May 13, 2014

WCC Softball All-Conference Team

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -The USD Softball team had six players earn WCC All-Conference honors, the conference office announced Tuesday. Senior Cassidy Coleman was named WCC Pitcher of the Year and she was joined on the first team by senior shortstop Kylie Ordos and junior first baseman Caitlin Rooney. Senior centerfielder Dana Prelsnik, senior pitcher Jenny Lahitte, and junior third baseman Chloe Kaneko were named to the second team. The Toreros' six all-conference selections were the second most in the WCC, trailing only conference champion BYU, which had seven.

Coleman won a career-high 14 games, posted a 2.30 ERA, and struck out 195 batters, which is good for third-most in school history. On April 4, she tossed a no-hitter against eventual conference champion BYU in USD's 4-0 win. Coleman held opposing hitters to a .195 average and was named WCC Pitcher of the Week three times. Coleman, along with Jenny Lahitte, helped the Toreros' post a WCC best 2.27 team ERA.

Ordos had the best year of her four year career, hitting .340 in WCC play and .290 overall while playing exceptional defense at shortstop. She tied for the team-lead with eight doubles and was third on the team with a .412 slugging percentage.

Rooney, who was an All-PCSC second team selection last year, came on strong at the end of the season. In WCC games she led the team in average (.375) and on-base percentage (.423) and was second in hits (18), total bases (23), and slugging percentage (.479). Rooney finished the season without committing an error at first base, becoming just the third USD player ever to post a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage (minimum 75 chances). Entering her senior season, she has the best career fielding percentage in school history.

Lahitte (10-10) led the Toreros with a 2.16 ERA and struck out 137 batters in 132.2 innings. She posted a miniscule 1.12 ERA in WCC games. She has led the team in ERA in three of her four seasons, and her career ERA of 1.97 is good for third-best in school history.

Prelsnik, the reigning WCC Player of the Week, led the team in hits (47), runs scored (34), and total bases (63). She hit .328 in WCC play with a team-high .483 slugging percentage. Prelsnik also posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in centerfield. She has started every game of her USD career and was named to the All-PCSC second team in 2011. Prelsnik, Ordos, and Rooney started all 47 games for the Toreros.

Kaneko was second on the team with a .316 batting average and had a team-best .436 slugging percentage. She also finished tied for second in RBI with 20 and had the second-most hits (42) on the team. Kaneko was especially efficient in clutch situations; she hit .356 with runners on base and .391 with runners in scoring position.

Four of the Toreros' five seniors were All-WCC selections. This group won 100 games over their four years at USD, the most of any recruiting class under Coach Melissa McElvain.