After a second-place finish in the Pacific West Conference and its best record since 2016, Azusa Pacific softball had nine players honored on the three All-PacWest teams. The 35-15 Cougars saw each Erica Hanson and Olivia Smith named to the all-conference first team, while five were named to the second team and two more honored on the third team. The nine total selections tie a program-high with the 2016 PacWest Champs that also had nine honored on the All-PacWest teams that season.
Among those on the second team were previous All-PacWest selections such as shortstop Amanda Woods (her fourth all-conference honor), third baseman Dani Burghardt (second all-conference selection), and designated player Aly Montesino (second all-conference honor). They were joined by outfielder Ally Chin and utility player Caitlin DeCanio who made their debuts on the All-PacWest second team while the battery of Aleah Delgado and Katie Korstrom were both named to the all-conference third team.
Olivia Smith | All-PacWest First Team | Outfield
Smith led the Cougars in a number of categories including hitting for a team-best .395 with a conference-high 62 hits and 28 stolen bases. Smith's career season saw her reach heights of a .481 batting average more than 24 games into the season while she collected PacWest Player of the Week for her performances against Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo. During the week of March 21st through March 26th, Smith went 14-for-28 (.500) across eight games, scored eight times, had two RBI, and hit her first collegiate home run. She also tallied six of her team-high 20 multi-hit games during that week and extended her hitting streak to a season and team-high 17 games.
Erica Hanson | All-PacWest First Team | Second Base
Hanson started 47 of the 50 regular-season games at second base for Azusa Pacific and was a steady presence for the Cougars hitting .268 with 15 runs scored and eight stolen bases on nine tries. Hanson recorded a .951 fielding percentage (11 errors in 223 total chances) at second base and was a part of a team-high 16 double plays defensively. She tallied a career-high three hits in an 11-8 win over Holy Names while scoring once and driving in a run.
Amanda Woods | All-PacWest Second Team | Shortstop
Woods was named an All-Conference member for the fourth straight season becoming just the second Cougar in program history to garner four all-conference accolades (joining Nicki Sprague). In her senior year, Woods hit .315 and led the conference with 42 runs scored while tallying the second-most hits on the team with 53. She currently has a 15-game hitting streak going that is the second-highest mark of the season for the Cougars. Against Holy Names on March 4th, Woods tallied a pair of triples with her second being the go-ahead hit that drove in two runs in the fifth inning in the 11-8 win.
Dani Burghardt | All-PacWest Second Team | Third Base
Burghardt was named to the all-conference second team for the second consecutive season after starting all 50 games at third base for Azusa Pacific. She led the PacWest with 15 doubles on the season and led the conference in hit by pitch (10). Burghardt hit .293 on the year and was tied for the team-high with 15 walks.
Aly Montesino | All-PacWest Second Team | Designated Player
Montesino was named an all-conference performer for the second consecutive season after leading the team in RBI with 33 and total bases with 80. She also appeared in 15 games in the circle for the Cougars finishing the regular season with a perfect 6-0 record, tallying a 3.07 ERA in 45.2 innings. Montesino hit six home runs (tied for the team-high) and recorded 10 multi-RBI games and was awarded PacWest Player of the Week one time this season.
Ally Chin | All-PacWest Second Team | Outfield
Chin was named to the all-conference second team this season after hitting .323 and stealing 17 bases in 18 attempts. She tallied a 20-game reached base streak earlier in the season and had a .392 on-base percentage which was third on the team. Primarily starting in centerfield, Chin had a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 after not recording an error in 60 chances.
Caitlin DeCanio | All-PacWest Second Team | Utility Player
DeCanio was named an all-conference second team member in her true freshman season after hitting a team second-best .349 with a .407 on-base percentage. She tied the team-high with six home runs and drove in 31 runs while tallying 79 total bases (both being second on the team). DeCanio also tallied 10 multi-RBI games in her first collegiate season, tying Montesino for the most on the team. Defensively, DeCanio tallied just four errors in 253 total chances (.984) while playing primarily at first base and catcher.
Katie Korstrom | All-PacWest Third Team | Pitcher
Korstrom was the Cougars' best pitcher this season after leading the team in ERA (1.73), innings pitched (117.1), strikeouts (102), complete games (12), saves (3), and opposing batting average (.219). Her 13 victories were the third-highest in the conference, while she recorded a team-low WHIP at 1.09. Korstrom also hit .417 at the plate for the Cougars mostly coming off the bench in pinch-hit situations, including one of her five hits on the season was a walk-off two-run inside the park home run in a 3-2 win over Hawaii Pacific (March 25).
Aleah Delgado | All-PacWest Third Team | Catcher
Delgado hit .262 as the Cougars' primary catcher this season en route to third-team all-conference honors. She started in 30 games behind the dish for Azusa Pacific and tallied just a single error in 175 total chances including throwing out nine runners trying to steal. Seven of her 22 hits on the season were doubles including a pair of doubles in a 4-2 win over Biola (March 18th).
Up Next: The Cougars – who finished the season second in the PacWest – were ranked seventh in the third round of regional rankings which projects the Cougars to be in the NCAA Regional for the first time since 2016. The official field will be announced on Sunday, May 8, with the announcement being streamed live on NCAA.com.
