IRVING, Texas—After becoming WKU softball's first-ever NFCA All-American, Miranda Kramer continues to make her mark on Hilltopper Athletics, being named the Conference USA Female Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Wednesday.
The senior's extraordinary season on The Hill saw Kramer lead the nation with 439 strikeouts, 12.6 strikeouts per seven innings and 2.88 hits allowed per seven innings. The strikeout slinger appeared in 38 games, throwing double-digit strikeouts in 29 of those contests while notching WKU's first-ever perfect game and three no-hitters. Kramer's 13 shutouts were second in Division I while her 1.24 ERA placed her sixth in the nation, leading her to a 26-10 record.
Named the C-USA Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year, Kramer guided the Lady Toppers to a C-USA regular-season and championship crown, recording 180 strikeouts against league opponents, the most in C-USA history. The Iowa native tabbed 11 wins in conference games while having a miniscule 0.68 ERA and a .111 opponent batting average to go with 14 runs allowed in 102.2 innings pitched.
The lefty knocked out three top-25 opponents during her stellar campaign, including No. 19 Nebraska, No. 16 Georgia and No. 14 Tennessee, a 2015 Women's College World Series participant. Hitting double-digit strikeouts in each of those wins, Kramer also handed Georgia and No. 17 Kentucky the most strikeouts in a single game in each of the respective program's history, tying her career high with 19 against the Bulldogs and sitting down 18 against the Wildcats.
Kramer solidified her name in numerous record books throughout the course of her senior year. Her program-high 439 strikeouts are second in C-USA history while her .123 opponent batting average is another program best and second in league rankings. Kramer earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week a record-setting eight times while she was awarded national weekly honors three times.
