Kirby Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District® Team
7/1/2021 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Official Release
Academic All-District Teams
Liberty rising senior pitcher Emily Kirby has been named to the 2021 NCAA Division I CoSIDA Academic All-District® 3 Softball Team. The team was announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), earlier today.
As a result of her inclusion on the academic all-district team, Kirby will now appear on the ballot for the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division I Softball Team, with the winners being announced on July 29.
Kirby, a native of Greenville, N.C., currently holds a 3.54 cumulative GPA as a kinesiology: teacher's licensure major. She is the eighth Lady Flame to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, and first since Kenzie Friesen in 2017.
Kirby had a breakthrough season this year, her first season as a full-time starter. She was named the ASUN Pitcher of the Year and also appeared on the ASUN All-Tournament Team and ASUN All-Conference first team. Additionally, she earned inclusion on the NFCA All-Southeast Region third team.
The left-hander posted a 15-5 record, tying for 10th in the nation with nine shutouts. She led the ASUN in strikeouts per seven innings both overall (7.34) and in conference play (8.51). Her nine shutouts were the second most in a single season in program history, one shy of Julia DiMartino's (2018) program single-season record. A two-time ASUN Pitcher of the Week, she outdueled SEC Co-Pitcher of the Year Mary Haff in a 10-inning, five-hit shutout win over Arkansas on March 16. She struck out a career-high 15 batters on March 20 at Bellarmine.
From April 10 through April 28, she pitched 27 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. It was the seventh-longest shutout streak in program history. That was also one out of three scoreless innings streaks of 15 innings or longer for Kirby this season.
Liberty earned its first Top 25 national ranking this season, and finished the year ranked No. 25 in three major Top 25 polls.
The Lady Flames finished the 2021 season with a 44-15 record, including 16-2 in ASUN North Division play. Liberty, the No. 1 seed in the North Division, claimed its fourth conference tournament title by capturing the ASUN Softball Championship with a 5-4 win over Kennesaw State on May 15.
Competing in the NCAA Softball Championship for the fourth time, Liberty made its second appearance in a Regional final. The Lady Flames served as the No. 2 seed for the Knoxville Regional, eliminating Eastern Kentucky and the host No. 9 national seed Tennessee Lady Vols. Liberty fell to eventual Women's College World Series semifinalist James Madison twice at the Regional.
Kirby killin' it on and off the mound ?? pic.twitter.com/sL4QkRYJNP
— Liberty Softball (@LibertySB) July 1, 2021
