Freshmen duo selected to NFCA All-Region Teams

ORANGE, Calif. – The dynamic freshmen duo of Jillian Kelly and Ilianna Serna have both been selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's All-Region X teams. Kelly was selected to the Second Team and Serna was on the Third Team.

Kelly, the SCIAC Pitcher of the Year from Woodland Hills, Calif., posted a dominant freshman season and led the Panthers in the circle. She struck out 147 batters – the fifth-most in Chapman's Division III history – and finished the season with a 1.99 ERA. She owned a 14-6 record and tied the school record with three saves.

Kelly's stellar rookie campaign began with 10 consecutive victories and included 11 games with at least seven strikeouts. She recorded 12 strikeouts twice this season in wins over Rochester and Puget Sound.

Serna led the Panthers hitting .420 in her freshman season. She was an All-SCIAC selection at third base. In the middle of the order for the Panthers, she drove in 19 RBIs and delivered in the clutch situations. She hit the walkoff single to defeat DePauw in extra innings and opened up the scoring with an RBI-single in the SCIAC championship game.

The Placentia, Calif., native had three different hitting streaks of at least eight games, including a season-high 11-game hit streak from Mar. 12 to Apr.15. She had 12 multiple-hit games to lead the Panthers.

With the two freshman helping to lead the way, Chapman won its first-ever SCIAC Tournament title and won its way back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. The Panthers' season ended at Texas Lutheran in the NCAA Regional with a 28-14 overall record.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChpmanSports