May 17, 2018
San Jose, Calif. - With the 2018 regular season in the books, it's time for awards season to start and two Spartans, junior Madison Aurin and sophomore Cassidy Clark, have received recognition for their play in the 24-game Mountain West (MW) Conference slate with first-team All-MW designation. Aurin was also named to the first-team of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Pacific Region Team.
This is the third time in three years Aurin has been honored as an all-conference performer by a vote of the nine Mountain West Conference head coaches and the second time for Clark in her two collegiate seasons. In 2016, Aurin's freshman year she was a third-team NFCA All-Pacific Region honoree.
Aurin, a second-team All-Mountain West selection as a freshman and a first-team honoree last season, led the Spartans in virtually every offensive category. She batted .408 (29-for-71), sixth highest in the MW, and slugged .789 (#2 in the MW). She led the league with 25 RBIs and her six homers were second in the league. She rapped out seven double and had 56 total bases, each the fourth most in MW play and her 29 hits and .500 on base percentage were the fifth highest among all players in the conference.
In the circle, the native of Bakersfield, Calif., who had pitched just two-thirds of an inning since high school, posted 11 wins, made 16 starts and had 19 appearances; all the most in league play in 2018. Her 94.1 innings ranked second in the league and 2.97 ERA was the seventh best. Opponents batted .261 off Aurin which was the ninth lowest in the conference and despite not being a strikeout pitcher, her 33 strikeouts were the tenth most among all pitchers.
Clark, who bats third and plays second base, batted .338 (25-for-74) in MW play. She scored 17 runs; rapped out two doubles, hit two homers drove in 14 with a slugging percentage of .446 in 24 games. She earned 12 walks, third on the squad, and had a .427 on base percentage. Among her teammates, she finished the season in the top-three in 13 statistical categories and was in the top-20 in eight categories among all Mountain West performers.
AURIN NAMED AN FIRST-TEAM NFCA ALL-REGION PERFORMER
In addition to her Mountain West honor, Aurin was named a first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Pacific Region selection. She is one of 389 student-athletes from 164 programs have received 2018 NFCA Division I All-Region accolades.
The awards honor softball student-athletes from the Association's 10 regions with first, second and third team selections. NFCA member coaches from each respective region voted on the teams, and all the honorees now become eligible for selection to the 2018 NFCA Division I All-American squads.
The 2018 NFCA Division I All-America teams will be announced at approximately 5:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 30, via NFCA.org.
2018 Mountain West Softball
All-Conference First Team
Madison Anthony, Sr., INF, Boise State
Kelsey Broadus, So., RHP, Boise State
Rebekah Cervantes, Jr., SS, Boise State
Alison Seng, Fr., INF, Boise State
Katie Castellon, Sr., SS, Fresno State
Danielle East, Fr., LHP, Fresno State
Hayleigh Galvan, So., C, Fresno State
Rachel Minogue, Jr., 1B, Fresno State
Kenzi Goins, So., 1B, Nevada
Erika Hansen, Sr., OF Nevada
Shelby Thompson, So., SS, San Diego State
Madison Aurin, Jr., 1B/LHP, San José State
Cassidy Clark, So., INF, San José State
Janine Petmecky, Sr., OF/DP/RHP, UNLV
Mia Trejo, Fr., 1B, UNLV
All-Conference Second Team
ShaeLee Pearson, Sr., INF/OF, Boise State
Makenzie Sullivan, Sr., INF, Boise State
Haley Donaldson, So., UT, Colorado State
Bridgette Hutton, Jr., RHP, Colorado State
Madison Kilcrease, Sr., OF, Colorado State
Sarah Muzik, Jr., INF, Colorado State
Amber Nelson, Jr., C, Colorado State
Samantha Mejia, So., RHP Fresno State
Aaliyah Gibson, Sr., OF, Nevada
Lauren Gutierrez, Fr., SS, Nevada
Sierra Mello, So., 2B, Nevada
Andrea Howard, Fr., 1B, New Mexico
Chelsea Johnson, Sr., DH, New Mexico
Reina Bondi, So., OF, UNLV
Brina Buttacavoli, Sr., C, Utah State
Individual Postseason Awards
Player of the Year - Rebekah Cervantes, Jr., SS, Boise State
Pitcher of the Year - Kelsey Broadus, So., RHP, Boise State
Defensive Player of the Year - Shelby Thompson, So., SS, San Diego State
Freshman of the Year - Alison Seng, Fr., INF, Boise State
Coach of the Year - Cindy Ball, Boise State