on 17 doubles, with five triples and six home runs. She also added a team-leading 36 RBI's with 109 total bases and a .796 slugging percentage having also swiped 12 stolen bases on 14 attempts. As of May 15, she is Empire 8 leader in batting average, runs scored, doubles, OPS (1.400), on-base percentage (.526) and was second in triples, doubles and fourth in home runs.
She was also named to the NFCA Watch List for Division III this spring. A starter in all 41 games in 2023, she added 18 multiple-hit games and tied the single-season hit record (64) as well. She caps her time in a Gator uniform having batted a career-best .488 in 100 career games played (No. 31). Her 328 career at-bats is 12th best, while her 160 career hits is sixth highest. She added 40 doubles, which is tied for fifth best, while her 12 career triples is second best. Her 14 career homeruns is fifth best and her 107 career runs scored is fourth highest. She drove in 82 runs (No. 10), drew 31 walks (No. 16), and had 21 stolen bases (No. 12).
For the 2023 Empire 8 Tournament, she batted .471 with eight hits, including two doubles and a triple. She added a .706 slugging percentage with 12 total bases.
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