Buena High School graduate Brianna Hardy, now of Phoenix College, is our Female Athlete of the Month after being selected the NFCA NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year on June 6 and the NJCAA Female Student Athlete of the Year on June 17.
Hardy earned these lofty honors after leading Phoenix College to the 2021 NJCAA Division II softball championship title in May.
The Bears put together an incredible seventh-inning comeback against Jones (Miss.), scoring three runs with two outs to take the lead and clinch the title. Hardy pitched the full seven innings in the national final game, leaving the circle with eight strikeouts. Hardy earned Most Valuable Player honors at the national tournament.
During the regular season, the sophomore earned 32 wins and one save throughout Phoenix’s 45-game schedule.
Hardy led the NJCAA in six major pitching categories including wins (32), complete games (27), shutouts (14), strikeouts (325), strikeouts per game (12.10), and earned run average (1.08).
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH HONORS
January 2021: Ironwood Ridge golfer Celia Schrecker
February 2021: Tucson High grad, Arizona diver Delaney Schnell
March 2021: Sahuaro basketball player Alyssa Brown
April 2021: Salpointe softball player Alyssa Aguilar
May 2021: Sabino track athlete Eva Bruce
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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