The Big West solidified its status as one of the top leagues in the region as the conference placed five players on the TPS/Louisville Slugger NFCA All-West Region teams it was announced today.
The league had two first team selections as Big West Pitcher and Freshman Pitcher of the Year Brooke Turner of Long Beach State and two-time first team All-Big West selection Kiki Munoz of Cal State Fullerton were honored.
The other three slots also went to first team All-Conference players as Cal Poly's Melissa Pura, UC Riverside's Marissa Alvidrez and Big West Field Player of the Year Tiffany Wright were named to the second team.
Turner had a historic season in her first go-round as a collegian, posting a 26-4 record to go along with a 0.67 ERA, 30 complete games in 32 starts,, 26 runs, 20 earned runs, 17 shutouts, 226 strikeouts and just 39 walks in 210.0 innings. She was voted the conference Pitcher of the Week on a Big West record eight occasions, was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week March 4 and ranks third in the NCAA in ERA and 21st in wins as of May 13. Turner also set numerous school records, including single-game strikeouts (16), strikeouts in a season (226), shutouts and tying the single-season wins mark.
Munoz was a key bat in the CSF lineup, leading the team in hitting (.406), hits (63), doubles (15), walks (21) and tying for the team lead in home runs (7). Among Big West hitters, Munoz ranks third in batting average, fourth in slugging percentage (.689), third in on-base percentage (.480), third in hits, tied for second in doubles and tied for fifth in homers.
Wright shook of a tough start to finish as one of the hottest players in the nation on the way to Field Player of the Year honors. The junior ranks fifth in the league in batting (.350), tops in runs scored (40), fourth in hits (62), fourth in RBI (40), tied for second in doubles (15) and second in home runs (12). During conference play, Wright was nearly impossible to get out, leading the Big West in batting (.487), hits (37), RBI (26), runs scored (23), home runs (9) and tying for the lead in doubles (8). The three-time Field Player of the Week was unstoppable in UCSB’s season-ending conference series against Cal State Fullerton, batting .692 (9-13) wih two home runs, eight RBI and four runs scored to help the Gauchos win a series against the Titans for the first time since 2004.
Pura was the headliner of the Mustang offense as she led the team in batting (.323), hits (40), home runs (6), RBI (22) and walks (22), while tying for the lead in triples (3) and ranking second in runs scored (25) in 46 games, all starts. The two-time first team All-Big West selection entered the season on the USA Today Player of the Year Watch List and is tied for eighth on the Big West's all-time homer list with 27 career jacks.
Alvidrez was a jack-of-all trades for the Highlander softball team this season, seeing action around the diamond and in the circle. Offensively, the sophomore is leads the league in batting (.424) and slugging (.722) and ranks second in hits (64), fifth in RBI (36), tied for sixth in doubles (12), third in home runs (11) and tied for fourth in walks (25). As a pitcher, Alvidrez posted a 3.67 ERA in 23 appearances with nine starts. In her 116.1 innings, she posted four complete games, struck out 55 and allowed 61 earned runs.