SB | Gaels Take Home Three Major WCC Awards, 9 Total All-Conference Selections for SMC
5/14/2024 4:10:00 PM | Softball
MORAGA, Calif. - On Tuesday, May 14th, the annual WCC All-Conference awards and teams were announced with nine Gaels earning spots on the all-conference teams for a new program record. Adding to their all-conference selections, the 2024 WCC champs also had three major award winners including Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Co-Pitcher of the Year.
Sonja Garnett | WCC Coach of the Year
In her 6th season at the helm, head coach Sonja Garnett has tied the program record with 30 wins this season and after a thrilling winner-take-all season finale against LMU, Garnett earned her first ever WCC Coach of the Year award. She becomes just the second Coach of the Year award winner dating back to 2012 when Jessica Hanaseth was named PCSC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. She will look to capture the program's first ever NCAA tournament victory this Friday when they take on regional host Stanford at 7:00 PM.
INF Sam Buckley | WCC First Team | Freshman of the Year
Freshman shortstop Sam Buckley wasted no time making an impact after becoming the program's second WCC Freshman of the Year award winner and the first since the 2014 season. Buckley slashed her way to a .370 batting average, .654 slugging percentage, a .514 on-base percentage, recorded 47 hits and a team leading 33 RBI's. She also finished with 13 multi-hit games and started in all 52 games this season for the Gaels.
RHP Odhi Vasquez | WCC Second Team | Co-Pitcher of the Year
Sophomore pitcher Odhi Vasquez finished in the top-three in the WCC in ERA (2.47), opposing batting average (.206), strikeouts (85) and wins (11) to earn Co-Pitcher of the Year along with Jenna Perez from LMU. Vasquez becomes the program's third Pitcher of the Year award winner and the first in the WCC era. The team's ace recorded 12 complete games leading to 11 wins and a team high 85 strikeouts.
Her last win came in the team's final regular season series against LMU where she secured the series opening victory with a 7-inning complete game allowing just three hits and striking out five batters. This goes down as Vasquez's second consecutive all-conference selection.
OF Hannah Ferguson | WCC First Team
Center fielder Hannah Ferguson earned her second all-conference selection and her first WCC First Team selection after leading the Gaels with a .371 batting average and leading the conference with 65 hits. The Southern California native started in all 52 games as the captain of the outfield and enters their NCAA regional matchup with hits in 9 of her last 11 games. She put up career numbers in average, hits, runs scored and OPS en route to her First Team selection.
INF Taylor Lane | WCC Second Team
First baseman Taylor Lane recorded her second straight WCC Second Team selection after finishing the regular season with a .268 average, 40 hits and 5 home runs in her 51 games played. Lane led the team with nearly 300 putouts and with just three errors, finished the season with a .990 fielding percentage. Lane also added a pair of 3-hit games this season against Pacific and LMU and had 10 multi-RBI games to give her 32 on the season, second most on the team.
UTL Marissa Montelongo | WCC Second Team
Four-year utility player Marissa Montelongo earned her second WCC all-conference selection and her first on the Second Team with a stellar senior campaign. The Kingsburg native hit over .300 on the season and started in all 52 games for the Gaels. Her 44 hits, 40 runs scored, 4 doubles and 3 homers would all go down as career marks. Montelongo enters the team's regional this week after going 2-2 with a 3-run homer in the season finale win over LMU, helping clinch the program's first WCC title.
RHP Mia Nishikawa | WCC Second Team
Freshman pitcher Mia Nishikawa could've made her own case for WCC Pitcher of the Year as she and Vasquez were an electric 1-2 punch all season long for the Gaels. The Fresno native finished with a 2.94 ERA while also leading the team with 12 wins, 4 shutouts and 112 innings pitched. She was also just one game shy of Vasquez with 11 complete games as she earned her first career WCC all-conference selection.
RHP Avrey Wolverton | WCC Second Team
Rounding out the WCC Second Team selections is the Gaels third starter in redshirt sophomore Avrey Wolverton. Wolverton ended the regular season with a bang after tossing a 6-inning shutout against LMU to secure the conference championship. She earned WCC First Team honors in 2023 after a successful bounce back season. This year, Wolverton was second on the team with a 2.88 ERA and led all Gaels pitchers with two saves. Her regular season finale performance was good enough to earn her WCC Pitcher of the Week honors.
C Jenavee Amador and INF Alex Cutonilli | WCC Honorable Mention
Rounding out the all-conference selections for Saint Mary's are catcher Jenavee Amador and infielder Alex Cutonilli. Amador saw action in 36 games this season and made each and every one count, hitting her way to a .333 batting average with 30 hits and 20 RBI's. The junior catcher went 2-4 from the dish with a pair of RBI's in the season finale and enters the regional with hits in 8 of her last 9 games.
Alex Cutonilli played in 47 games for the Gaels this season and hit her way to a .314 average. The true freshman acted as a great bat off the bench and around the infield for Saint Mary's as she finished with 37 hits, 26 RBI's and a team leading 12 doubles. She also enters the regional in good form with a 6-game hitting streak and seeing the field in all eight games of the final two series.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's continues their prep for the NCAA regional this Friday where they will take on 8th ranked Stanford at 7:00 PM. You can stream the game live on ESPN 2 and tickets can be bought online HERE or at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Sonja Garnett | WCC Coach of the Year
In her 6th season at the helm, head coach Sonja Garnett has tied the program record with 30 wins this season and after a thrilling winner-take-all season finale against LMU, Garnett earned her first ever WCC Coach of the Year award. She becomes just the second Coach of the Year award winner dating back to 2012 when Jessica Hanaseth was named PCSC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. She will look to capture the program's first ever NCAA tournament victory this Friday when they take on regional host Stanford at 7:00 PM.
INF Sam Buckley | WCC First Team | Freshman of the Year
Freshman shortstop Sam Buckley wasted no time making an impact after becoming the program's second WCC Freshman of the Year award winner and the first since the 2014 season. Buckley slashed her way to a .370 batting average, .654 slugging percentage, a .514 on-base percentage, recorded 47 hits and a team leading 33 RBI's. She also finished with 13 multi-hit games and started in all 52 games this season for the Gaels.
RHP Odhi Vasquez | WCC Second Team | Co-Pitcher of the Year
Sophomore pitcher Odhi Vasquez finished in the top-three in the WCC in ERA (2.47), opposing batting average (.206), strikeouts (85) and wins (11) to earn Co-Pitcher of the Year along with Jenna Perez from LMU. Vasquez becomes the program's third Pitcher of the Year award winner and the first in the WCC era. The team's ace recorded 12 complete games leading to 11 wins and a team high 85 strikeouts.
Her last win came in the team's final regular season series against LMU where she secured the series opening victory with a 7-inning complete game allowing just three hits and striking out five batters. This goes down as Vasquez's second consecutive all-conference selection.
OF Hannah Ferguson | WCC First Team
Center fielder Hannah Ferguson earned her second all-conference selection and her first WCC First Team selection after leading the Gaels with a .371 batting average and leading the conference with 65 hits. The Southern California native started in all 52 games as the captain of the outfield and enters their NCAA regional matchup with hits in 9 of her last 11 games. She put up career numbers in average, hits, runs scored and OPS en route to her First Team selection.
INF Taylor Lane | WCC Second Team
First baseman Taylor Lane recorded her second straight WCC Second Team selection after finishing the regular season with a .268 average, 40 hits and 5 home runs in her 51 games played. Lane led the team with nearly 300 putouts and with just three errors, finished the season with a .990 fielding percentage. Lane also added a pair of 3-hit games this season against Pacific and LMU and had 10 multi-RBI games to give her 32 on the season, second most on the team.
UTL Marissa Montelongo | WCC Second Team
Four-year utility player Marissa Montelongo earned her second WCC all-conference selection and her first on the Second Team with a stellar senior campaign. The Kingsburg native hit over .300 on the season and started in all 52 games for the Gaels. Her 44 hits, 40 runs scored, 4 doubles and 3 homers would all go down as career marks. Montelongo enters the team's regional this week after going 2-2 with a 3-run homer in the season finale win over LMU, helping clinch the program's first WCC title.
RHP Mia Nishikawa | WCC Second Team
Freshman pitcher Mia Nishikawa could've made her own case for WCC Pitcher of the Year as she and Vasquez were an electric 1-2 punch all season long for the Gaels. The Fresno native finished with a 2.94 ERA while also leading the team with 12 wins, 4 shutouts and 112 innings pitched. She was also just one game shy of Vasquez with 11 complete games as she earned her first career WCC all-conference selection.
RHP Avrey Wolverton | WCC Second Team
Rounding out the WCC Second Team selections is the Gaels third starter in redshirt sophomore Avrey Wolverton. Wolverton ended the regular season with a bang after tossing a 6-inning shutout against LMU to secure the conference championship. She earned WCC First Team honors in 2023 after a successful bounce back season. This year, Wolverton was second on the team with a 2.88 ERA and led all Gaels pitchers with two saves. Her regular season finale performance was good enough to earn her WCC Pitcher of the Week honors.
C Jenavee Amador and INF Alex Cutonilli | WCC Honorable Mention
Rounding out the all-conference selections for Saint Mary's are catcher Jenavee Amador and infielder Alex Cutonilli. Amador saw action in 36 games this season and made each and every one count, hitting her way to a .333 batting average with 30 hits and 20 RBI's. The junior catcher went 2-4 from the dish with a pair of RBI's in the season finale and enters the regional with hits in 8 of her last 9 games.
Alex Cutonilli played in 47 games for the Gaels this season and hit her way to a .314 average. The true freshman acted as a great bat off the bench and around the infield for Saint Mary's as she finished with 37 hits, 26 RBI's and a team leading 12 doubles. She also enters the regional in good form with a 6-game hitting streak and seeing the field in all eight games of the final two series.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's continues their prep for the NCAA regional this Friday where they will take on 8th ranked Stanford at 7:00 PM. You can stream the game live on ESPN 2 and tickets can be bought online HERE or at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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