Syracuse softball’s Sydney O’Hara named NFCA third-team All-American

While the Syracuse Orange softball team failed to make the NCAA Tournament, the season wasn’t all a loss. On Tuesday, senior pitcher Sydney O’Hara was named a third-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

She’s the third player to ever earn the honor for Syracuse. Pitcher Jenna Caira was also a third-team All-American in 2012, while utility player Alexis Switenko was a second-team at-large All-American in 2006 (which... yeah, sounds fine).

O’Hara was also first-team All-ECAC, NFCA Mid-Atlantic first-team all-region and first-team All-ACC. She was a top-10 finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year.

So you SORT OF have to wonder how, if O’Hara was one of the 10 best players in the country, she was a member of the third-team, rather than the first, no?

On the season, she went 9-3, with a 1.86 ERA and struck out 128 batters. She hit .476, nine home runs, knocked in 42 runs and scored 37 runs herself. O’Hara set single-season marks at Syracuse for batting average (.476), slugging percentage (.833), on-base percentage (.626), walks (46), saves (6) and strikeouts per seven innings (12.6).

Additionally, she set career records with the Orange for on-base percentage (.454) and saves (13).

O’Hara finished the season with the NCAA’s top on-base percentage and second-highest batting average, while also placing in the top 20 for several other categories.

Congratulations to Sydney for a stellar career with Orange softball.