Troy senior Libby Baker captures Gold Glove Award

Published 9:20 am Thursday, May 30, 2024

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On Wednesday, Troy senior softball player Libby Baker was one of nine recipients of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

Baker becomes not only the first Trojan to ever win the prestigious national award, but she’s also the first Sun Belt player to ever capture the award and just the fourth player from a non-Power Five school to ever win it.

The Gold Glove Award is presented annually to the nation’s top defenders. Baker, a Skipperville native, is one of just two players in the Sun Belt this season with at least 135 defensive attempts with zero errors.

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Along with holding a perfect fielding percentage, she tallied 104 putouts, 59 assists and four double plays. As a pitcher, she earned a 15-12 record in the circle with a 3.54 ERA and 58 strikeouts. On the offensive end, she earned a career-high .341 batting average with six doubles, a career-high 13 home runs, a career-high 48 RBIs and 25 runs.

Along with Baker, the other recipients of the award were Florida catcher Jocelyn Ericksen, Cal State-Fullerton first baseman Peyton Toto, Georgia second baseman Sydney Kuma, Texas Tech third baseman Riley Love, Oregon shortstop Paige Sinicki, Arizona leftfielder Dakota Kennedy, Florida centerfielder Kendra Falby and Cal State-Fullerton rightfielder Kate Verhoef.