Ricketts leaves imprint at UH

Stephanie Ricketts’ impact on the University of Hawaii softball program was already evident throughout its record book. Her name will soon be part of the landscape at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium as well.

UH players named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America teams are recognized on a sign posted on the left-field fence. Ricketts will join that list after being named an NFCA second-team All-American on Wednesday.

“We go out there for practice and I’ve seen those names for four years,” Ricketts said. “It’s never really been, ‘I really need to have my name up there.’ But I feel like when I come back and watch the girls playing, it’s going to be cool to see my name out there.

“I know there’s a bunch of girls on the team right now who want to get it in the future, and probably will, so I think they’re going to have to make a bigger board.”

For now, Ricketts is just the 10th UH player to be named an NFCA All-American. She is one of three pitchers on the second team.

Ricketts went 28-6 in her senior season while throwing 10 shutouts, including two no-hitters. She held opponents to a .191 batting average and finished with a career-best 1.49 earned-run average.

She went 12-1 with a 1.07 ERA in Western Athletic Conference play while helping UH claim the league’s regular-season championship and was named WAC pitcher of the year for the third consecutive season.

She holds most of the program’s career pitching records, including wins (102), strikeouts (818), shutouts (33) and innings pitched (9381⁄3).

Ricketts returned home to San Jose, Calif., after UH was eliminated from the NCAA regional in Tucson, Ariz., and will be back in Hawaii in the fall when she enters the school’s nursing program.

But before getting back into the classroom in August, she’s planning on playing professional softball in Italy this summer.

She was a second-round draft pitch by the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch, but opted to try playing in Europe.

“Since my nursing school goes through the next two summers, this is my last softball thing I’m doing, so it was a really tough decision,” she said.

“It should be fun. I’m excited.”

The Ricketts family filled two of the six pitching spots on the first and second teams. Oklahoma ace Keilani Ricketts, Stephanie’s younger sister, was named to the first team.

Stephanie said she’s hoping to make it to Oklahoma City to see Keilani play in the Women’s College World Series before leaving for Italy. The WCWS opens today.

“She put me on the pass list, so I’d better try to make it,” she said.