Softball picked to top SCIAC standings in 2023

ORANGE, Calif. – The defending SCIAC Tournament champions have been picked to top the 2023 SCIAC standings in a preseason poll of the conference. The Chapman University softball team received six of the eight first place votes to top the poll.

SCIAC Pitcher of the Year and All-Region selection Jillian Kelly returns to the circle at El Camino Real Park to lead the Panthers into 2023. Kelly threw a no-hitter in her collegiate debut and went on to an impressive freshman season with a 1.99 ERA and 147 strikeouts.

Fellow sophomore Ilianna Serna will be back at the hot corner for Chapman after a rookie season that ended with All-Region honors. The Panther third baseman hit .420 as a freshman with 19 RBIs and struck out just four times in 112 at bats.

Around the infield, the Panthers also return Grace Fosselman and Gracie Rose. Rose was off to a hot start in 2022, hitting .475 through the first 14 games before suffering a season-ending injury. Fosselman took over at short after Rose's injury, hitting a double and a triple with a .230 batting average in 34 games.

Two-thirds of the Chapman outfield graduated but sophomore Morgan Lastinger returns to the lineup alongside fellow sophomore Miranda Murphy and Samantha Kennedy. Kennedy earned All-SCIAC honors as a freshman designated player in 2022 after hitting .293. Murphy took MVP honors of the SCIAC Tournament after two game-winning hits fueled the Panthers' championship run. She hit .352 in her freshman season, scoring 17 times.

Simi Lauwers joins Kelly as part of the 1-2 punch that led the Panthers in the circle in 2022. She struck out 65 batters with a 2.76 ERA in 104 innings last season. She's joined on the team by her sister Anjali Lauwers – the third Lauwers sister to come through the Chapman softball program.

Chapman's lone senior is Emily Hayes, who returns to her spot behind the plate. She caught the Panthers dominant pitching staff last year while hitting .273 and catching three runners trying to steal a base in 25 games.

In total, the Panthers bring back 16 players from last year's championship team that finished second in the conference standings before winning the tournament and making the program's first NCAA Regional appearance since 2008. The championship experienced squad will pair with a strong class of nine freshman with the goal of climbing to the top of the SCIAC once again.

Chapman opens up the season on Sunday at noon with a doubleheader against Westcliff.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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