Chapman picks up six selections to All-Independent team

ORANGE, Calif. - Six Chapman University women's softball players have been named to the Association of Division III Independents All-Independent team. Freshman C Michelle Pitts was named to the first team while five of her teammates were named to the second team.

Juniors Katie Finley, Dani Brown and Melanie Villarroel, senior Erin Dudzinski and freshman Jojo Wakabayashi rounded out Chapman's honorees. The Panthers were third in the Association with six players selected, while two other schools had seven.

Pitts led the Panthers in batting (.346), slugging percentage (.469) and doubles (7) and was named the team's Rookie of the Year in 2009. The freshman committed just two errors behind the plate and threw out 33.3 percent (5-for-15) of potential basestealers.

Dudzinski, Chapman's centerfielder and leadoff batter, was named to the All-Independent team for the fourth consecutive year after batting .296 with seven doubles, 13 RBI and 13 stolen bases. She is Chapman's career leader in both doubles and stolen bases. Second baseman Villarroel earned the award for a third consecutive time, batting .302 with a team-high 17 RBI and stole six bases.

Finley led the Panthers in wins and strikeouts and earned second team honors for the second straight year. The right-hander was 6-6 with 85 strikeouts in 71 innings in 2009.

Meanwhile, Brown and Wakabayashi were named to the All-Independent team for the first time in their careers. Brown was Chapman's leader with four home runs and ranked second in doubles, RBI and slugging percentage while posting a .986 fielding percentage at first base. Wakabayashi, an outfielder, led the Panthers in on-base percentage (.453) and was second in batting and stolen bases.

The Association of Division III Independents consists of 17 Division III independent institutions that have joined together to recognize student-athletes at independent institutions, and to provide exempted postseason championship competition in nine sports in 2008-09. The Association recognizes outstanding athletic achievements of its student-athletes on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. For more information about the Association of Division III Independents is available at http://www.d3independents.org.