Trio of softballers named to All-SCIAC team

ORANGE – The Chapman University softball team had three players named to the All-SCIAC teams, including a pair of repeat honorees and one newcomer. Sophomore pitcher Natalie Both (First Team) and junior pitcher Cassie Oregel (Second Team) each earned their second straight All-SCIAC selections. Junior IF Taylor Cartwright earned All-SCIAC Second Team honors for the first time in her career.

Voters saw past Both's 10-11 pitching record this season and selected her to the first time after the Panthers' ace led the conference in strikeouts, fanning 173 batters on the year for a SCIAC best 8.18 strikeout per game. She went the distance in 17 out of 21 starts and in 148 innings posted a team-best 2.03 ERA, fourth lowest among starters in the SCIAC. Both was a tough-luck starter for Chapman this year, suffering four one-run extra-innings losses.

Oregel was an equally efficient starter for the Panthers, posting a 14-7 record and throwing complete games in 14 of her 20 starts. Her 14 wins were the third-most among SCIAC starting pitchers this year. In 118.2 innings pitches, Oregel pitched her way to a 2.36 ERA. Oregel struck out 103 batters – 6.1 strikeouts per game – ranking second in conference both categories.

Cartwright was a fixture at third base for the Panthers all year, starting all 42 games this season for Chapman, scoring 20 runs alongside 26 RBI and 16 walks. Her 26 RBI were the eighth-most among all hitters in the SCIAC this season. However, it was in SCIAC play that Cartwright did most of her damage. The third baseman hit .305 with two home runs, 18 RBI and had a .427 slugging percentage.

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was established in 1915. The league is currently comprised of nine private colleges and universities in Southern California: California Institute of Technology, California Lutheran University, Chapman University, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, University of La Verne, Occidental College, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, University of Redlands, and Whittier College. The conference recognizes outstanding athletic achievements of its student-athletes on a weekly and annual basis.

by Mitchell Eby
Sports Information Intern

All-SCIAC Softball Teams: http://www.thesciac.org/sports/sball/2013-14/releases/20140501yx4n9d

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