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Four Wildcats Named to ESPN's Greatest All-Time Softball Team

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Four Wildcat alumnae -- Jenny Dalton, Jennie Finch, Caitlin Lowe and Leah O'Brien -- received recognition on ESPN's Greatest All-Time Softball Team, announced live on ESPNU on Tuesday evening.

Two teams were revealed during the televised version of the 7Innings Podcast, a fan-voted team as well as one selected by the hosts of the show. Four-time first-team All-American and current Wildcat associate head coach Caitlin Lowe was selected the centerfielder of both teams, one of three players to make both lists. Leah O'Brien (outfield) and Jennie Finch (pitcher) were picked by the fans at their respective positions while Jenny Dalton was selected as the second baseman by the 7Innings crew.

Arizona had three players on the fan team; no other team had more than one on the list. Arizona's two on the 7Innings team were the second most.

Lowe (2004-07) was a four-time first-team All-American and two-time national champion as a player at Arizona. The two-time all-WCWS performer is one of the best leadoff hitters and centerfielders in softball history. Lowe is second in Arizona history with a .446 career batting average, helped out by her .510 performance in 2005, one of three seasons over .500 in Arizona history. Lowe was the 2007 Senior CLASS Award winner, the 2005 Pac-10 Player of the Year, the 2004 Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year and the 2007 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.

Finch (1999-02) is one of the best two-way players in softball history, a dominant right-handed pitcher and a feared power hitter. Finch was a two-time National Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002. During that time, she won an NCAA-record 60 consecutive games, including a perfect 32-0 campaign in 2001, the best perfect season in NCAA history. She led the Wildcats to the 2001 NCAA title and was the WCWS Most Outsanding Player in the process. Finch was a three-time All-American and two-time Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year.

O'Brien (1993-95, 97) won three national titles in her Arizona career and was an all-WCWS performer during two of the title runs. O'Brien was a three-time first-team All-American in her Wildcat career. She hit .428 in her tenure, third best average in school history, and remains in the UA career top-10 in hits, runs scored, doubles, at-bats and fielding percentage. O'Brien, who would win three gold medals, the most of any Wildcat in school history, with USA Softball, was a state winner and national finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year.

Dalton (1993-96) is one of the best hitters this sport has ever seen. She remains the NCAA career record holder with 328 RBI in her four seasons; she also holds the NCAA records in runs scored in a career (293) and in a season (101 - 1995). Dalton was the National and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1996 when she accomplished the unthinkable - the Pac-10 Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average (.469), home runs (25) and RBI (109). Dalton helped lead Arizona to three NCAA titles in her storied career.
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