NINE SOFTBALL PLAYERS RECEIVE CONFERENCE ACCOLADES

5/17/2010

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nine members of the Sacramento State softball squad were named to the Pacific Coast Softball Conference’s all-Coastal Division team today, including three first teamers, four second teamers and two that were named honorable mention. The 12-team conference is split into two divisions (Coastal and Mountain), and the Hornets are among six teams in the Coastal Division.

Senior right fielder Jenice Bartee, sophomore pitcher Shelby Voelz and freshman third baseman Erin Jones were each named to the first team while Jones received the division’s freshman of the year award. Jones becomes just the second Sacramento State players to receive PCSC Freshman of the Year accolades. Bartee and Voelz each received first team honors for the first time of their careers.

On the second team for Sacramento State were junior pitcher Megan Schaefer, junior utility player Jillian Canete, sophomore first baseman Alyssa Nakken and freshman shortstop Emily McCormick. Despite missing nearly a month with a concussion and coming back from offseason wrist surgery, Schaefer received all-conference accolades for the second time (first team last season). Nakken was an honorable mention selection last season.

Making honorable mention were sophomore catcher Marissa Navarro and freshman center fielder Kelli Frye.

Among the Hornets’ nine selections, six were underclassmen, including three sophomores and three freshmen. In fact, despite the season being a rebuilding one, Sacramento State still managed a 13-7 conference record and a second-place finish in the PCSC’s Coastal Division. The Hornets wrapped up the year with a 23-31 overall mark and ended the year on a five-game winning streak.

Six of the seven Hornet position players that were named all-division accolades hit better than .330 against PCSC schools, including McCormick (.449), Jones (.435) and Navarro (.417). In fact, among the Hornets’ eight starting position players, all but one received some form of all-conference accolade (first team, second team or honorable mention). Schaefer (7-4, 1.77 ERA) and Voelz (6-3, 1.58) combined to go 13-7 against conference competition and both posted ERAs below 1.80.

JENICE BARTEE

Bartee, who was also named the team MVP, finished the year batting .289 with 35 runs, six doubles, one triple, four home runs and 13 RBIs. The Novato, Calif., native was also a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen base opportunities and was one of three Hornets to start all 54 games with each of those coming in right field. She did not commit an error all season, and set the Sacramento State single-season record with 12 outfield assists. That included throwing out 11 runners at first base that had hit a ball through the right side of the infield. Against PCSC competition, she hit .379 (25-for-66) with 21 runs, four doubles, four home runs, 10 RBIs and six stolen bases. For her career, Bartee hit .275 with 89 runs (T-6th in school history), 12 home runs (3rd in school history), 19 stolen bases (T-7th in school history) and 24 outfield assists (1st in school history).

ERIN JONES

Jones completed one of the top freshman seasons in school history, batting .391 (59-151) with 32 runs, 15 doubles, eight home runs, 40 RBIs, a .446 on-base percentage, and was a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. The Antioch, Calif., native appeared in 50 games, including 34 starts at third base, nine at designated player and six at second base. She led Hornet regulars in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, total bases (98), slugging percentage (.649), on-base percentage, multiple-hit games (18) and multiple-RBI games (10). The .391 batting average is the second best mark ever posted by a Hornet freshman, and the 40 RBIs are also the second highest mark by a first-year player. In addition, the average is the fourth best single-season mark in school history, and the 40 RBIs and 15 doubles are both the third best marks. One of the team’s most clutch hitters, Jones hit .413 (33-80) with runners on base, .404 (19-47) with runners in scoring position and .456 (26-57) with two outs. Twenty-three of her 40 RBIs came with two outs in an inning.

SHELBY VOELZ

Voelz finished the season with an 11-16 record and a 2.98 ERA while improving those numbers to 6-3 with a 1.58 ERA against conference competition. The Vancouver, Wash., native led the Hornets’ pitching staff in wins (11), appearances (30), starts (23), complete games (20), shutouts (5), innings (164.1), strikeouts (118) and opponents batting average (.256). She threw shutouts against UC Riverside, San Diego (twice), Cal State Bakersfield and Loyola Marymount. The shutout against UC Riverside was a one-hitter where she tossed 6.1 innings of no-hit ball until giving up a one-out hit in the seventh inning. The right-hander was named PCSC Pitcher of the Week on two occasions (Feb. 23, April 21), and won her final three, and seven of her last 10 decisions of the season. PCSC opposition hit just .224 off Voelz, and four of her nine starts against conference teams resulted in shutouts.

ALYSSA NAKKEN

Nakken was one of three Hornets to start all 54 games (51 starts at first base, three at designated player), and batted .314 (55-175) with 36 runs, 13 doubles, six home runs, 23 RBIs, 18 walks, a .395 on-base percentage and four stolen bases. The Woodland, Calif., native led the Hornets in at-bats, runs and walks, and the 36 runs are tied for the seventh best mark in Hornet Div. I single-season history (1990-pres.). Nakken hit .340 (16-47) with two outs, and 14 of her 23 RBIs came with two outs in an inning. In addition, her 15 multiple-hit games were the second most on the team, and six multiple-RBI games were the fourth most. Defensively, she committed four errors all season (.990 fielding percentage). That included just two miscues over the final 48 games of the year.

MEGAN SCHAEFER

Schaefer finished the season with a 10-7 record and a 2.78 ERA. The Tigard, Ore., native had 22 appearances, 15 starts, 10 complete games and one shutout. Despite missing at least eight starts while nursing a concussion suffered on Feb. 16, Schaefer still tossed 108.1 innings, allowing 108 hits and 25 walks while striking out 53 batters. The right-hander won four of her final five decisions of the season, and was the recipient of PCSC Player of the Week honors on March 17 and April 13. Against conference competition, she was 7-4 with a 1.77 ERA, including a .225 opponents’ batting average. Offensively, Schaefer also fared well against PCSC competition, batting .368 (7-19) with three runs, two doubles, one home run and four RBIs. Among Sacramento State Div. I-era career leaders (1990-pres.), Schaefer now ranks sixth in wins (30), seventh in innings pitched (370.1) and starts (58), and 10th in strikeouts (198).

EMILY McCORMICK

McCormick finished the year batting .338 with 25 runs, 13 doubles, six home runs, 31 RBIs, 10 walks and a .397 on-base percentage. The .338 batting average is the third best mark posted by a Sacramento State freshman since the program joined the Div. I ranks in 1990. The Hesperia, Calif., native appeared in 47 games, including 43 starts at three positions (25 starts at shortstop, 16 starts at second base, and two at designated player). McCormick destroyed conference pitching all season, finishing the year with a lofty .449 batting average against PCSC opposition, the best mark in the Coastal Division. Also, among division leaders (conference games only), she finished first in hits (31) and doubles (7), second in total bases (53) and on-base percentage (.486), third in slugging percentage (.768) and fourth in home runs (5) and RBIs (19). She was named the PCSC Player of the Week on May 12, and hit safely in 12 of the last 16 games of the season.

JILLIAN CANETE

Canete appeared in 25 games, including 21 starts (four at third base, seven in left field and 10 at designated player). The Stockton, Calif., native and transfer from the University of Tulsa played in 22 of the team’s final 27 games after making just three appearances during the first half of the season. She finished the year batting .317 (20-63) with 12 runs, five doubles, a home run and 14 RBIs. Canete started 16 of the team’s 20 conference games, and hit .362 (17-47) with 13 RBIs against PCSC opposition. In addition, she concluded the season on an eight-game hitting streak, batting .480 (12-25) with three doubles and six RBIs over that span. In her first season with the Hornets, Canete spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons at Tulsa before transferring to Sacramento State.

MARISSA NAVARRO

Navarro started all 49 games in which she appeared, including 44 at catcher, three at first base and two at designated player. The Manteca, Calif., native hit .273 with 11 doubles, three home runs, 20 RBIs, nine walks, a sacrifice and a stolen base. She committed just one error all season (.995 fielding percentage), and threw out 11 of 34 runners attempting to steal a base (32.4 percent). Navarro finished the season on a 12-game hitting streak, which was the longest by a Hornet during the year and tied for the fifth longest in Sacramento State Div. I history (1990-pres.). During that 12-game stretch, she hit .467 (14-30) with six runs, two doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs. Navarro hit PCSC pitching hard, finishing the year with a .417 batting average (20-48) against conference opposition with seven runs, three doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs.

KELLI FRYE

Frye was one of three Hornets to start all 54 games, marking every start in center field. The Corona, Calif., native hit .279 (41-147) with 24 runs, 10 RBIs, 12 walks and two stolen bases. In addition, she hit .300 (21-70) with runners on base, .368 (7-19) with runners in scoring position and two outs, and .400 (18-45) with two outs in an inning. Frye hit safely in 15 of the final 20 games of the year, and batted .333 (20-60) against PCSC competition with nine runs and five RBIs. She was fifth on the team with 10 multiple-hit games.