By Cody Porter

UK Softball assistant coach and former All-America shortstop Molly Johnson was one of 12 athletes selected to the 2012 USA Softball Women’s National Team on Wednesday.

Johnson, now a three-time selection to the Women’s National Team, started for Team USA in 11 of their 13 games in 2011.

Throughout the course of those 11 games Johnson batted 15-for-30 (.500), scoring nine runs and 10 RBIs.

Her performance at the Pan Am Games in October in Guadalajara, Mexico helped lead Team USA to a gold medal. There she posted a .706 batting average while batting 12-for-17, including four doubles and eight RBIs.

In addition to Johnson’s offensive contribution, her seven starts at shortstop aided the pitching staff with 10 defensive assists and a pair of putouts.

The 2012 schedule will send the USA Softball Women’s National Team to compete at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City, the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International Championship in Surrey, B.C., Canada, and then to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada where they will compete in the World Championship. Additional events may be added to the team schedules at a later date.