IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine softball team continued its dominance in the PacWest Conference, earning a wide array of postseason honors highlighted by head coach Crystal Rosenthal being named PacWest Coach of the Year for the fifth time in her career.
Rosenthal guided the Golden Eagles to their seventh PacWest regular season title in the last 10 years, as CUI won or split every conference series and remained a consistent presence in the NFCA Top 25 rankings throughout the season. Concordia also secured key wins over nationally-ranked opponents, including No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino and Western Washington, and is projected to make its eighth consecutive NCAA West Regional appearance.
Morgan Kneubuhler headlined the individual awards, earning PacWest Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-PacWest honors after putting together one of the most dominant offensive seasons in the conference. The catcher led the PacWest with 17 home runs, 55 RBIs, 121 total bases and a 1.170 OPS while batting .401, which ranked second in the league. She recorded 20 multi-hit games, earned PacWest Player of the Week honors twice and was named to the NFCA Division II Player of the Year Watch List.
First Team All-PacWest infielder Audrey Robles also made a major impact on both sides of the ball for the Golden Eagles. The third baseman tied for second in the PacWest with 12 home runs and ranked sixth with 40 RBIs and a 1.034 OPS while hitting .339 in conference play. Defensively, she was equally impressive, earning Defender of the Year consideration after posting a .990 fielding percentage in PacWest games with 69 assists and just one error.
In the circle, sophomore Kacie Gossett and junior Jayden Nishi were both recognized as Second Team All-PacWest selections. Gossett posted a 13-7 record with a 1.70 ERA across 128 innings pitched, adding 13 complete games, 91 strikeouts and three saves. She also earned a spot on the NFCA Division II Pitcher of the Year Watch List.
Nishi finished with a 14-3 record and a 2.44 ERA in 111.2 innings, recording five complete games, four shutouts and 77 strikeouts. A three-time PacWest Pitcher of the Week, she also surpassed 100 career strikeouts during the season.
Veronica Moore also turned in a strong season at first base, hitting .327 in PacWest play while finishing the year with eight home runs, 34 RBIs and a team-best 28 walks. She recorded multiple hitting streaks and earned PacWest Player of the Week honors during the season.
Moore and senior Caitlyn Campbell made Second Team All-PacWest together. Campbell led the team with 18 stolen bases and hit .377 in conference play with a 1.097 OPS.
Three more Golden Eagles were voted Third Team All-PacWest.
Jessica Im and Alyssa Struthers each contributed to a strong outfield unit alongside Campbell. Im started all 54 games and hit .322 with 42 runs scored, while Struthers added a .347 batting average and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage while putting together a nine-game hitting streak during conference action. This is the third consecutive time that Im has made a PacWest Team.
Serena Velez also was recognized as a key hitting weapon at the designated player spot. Velez hit .320 in 29 appearances and had 16 hits and 10 RBI.
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The Golden Eagles now turn their attention to postseason play, where they will look to build on their momentum and continue their run as one of the top programs in Division II softball.
Ranked No. 22 in the new NFCA DII rankings entering the PacWest Tournament, CUI faces Jessup at 2 p.m. PT on Tuesday in La Mirada to begin the double elimination tournament. CUI is the No. 1 seed and the host Biola Eagles are the No. 2 seed, with Hawaii Hilo rounding out the field as the No. 3 seed.
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Concordia is on pace to qualify for the regional tournament for the eight straight season. The Golden Eagles are positioned as the No. 3 team in the west region behind fellow nationally-ranked programs Cal State San Marcos and Cal State East Bay. CUI projects to be in the same bracket as Cal State East bay barring any unforseen developments this week.
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