HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – With the close of the most unique season in program history, the Alabama A&M Sports Information Office is counting down the Top-10 stories of the 2020-21 season throughout the summer. Today, we continue with the No. 8 story of the season – Softball's Coe Bursts Onto The Scene With Award Winning Season.
 
Make sure to check www.AAMUSports.com every Friday to catch the latest release.
 
Story No. 8: Softball's Coe Bursts Onto The Scene With Award Winning Season
Freshman pitcher Esperanza Coe (Beaumont, Calif.) helped fuel Alabama A&M softball in 2021 as she established herself as one of the dominant players in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in just her first collegiate season.
 
A dual threat, Coe ­­finished tied for the league lead with five homeruns and drove in 17 RBIs at the plate while going 9-9 in the circle with a 3.88 ERA in 121 innings pitched. She also struck out 86 while allowing just 28 walks.
 
It would be performances like that that earned her five SWAC weekly awards, including Pitcher of the Week on March 25 and Player of the Week on April 1 and April 24. She would sweep both honors on April 7.
 
Those would be a precursor to Coe making history and joining a select group when the league's postseason honors were announced on May 10. She would become the first Bulldog on record in the NCAA Division I Era in program history to earn a pair of All-Conference honors in the same season, and both First-Team at that.
 
On top of that, she became just the second Freshman of the Year in team history and first in 15 years, joining Re'Quincia Mack. Coe also was the first pitcher to be selected to the First-Team since Anita Brit in 2015 and the first designated player ever during the DI era.
 
The Schedule
Every Friday throughout the Summer and leading up to the 2021-22 preseason, the SID Office will release the list one at a time beginning with the No. 10 story on June 4. The No. 1 story in Alabama A&M Athletics, as chosen by the Sports Information Office, will be released on Friday, August 6.
 
Countdown to the Top-10 Alabama A&M Athletics Stories from 2020-21
No. 1 – Coming August 6
No. 2 – Coming July 30
No. 3 – Coming July 23
No. 4 – Coming July 16
No. 5 – Coming July 9
No. 6 – Coming July 2
No. 7 – Coming June 25
No. 8 – Softball's Coe Bursts Onto The Scene With Award Winning Season (June 18)
No. 9 – Women's Soccer Produces Record-Setting Defensive Effort In Spring Campaign (June 11)
No. 10 – Baseball Delivers DI Era Record-Tying Seven-Game Win Streak (June 4)
Honorable Mention (June 2)