Gurr Named Pitcher of the Year, Five Athenas Honored by SCIAC
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. – The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) announced the 2018 All-Conference softball teams and among the student-athletes honored were five Athenas, including the SCIAC Pitcher of the Year, Anna Gurr (CMC). Gurr has been honored as the conference's Pitcher of the Year for the third-straight season and has also earned All-SCIAC honors all four years as an Athena. Joining Gurr on the First Team was Chloe Amarilla (CMC) as a pitcher and third baseman.
The future is bright for the Athenas with three freshman earning Second Team All-SCIAC. Outfielders Kawai Scanlan (SC) and Molly Spaniac (CMC) along with catcher Maddie Valdez (CMC) begin their collegiate careers with All-SCIAC accolades. Each member of the freshman trio is batting over .350 this season with Scanlan leading the way with a .418 mark and a team-leading .484 on base percentage.
Gurr's SCIAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-SCIAC honors are the third of her career after she earned both in 2016 and 2017. In her senior season, Gurr has tossed a team-leading 140.0 innings while pitching to a 1.60 ERA with 95 strikeouts and just eight walks. Gurr is in the top three of the SCIAC in a number of categories from the circle including ERA (1st, 1.60), appearances (T1st, 29), wins (T1st, 15), innings pitched (2nd, 140.0), complete games (2nd, 14), and fewest walks (3rd among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched, 8). Gurr's best game of the season came against one of the best teams the Athenas faced in the regular season. The southpaw tossed a complete game, shutout against Linfield on Feb. 16, scattering six hits and striking out eight while walking none.
Chloe Amarilla also made the All-SCIAC First Team this season as a pitcher/third baseman. She is the leading hitter of the Athenas this season with a .440 batting average while also turning in the teams' second-best slugging percentage at .575. She leads the team with 59 hits, 34 runs scored, and 12 doubles. In addition to her strengths at the dish, Amarilla also owns a 2.50 ERA with 106.1 innings pitched as CMS' number two starter. The junior holds an 11-4 record and has tossed eight complete games, including a no-hitter on Mar. 17 against Hamline in a five-inning, 8-0 victory. Amarilla's First Team honor is the first All-SCIAC nod in her career.
Also earning their first All-SCIAC honors were three freshman for the Athenas. Kawai Scanlan, Molly Spaniac, and Maddie Valdez all turned in outstanding rookie campaigns to earn Second Team accolades. In the outfield, Scanlan and Spaniac have appeared in every game this season and been a consistent force in the Athenas' order. Spaniac has spent a majority of the season in the two-hole, setting the table for the middle of the order. She has scored 31 runs with a .434 on base percentage and has some pop in the bat, with 12 extra-base hits including three triples and a home run.
A little further down the order is Kawai Scanlan. The Athenas' center fielder has driven home 27 runs on the season with the second-best average on the team at .418. Scanlan has 46 hits on the year with 11 of them going for extra bases and has scored 27 runs. Her .484 on base percentage is the tops on the team and second best in the SCIAC.
The Athenas' backstop, Maddie Valdez has provided the power in the line-up this season. The freshman catcher leads CMS with three home runs, 17 extra-base hits, 35 RBI, and a .604 slugging percentage. She is batting .400 while driving home 22 runs in conference games during the SCIAC slate. In a come-from-behind, 7-6 victory against Occidental on Mar. 14, Valdez hammered two home runs and drove home five runs in her best game of the season.
Senior Briana Halle (CMC) was also named to the SCIAC Sportsmanship Team on Wednesday.
CMS will compete in the SCIAC Tournament this weekend at La Verne. The Athenas enter the Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face the top-seeded La Verne Leopards on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. The Tournament will continue throughout the weekend with a Champion being crowed on Sunday afternoon.