This Week in WAC Softball - Season Wrap Up
This Week in WAC Softball - Season Wrap Up
Complete Release in PDF
NM STATE GOES 0-2 AT TEMPE REGIONAL
NM State fell 2-0 to eighth-seeded Arizona State and 9-0 in five innings to Long Beach State at the Tempe Regional of the NCAA Championship to close out the season 29-24.
Against the Sun Devils, NM State's starting pitcher Analise De La Roca hit trouble early when the freshman allowed a walk and a bunt single to ASU to start the game. A double through the right side left the Aggies behind 2-0 after the first inning. Despite De La Roca pitching three scoreless innings following the opening frame, NM State was unable to connect offensively. Following a scoreless sixth, WAC Player of the Year Kelsey Horton broke up the ASU no-hitter with a single off the left field wall and Fahren Glackin followed with a single of her own. After Victoria Castro drew a walk, the Aggies had the bases loaded with one out. However, the rally fell short when the Sun Devils turned a double play to end the inning and secure the victory.
Things got out of hand very quickly for the Aggies against the 49ers, as Long Beach plated eight runs on five hits and two errors in the top of the first inning. The 49ers added another run in the top of the fifth on an RBI double for the final score. The Aggies had four hits on the game – one apiece by Horton, Nikki Butler, Amy Bergeson and Shelby Shultes.
UTAH VALLEY GOES 0-2 IN NATIONAL INVITATIONAL SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Utah Valley fell 14-7 to Weber State and 7-5 to Nevada in the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) to finish the season 21-31. Skylar Cook and Basia Query were named to the all-tournament team after batting .571 and .429, respectively, over the two games.
Against Weber State, five errors proved costly for the Wolverines with eight of the Wildcats' runs coming in unearned. Brianna Moeller, Kaylee Bott and Madison Sisco each had two-hit days with Linnah Rebolledo and Query driving in two runs apiece.
In the loss to the Wolf Pack, a late Wolverine rally fell short. Trailing 7-3 entering the final inning, Cook reached on her third hit before Lyndsay Steverson hit her 11th home run of the season over the wall in left-center for the final score. Cook led the Wolverines with three hits, scored two runs and added her third stolen base of the tournament, capping her season a perfect 28-for-28. Steverson was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs.
SIX WAC SOFTBALL PLAYERS EARN NFCA ALL-REGION HONORS
Six WAC softball players earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors. NM State's Kelsey Horton and Seattle U's Madison Cathcart earned first team honors, GCU's Niki Gonzalezand Sierra Smith earned second team honors and the Lopes' Brianna Aguilar-Beaucage Utah Valley's Makayla Shadle were named to the third team.
Cathcart, a first team All-WAC selection, led the league in batting average (.444), slugging percentage (.954), on base percentage (.596) and doubles (20). She is a two-time WAC Hitter of the Week this season.
Horton, the 2018 WAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, led the Aggies to both the WAC regular-season and tournament titles. She heads into the NCAA Regionals hitting .402 with an NCAA-best 25 home runs, 11 doubles and 64 RBIs.
Gonzalez, a second team All-WAC honoree, hit .363 for the Lopes with 18 doubles and 13 home runs. She was named WAC Hitter of the Week once this season.
Smith led GCU with a .392 average to go along with 17 doubles, five triples and six home runs. She was named WAC Hitter of the Week one time this season.
Aguilar-Beaucage, a second team All-WAC selection, posted a 3.62 ERA over 168.1 innings with 78 strikeouts for the Lopes. She was a three-time WAC Pitcher of the Week this season.
Shadle, the WAC Pitcher of the Year, led the WAC in ERA (1.26) in WAC play, allowing just eight earned runs over 44.1 innings pitched. Overall on the season, she struck out 83 batters.
A total of 389 players representing 164 different institutions comprise this season's regional teams. The all-region teams were voted on by NFCA member coaches from each respective region.
GRAND CANYON'S GOMEZ NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN®
Grand Canyon outfielder Laynee Gomez was selected to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division I softball team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). She was one of three outfielders named to the second team.
Gomez, who finished her undergraduate degree in secondary education in December with a perfect 4.00 grade-point average, is working on a master's degree in mental health and wellness.
Gomez finished the season with a .346 batting average, 64 hits and 35 runs. A first team All-WAC selection, in league play she ranked third in the WAC in batting average (.442) and hits per game (1.36), fourth in both hits (19) and doubles (4) and sixth in on-base percentage (.467).
NM STATE WINS SECOND-STRAIGHT WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE
NM State won its second-straight and fourth overall WAC Tournament with a 3-0 record. The top-seeded Aggies run-ruled Grand Canyon 10-2 in six innings in their first game, beat Kansas City 14-3 in their second game and defeated the Lopes 9-7 in the championship game.
Kelsey Horton was named WAC Tournament MVP after batting .636 (7-of-11) with one double and three home runs. For the tournament, she slugged 1.545 and had a .692 on-base percentage as she was intentionally walked twice. Joining Horton on the all-tournament team were teammates Nikki Butler, Kennedy Johnson and Rachel Rodriguez.
All-Tournament Team
Brianna Aguilar-Beaucage, Grand Canyon
Bianca Boling, Grand Canyon
Kaylee Bott, Utah Valley
Nikki Butler, NM State
Madison Cathcart, Seattle U
Olivia Fluehr, Kansas City
Kendsey Hill, Grand Canyon
Kelsey Horton, NM State (MVP)
Kennedy Johnson, NM State
Rachel Rodriguez, NM State
Sierra Smith, Grand Canyon