CYPRESS, CA – The Orange Empire Conference has released the All-Conference teams for softball for the 2023 season. Cypress has six selections; Emily Rush, Jaylene Duarte and Kaitlyn Reynolds being named to the First Team while Camryn Addimando, Lizbeth Gomez and Mikala Jacobsen have been named to the Second Team. Rush was named MVP for the Orange Empire Conference and the Chargers coaches won Staff of the Year.
Emily Rush- Pitcher/3B
Leading the way all season long from the circle and at the plate was Rush. As a pitcher, she totaled 94 strikeouts in 181 innings with a conference leading 25 wins and 1.43 ERA. Rush was also atop the leaderboards for most of Cypress's and the conference's leaderboards. She was first in home runs with 13, tied her teammate for 37 RBI and was third in batting average with .449%. As a result of her conference leading performance, Rush was awarded the greatest honor in the OEC. She was placed on the First Team All-OEC and won Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row.
Jaylene Duarte- SS
Duarte played a solid shortstop for the Chargers all season long. With the bat, she landed atop of the conference leaderboards and helped Cypress be dominant in the OEC. With her .464 batting average, she finished second in the conference. She was also one run shy of tying her two teammates in first place with 36 RBI. Durte also finished first in triples amongst her team and third in extra base hits.
Kaitlyn Reynolds- P/2B
Reynolds played a strong second and shared the circle with Rush. Pitching, she totaled 23.2 frames as she only allowed 10 earned runs and struck out ten. Reynolds landed fourth behind her teammate in earned run average as she ended the regular season with a 2.89 ERA. In the box, she was atop of the leaderboard with her conference leading 37 RBI. With Cypress, Reynolds led the team in doubles, was second in hits and on base percentage. Along with making the All-OEC First Team, she earned a spot on the 3CFCA All-SoCal team.
Camryn Addimando- UTIL
As a utility player, Addimando came up clutch in many of her appearances. Over the season, she accumulated 32 hits, five doubles and 15 RBI. Addimando finished with a .352 batting average, .404 on base percentage and 23 runs scored. Her consistent play and lockdown third base glove helped the Chargers earn their 25th OEC Championship.
Lizbeth Gomez- C/UTIL
Gomez was the heart of the team as she was captain behind the dish. Starting almost every game behind home plate, she also racked up many impressive offensive accolades. Gomez got on base with her 41 hits, .380 batting average and .455 on base percentage. She knocked in 26 RBI, scored 22 times and finished with eight doubles.
Mikala Jacobsen- C/OF
Jacobsen was a key staple in the middle of the Chargers high power batting lineup. She swung a powerful bat with her .533 slugging percentage, two home runs and two doubles. In the outfield and behind the plate, the freshman only surrendered two errors all season. Jacobsen tallied a total of nine extra base hits and seven walks and was second on the team with her seven stolen bases.
Staff of the Year
Led by Brad Pickler who has been at the helm for the last 36 years; Pickler assembled a team with experience to earn the program's 25th OEC Championship. Nicole Wise and Kevin Monahan were the assistant coaches throughout the season to provide advice and help to the players and Pickler. Chris Brown was the team manager who coordinated the behind the scenes for game days. The work and help these coaches brought to each practice and games aided the girls to propel to the top of the conference.
UP NEXT: The Chargers will host the Pasadena City College Lancers in the first round of the 3C2A Southern California Regionals. The first game of the series will be played on Friday, May 5th at 1:45pm. Per 3C2A regulations, Admission will be $12 general, $8 for children under 12 and seniors 55+ (All Sports Season Passes are not accepted for playoffs).
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