Softball

Portesi, Villagrana Earn CCAA Softball Player & Pitcher of the Week


After upending two of the CCAA’s top squads over the weekend, Cal State East Bay’s Emilie Portesi and Celeste Villagrana of Cal State Monterey Bay have earned CCAA Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week for April 1-7, respectively.

Portesi, a junior outfielder from Chino Hills, was red-hot in Friday’s day at the diamond against No. 8 UC San Diego. The Pioneers split their doubleheader in a rain-altered weekend, due in no small part of Portesi’s bat. She was a perfect 4-for-4 in the opener, belting her fourth home run of the year and driving in three. She also had an RBI double and scored a run in game two as Cal State East Bay defeated the Tritons, 8-3. Portesi reached base seven times in nine plate appearances, finishing the day 5-for-7 with two doubles, a homer, two walks, four RBI, and three runs scored.

While the Pioneers were busy taking care of the No. 8 Tritons, Cal State Monterey Bay hosted No. 13 Chico State down in Seaside and also saw success.

Villagrana, a senior from Anaheim, nabbed two wins off the Wildcats in their weekend series as the Otters took the series 3-1 from the CCAA defending champions. Villagrana allowed one total run - none earned - in 12 1/3 innings pitched. Saturday’s outing was a gem as she fanned a career-high 11 batters in a six-hit shutout in the 4-0 victory. Villagrana is now just their third pitcher in Cal State Monterey Bay to strike out 11 or more batters in a game. She followed up to shutout with another victory, this time a 3-1 affair with just three hits on the board for the Wildcats along with another four strikeouts to bring her weekly total to 15.

Cal State East Bay travels to Carson to take on Cal State Dominguez Hills while Cal State Monterey Bay heads up to the Bay to face off against San Francisco State.

Also nominated:
Player -
Keila Bosinger, UC San Diego
Hayley Nunes, San Francisco State
Jordyn Martinez, Sonoma State
Haley Suter, Humboldt State
Samantha Vacko, Cal State San Bernardino
Pitcher -
Amanda Ramirez, Cal State San Bernardino
Karla Soto, San Francisco State
 
2019 CCAA Softball Weekly Awards
Player of the Week Pitcher of the Week
Jan. 28-Feb. 3 Dominique Walker, Cal State San Bernardino Alanna Phillips, UC San Diego
Feb. 4-10 Sarah Fukushima, Cal State East Bay Robyn Wampler, UC San Diego
Feb. 11-17 Alyssa Wing, UC San Diego Robyn Wampler, UC San Diego
Feb. 18-24 Amanda Flores, Chico State Brooke Larsen, Chico State
Feb. 25-March 3 Alexus Martinez, Stanislaus State Kyndra Marzorini, Stanislaus State
March 4-10 Chloe Wenger, Cal State Dominguez Hills Brielle Vidmar, Sonoma State
March 11-17 Claire Wayne, Chico State Hayley Fein, Cal State Monterey Bay
March 18-24 Brylynn Vallejos, San Francisco State Robyn Wampler, UC San Diego
March 25-31 Alee Balanon, Sonoma State Brooke Larsen, Chico State
April 1-7 Emilie Portesi, Cal State East Bay Celeste Villagrana, Cal State Monterey Bay