NCCU’s Mirabella Earns MEAC All-Tournament Recognition

By KEVIN BUCZEK

NCCU ASID

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — North Carolina Central University senior pitcher Courtney Mirabella was selected to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) All-Tournament Team for her outstanding play in the 2018 MEAC Softball Championship Tournament from May 9-12.

Mirabella posted three wins and a minuscule 1.06 ERA over the course of five postseason games. She held opponents of a .188 average while piling up 32 strikeouts over 33 innings of work.

The First Team All-MEAC honoree helped the Lady Eagles survive three elimination games with wins against Delaware State University (5-0), Savannah State University (1-0) and Hampton University (2-1).

Mirabella’s scoreless performances against the Hornets and Lady Tigers were her ninth and 10th shutouts of the season. Her ERA in the three victories was 0.00 before taking a loss to the defending champions Florida A&M University in her staggering fifth start in three days.

Offensively, Mirabella helped her own cause with four hits, including three of NCCU’s five postseason extra-base hits. She collected a pair of RBI doubles.

The Bradenton, Florida, ace surpassed the 300-strikeout milestone marker in Friday’s conquest of the Pirates. Mirabella’s 306 strikeouts on the season is a new NCCU all-time program record and possibly a league record (no other MEAC pitcher has that many strikeouts in a season since stats have been posted on the conference website going back to 2001).

Mirabella finished her final season with 18 wins, 1.66 ERA, 10 shutouts, .194 opponent batting average against and 306 strikeouts. All of those numbers are tops in the MEAC and are new NCCU Division I era records (since 2007-08).

NCCU finished its season at 20-26 overall, which is its first 20-win season at the DI ranks. The Lady Eagles posted their first winning league record of 8-7 since joining the MEAC in 2011-12 and their 3-2 run in the MEAC Tourney was good for a new best finish of third place.