There’s a lot of hardware going to Lake Charles this week.
Shaelyn Sanders, Alexis Dibbley, and James Landreneau were all given conference awards as Sanders was named Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year, Dibbley was named Freshman of the Year, and Landreneau brought home Coach of the Year honors.
Sanders, a Splendora, TX native, went 19-9 overall with 12 wins in conference play (seven shutouts). Sanders led the SLC in wins (12), ERA (0.82), shutouts (7), complete games (8), saves (3), and held her opponents to a .191 batting average. She struck out 81 and only walked 15 during conference and is now the fifth Cowgirls pitcher to win the honor.
Dibbley, a Moss Bluff product, batted .338 as a two-way player with 23 hits, 12 walks, and eight doubles. As a pitcher, she went 3-0 in SLC play with eight strikeouts in 24 innings. Dibbley is just the second McNeese player to win Freshman of the Year, with All-American Erika Piancastelli winning the honor in 2015.
Landreneau led the Cowgirls to their third straight regular season title and the fourth under his staff. McNeese finished 38-18 overall and 22-2 in Southland play. The Cowgirls has now won 30+ games in seven of the eight years he has been head coach. This is his third Coach of the Year honor.
Sanders and Dibbley both made first-team honors along with Corine Poncho and Mariana Torres. Bella Perez, Rylie Bouvier, and Crislyne Moreno were all named to the second team. These are the second honors for Torres, Bouvier, and Moreno in their career.
Poncho, a Basile native and Notre Dame High product, has a conference-high 15 home runs with six coming in conference games. Poncho batted .329 with a .671 slugging percent, 25 hits, 22 runs scored, 18 RBI, and a .987 fielding percent during league play.
Torres hit .333 with 18 hits, six doubles, one triple, 14 RBI, and a .964 fielding percentage in conference games.
Perez moved into the starting lineup one month into the season and produced a .340 batting average with 16 hits, five doubles, two home runs, 14 RBI with a 1.000 fielding percentage, and threw out eight of 10 baserunners in conference games.
Bouvier had a conference .346 average with 18 hits, 12 RBI, three doubles, two triples, nine stolen bases, and a .921 fielding percent.
Moreno hit .271 with 13 hits, 11 runs scored, five doubles, 13 RBI with a .971 fielding percent in conference games.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Victoria Altamirano, UIW
HITTER OF THE YEAR: Ka’Lyn Watson, Southeastern
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Shaelyn Sanders, McNeese
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Shenita Tucker, Lamar
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Alexis Dibbley, McNeese
COACH OF THE YEAR: James Landreneau, McNeese
FIRST TEAM
C – Bailey Krolczyk, Southeastern
1B – Corine Poncho, McNeese
2B – Mariana Torres, McNeese
SS – Chloe Magee, Southeastern
3B – Maddison Guillen, UIW
OF – Reagan Heflin, Nicholls
OF – Ka’Lyn Watson, Southeastern
OF – Alexis Dibbley, McNeese
DP – Audrey Greely, Southeastern
P – Cera Blanchard, Southeastern
P – Shaelyn Sanders, McNeese
UT – Victoria Altamirano, UIW
SECOND TEAM
C – Bella Perez, McNeese
1B – Lexi Johnson, Southeastern
2B – Ryleigh Mata, UIW
SS – Baylee Lemons, UIW
3B – Rylie Bouvier, McNeese
OF – Jillian Guiterrez, UIW
OF – Abby Anderson, Nicholls
OF – Cam Goodman, Southeastern
DP – Crislyne Moreno, McNeese
P – Primrose Aholelei, A&M-Corpus Christi
P – Ellie DuBois, Southeastern
UT – Haylie Savage, HCU