BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech Athletics Department retired the number of former Hokie softball player Angela Tincher in a ceremony on September 13 on Worsham Field before the football game against Georgia Tech, making her just the third female athlete in school history to have the honor bestowed upon her.

Click HERE to read the complete story on the Virginia Tech Website. ASA President Elect Andy Dooley of Bedford, Va. presented the trophy to Tincher during pre-game ceremonies.
In June, Tincher was honored by the Amateur Softball Association as the 2008 National Collegiate Player of the Year.

The USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award, in its seventh year, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by NCAA Division I collegiate softball players across the country.

The 2008 ACC Pitcher of the Year, Tincher has put her mark in the NCAA record books this season. At No. 3 for most NCAA career strikeouts (2,121), the senior hurler is currently leading the nation in ERA at 0.62 behind former Player of the Year’s Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman. With 651 strikeouts this season in 329.0 innings pitched, she also leads the nation with 14.0 strikeouts per seven innings.

With a 38-8 record, Tincher has led the Hokies to its first-ever Women’s College World Series appearance. She has 37 double-digit strikeout performances this season and four no-hitters. She picked up her 100th career win at NC State on March 22 and became the ACC’s all-time leader in victories on April 16. On March 26, 2008, she made softball history with a no-hit 1-0 shutout against the USA Softball Women’s National team. Tincher has not only excelled on the field but off as she had made the Dean’s List every semester of College. She recently graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in finance, insurance and business law with a 3.84 GPA.

The three finalists for the 2008 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Awardincluding Tincher wereUniversity of Tennessee senior Tonya Callahanand Texas A&M Senior Megan Gibson.
A replica of the award will be placed in a permanent display in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with photos of the winner. An additional replica of the award will be presented to the player’s academic institution at a designated event in the fall.

Abbott won the 2007 award days before she led the Tennessee Lady Vols to its first-ever WCWS best-of-three Championship series.Osterman of the University of Texas became the first three-time winner of the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award in 2006 after leading her Longhorns to the Big 12 regular season title and a berth into the NCAA Women’s College World Series. Past winners of the award include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA-2002), Osterman (Texas-2003, 2005, 2006) and Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State-2004).