May 15, 2003
Elizabeth Economon named First-Team All-America Shortstop by NFCA; Britni Buford and Economon Named First-Team All-Region
At a banquet held last night in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Softball World Series, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association named junior shortstop Elizabeth Economon (St. Louis/Notre Dame) a first-team all-America.
Economon advanced to the all-America ballot after earning first-team all-North Central region honors, along with senior pitcher Britni Buford (Kahoka, Mo./Clark County).
Economon becomes Truman's sixth first-team all-America, but is the Bulldogs' first two-time selection, after she also earned third-team status a year ago. She was also a first-team all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association choice in 2003, as well as repeating as the MIAA's MVP.
Economon led the league with a .414 batting average, an .803 slugging percentage, a .505 on base percentage, .291 home runs a game, 1.07 RBIs a game and .82 runs scored per game.
She set a new MIAA standard for single season RBIs (59), and tied the conference single-season (16) and career (33) home run records. Economon also broke the Truman career runs scored record, ending the season with 139 since joining the team in 2001.
Buford completed her career with the second-most wins in school history with 55 and ended the 2003 season with a 1.23 ERA to rank fifth in the MIAA. Among conference leaders, she also tied for fifth in victories (16) and was ninth in strikeouts per seventh innings (4.77). Buford was a second-team NFCA all-region pick last year and is a member of this year's first-team all-MIAA contingent, along with Economon.
Buford ends her career as a three-time all-MIAA pitcher after also earning honorable mention honors as a freshman and second-team status last season. Buford missed all but seven games her sophomore year after sustaining a hand injury.
As a freshman, she was third in the MIAA in winning percentage (.792) and ninth in ERA (1.79). She completed 19 games and was 19-5 for the year.
Her second season, though shortened, was successful as well. She led the MIAA with a 0.75 ERA and was named MIAA athlete of the week before her season was cut short.
In 2002, Buford led the team with a 1.54 ERA. She also hit .312 with two home runs, 24 hits and 18 RBIs.
For her career, Buford has posted the second-most appearances (85) in school history. Her 492.2 innings pitched is also fourth among Truman career leaders, while her 20 shutouts ranks fifth, her 68 starts ties for third all-time and her 322 strikeouts and 54 complete games are fourth all-time at Truman.