TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (May 8, 2019) – There’s a reason why the No. 6 Salt Lake Community College softball program sits at the top of the Scenic West Athletic Conference.
The Bruins, who had a league-best 44-6 record and 36-4 in the Scenic West, are on a 23-game winning streak entering this week’s Region 18 championships at Norma Carr Field in Taylorsville. However, the team accolades aren’t the only thing SLCC will have to celebrate this week as the Bruins were well-represented on the All-Region 18 list.
Salt Lake pitcher/designated hitter Tarni Stepto was named as the Region 18 Pitcher-of-the-Year and SLCC coach Cyndee Bennett earned Coach-of-the-Year honors from her peers. Southern Idaho’s Kalena Shepherd was named as the Region 18 Most-Valuable-Player. The awards were voted on by the league’s coaches.
Shepherd finished the season with a batting average of .461, leading Southern Idaho with 46 RBI’s on the season. A freshman from California, Shepherd also hit 13 home runs and had a league-high 41 walks. Stepto, the region’s top pitcher, finished the regular-season with an ERA of 0.39 and a record of 9-1 in the circle. A native of Australia, she threw five complete games and had 90 strikeouts on the season.
Bennett, in her sixth season as head coach of the Bruins, has led Salt Lake to three region titles and has never finished lower than second in the Region 18 tourney. SLCC won their fourth Scenic West title under Bennett this season, winning 8-of-the-last-10 league titles.
Shepherd and her teammate Hadlie Henderson shared All-Region 18 First-Team honors with SLCC’s Stepto and Brook Carter as the top batteries in the league. Carter was the league’s second-best pitcher in ERA with a mark of 2.68, going 10-1 on the year. Henderson finished the year going 14-4. The Second-Team Battery included USU Eastern’s Carlye Levy and Snow’s Alexis Poulsen, with the Honorable Mention list featuring SLCC’s Arienn Ackerman and Colorado Northwestern’s Natalie Parish.
The All-Region 18 First-Team infield consisted of SLCC’s Mallory Barber and Dayna Hokanson, Southern Idaho’s Tristin Evans and Nikki Zielinski, and Snow’s Brooke Brown. Southern Idaho had two players on the All-Region 18 First-Team outfield in Hannah Peterson and Kylie Baumert, mixed with USU Eastern’s Avery Blackhurst and SLCC’s Paige Reynolds.
USU Eastern had two players on the Second-Team Infield as Taylor Passarella and McKenzie Dorney made the list. The two were joined by Southern Idaho’s Anjalee Batchelor, Southern Nevada’s Alexis Vigil and Snow’s Madi Rouska. Honorable-mention infielders included Snow’s Kloie Park and Avery Shields, along with Salt Lake’s Mackenzy Richins and CNCC’s Mercy DeRyke.
The Second-Team Outfield included Salt Lake’s Mercedes Call, Snow’s Alyvia Woolsey and Southern Nevada’s Avery Rayos. Players who earned an honorable mention were USU Eastern’s Rilee Stookey, SLCC’s Savannah Montoya, Snow’s Abby Barns and Colorado Northwestern’s Josie Hiatt.
Kim Taylor was the All-Region 18 First-Team utility player after hitting .420 in 31 games on the year. SLCC’s Mackenzy Richins and Southern Nevada’s Bailey Pepper shared the honors for First-Team designated player. Pepper’s teammate, Breanna Alvarez, made the All-Region Second-Team, with Snow’s Avery Reynolds, USU Eastern’s Ashley Sweat and Colorado Northwestern’s Mercy DeRyke earning honorable mention from the region’s coaches. USU Eastern’s Jaiden Smith was the Honorable-Mention for designated players.
The Region 18 championships will take place Wednesday through Friday at Norma Carr Field in Taylorsville, Utah. A full bracket can be found at scenicwestsports.com.