Magnolia, Ark. – Four players from the Mulerider Softball, all of whom were featured on the All-GAC First Team last week, find themselves named to the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-Central Region teams, with senior catcher
Laina Suesue named to the region's first team, while teammates
Victoria Taylor,
Alese Casper and
Elisa Favela were named to the region's second team.
Suesue adds another accolade to an already outstanding season. In addition to being an All-GAC First Team selection, the southpaw was also featured on the conference's all-tournament team, as well as being named to the NFCA All-Central Region Second Team last week. The southpaw catcher has been consistent behind the plate in her three season in Magnolia, having started all 118 games since joining the Muleriders.
The Salt Lake City product is hitting .353 this season with six homeruns and 28 RBIs. She has also drawn a team-high 32 walks, only striking out ten times. Defensively, the senior has only committed two errors this season.
For her career, the Utahan is hitting .380 with 27 doubles, 13 homeruns and 97 RBIs. She is slugging .582 and has a .479 on-base percentage. She has only struck out 33 times while drawing 64 walks. Defensively, she has only five errors in 912 attempts, giving her a career fielding percentage of .995.
Taylor, who was also named to the NFCA All-Central Region Second Team last week, owns a 2.12 ERA and a 12-2 record on the season. She has struck out 108 batters in 89 innings pitched, with opponents only hitting .216 against the righty.
The senior pitcher established new conference career marks in wins and shutouts; she also became the third pitcher to reach 700 career strikeouts.
For her career, the Greenwood native has a 1.71 ERA and a 79-16 career record. In 126 appearances (114 starts), Taylor has 23 shutouts in 53 complete games, having struck out 735 strikeouts in 644 innings. Opponents have only hit .201 off of her, having only allowed 475 hits, 98 for extra bases.
Favela, receiving her first all-region accolades as a Mulerider, has hit .343 at the plate this season with a team-best nine home runs as well as a team-best .694 slugging percentage.
In her career as a Mulerider, the Hawaiian has been a threat on both the pitching and hitting sides of the ball. She owns a program-best .386 career batting average while in the circle, she hold opponents to a .216 batting average. She has 30 homeruns and 104 RBIs with a career slugging percentage of .727. In the circle, she is 21-3 with a 2.41 ERA, striking out 171 batters in 145.1 innings pitched.
Having started all 59 games in her two seasons in Magnolia, Casper has made centerfield her own at Dawson Field at the Dr. Margaret Downing Softball Complex. The junior is hitting a team-best .394 and owns a .451 on-base percentage. She has not committed an error this season, adding in two assists from the outfield.
The Utah native has a career batting average of .389, as well as a .446 on-base percentage. She is a perfect 6-6 on stolen base attempts and has six assists from centerfield to her name against only one error.
The Muleriders open regional play tomorrow against Central Missouri at 11 a.m.
