May 13, 2008

Complete 2008 All-Big West Conference Teams in PDF Format

FULLERTON, CA - Cal State Fullerton seniors Kiki Munoz and Jessica Doucette were each named to the All-Big West Conference First Team and they were joined by four of their teammates on the conference honor roll as the league's postseason honors were announced on Tuesday evening.

This season marked the fourth consecutive year that Fullerton has had at least five players named to the all-conference honor roll and the 17th time in 21 Big West Conference seasons.

Munoz (Orange, Calif./El Modena HS) earned her second straight first-team nod after leading the Titans in hitting during the regular season with a .406 average to go with 15 doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBI. Heading into this weekend's regionals, Munoz ranked among the Big West leaders in seven major categories while ranking just outside the top 10 in two more.

Doucette (El Segundo, Calif./El Segundo HS/University of Georgia) was named to the first team for the first time in her Titans career as a pitcher after earning honorable mention honors at third base last season. Emerging as the ace in the circle for Fullerton in 2008, Doucette tied her collegiate best with 13 wins to go with a 2.21 ERA, posting five shutouts and a team-high 131 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .206 batting average.

She was also a dual threat at the plate, batting .260 in 46 games with nine doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI, and in the field, committing only one error defensively in 204 chances (.995 fielding percentage).

Freshman Christine Hiner (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica HS) parlayed a solid rookie season into All-Big West Second-Team honors in 2008 as one of five pitchers selected to the team by the league's coaches. Hiner posted a team-high 14 wins in the circle to go with a 2.58 ERA in just under 174 innings. Opponents hit just .259 this season against the right-hander while striking out 115 times.

Senior Katie Gollhardt, junior Lauren Lupinetti, and freshman K.C. Craddick joined their teammates on the all-conference honor roll, earning honorable mention honors from the coaches.

Gollhardt (Glendora, Calif./Bishop Amat HS) earned her second career all-conference honor after starting all 54 games during the regular season and hitting .301 to go with six home runs and 25 RBI. She ranked among league leaders in six different categories including slugging percentage (10th, .477), hits (t7th, 53), runs (4th, 35), doubles (5th, 13), home runs (t9th), and hit by pitches (4th, 11).

Lupinetti (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood HS/St. John's University) earned her second consecutive all-league honor in 2008 after hitting .289 in 54 regular season games to go with 12 doubles, seven home runs and a team-best 33 RBI. She also scored 25 times and slugged .509 on the year to rank second on the team.

Craddick (Yorba Linda, Calif./El Dorado HS) was named to the honorable mention squad after taking full advantage of a chance to step in and start 22 of the team's final 24 games. In 31 games this season, the freshman hit .294 (second on the team) with 11 runs scored, a pair of doubles, eight RBI, and 15 walks. In Big West play, Craddick turned it up a notch, hitting .339 - including a late surge that saw her hit .571 with five walks, five runs scored, and four RBI over the team's final eight games in a drive for a postseason berth.

Cal State Fullerton opens postseason play this weekend as the No. 4 seed in the four-team regional hosted by No. 2 national seed UCLA at Easton Stadium in Westwood, Calif. The Titans and Bruins meet on Friday (May 16) in the second game of the day 30 minutes after the completion of day's first game between No. 2 Nevada and No. 3 Purdue at 2:30 p.m.