LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Saginaw Valley State University pitchers Macy Irelan and Aalana Kimble were named third-team All-America by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday night at the NCAA Division II Championship banquet at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. They are the first Cardinal softball players to be named All-America since 2018, and it is the first time in program history that SVSU has two student-athletes earn an All-America honor in the same season.
Irelan has had a dominant debut season with SVSU. She was named First-Team All-Region by the NFCA and the D2CCA. Before that, she was crowned the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All-GLIAC selection after the regular season. She is the second consecutive Cardinal to earn conference pitcher of the year and the third Cardinal pitcher overall to receive the honor. She is 22-3 in the circle this season with one save and a team-high 233 strikeouts. Her WHIP of 0.75 ranks third in all of D2, as does her hits allowed per seven innings of 3.64, and her strikeouts-per-seven innings is currently fifth at 10.0.
Irelan became the first Cardinal pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a single season. Her first came in her 15th start against Parkside, where she was two walks shy of a perfect game in that contest while striking out seven. The second no-hitter happened just two starts later against Davenport. Irelan was three walks from a perfect game in that game. The junior from Owosso, Michigan, set a career-high for strikeouts in a game against Findlay with 17, and she has recorded double-digit strikeouts 10 times this season.
"Macy is a dominant pitcher, a tremendous competitor, and a leader on our team. Her numbers speak for themselves, being top in the country in several pitching statistics. She has been consistent for us in the circle all year long and is a huge part of our success," said Schalk.
Kimble improved on nearly every single stat category inside the circle this season. She holds a 20-6 record with one save and 15 complete games. She has pitched 150.1 innings and struck out 118 hitters with a 5.49 K/7, an ERA of 2.61, and a WHIP that improved to 1.06. Kimble has pitched in big moments this season, including the championship game of the GLIAC Tournament, where she went the distance in a shutout win over the Parkside Rangers. She followed that up with a 4-0 win over Ferris State in the opening game of the Midwest Regional last week. Kimble went 6.2 innings without allowing a hit and struck out nine Bulldogs to earn her 20th victory of the season.
At the plate, Kimble has recorded two or more hits 24 times, including three-hit showings six times, with the most recent being the 4-0 win over Ferris last week, where she also almost pitched a no-hitter. She leads the Cardinals in hits with 72, triples with seven, and runs scored at 45. Kimble sparked SVSU with her first career home run in game three against UIndy in the super regional that trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the Cardinals' 6-5 comeback win over the Greyhounds.
"Aalana has taken a big step forward this year in the circle. She can be impossible to hit at times with her location and movement from the left side," said Schalk. "On top of that, she is one of the top offensive players in the conference as well. She is always on base, doesn't strike out, and scores a ton of runs for us."
The NFCA All-America teams are voted on by the Association's All-America Committees. In Division II, the committee is comprised of one member head coach from each of the NCAA's eight regions. All student-athletes who were nominated by a member head coach and voted to the first- or second-team All-Region squads were eligible for All-America consideration.
Saginaw Valley State will face North Georgia in the NCAA DII Softball Championship tomorrow, May 22, at 1:30 p.m. ET.