May 7, 2013  

Benavidez Highlights Bearkats Dominance In All-Southland Selection

Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information

Sam Houston senior outfielder Tori Benavidez has earned honors as both the 2013 Southland Conference Softball “Player of the Year” and “Hitter of the Year.”

In addition, Benavidez is one of nine Bearkats who have been named All-Southland Conference.

Benavidez, designated player Hillary Adams and third baseman Shelbi Tucker are first team selections.

First baseman Kim Damian was named to the second team. Shortstop Tiffany Castillo, second baseman Alyssa Coggins, catcher Ashley Isbell and outfielder Jessica Slater are third team honorees.

Outfielder Cecilia Castillo was named honorable mention.

The annual softball all-league honor squad is selected by vote of the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.

Benavidez becomes the 11th player in Southland history to be named player and hitter of the year in the same year.

She is the second Bearkat to be named player of the year.

Jennifer Delcambre took the honor in 1993.

A native of Midlothian, Benavidez led the league in Southland play in hits (41), runs scored (29), stolen bases (12), plate appearances (109) and at bats (99), was second in batting average (.414), third in triples (three), fifth in total bases (56), sixth in on-base percentage (.463), ninth in runs batted in (18) and 13th in slugging percentage (.566).

She is the fifth Bearkat to be named hitter of the year and first to be named player of the year in the same season.

Adams posted a .346 batting average this spring and has tied the Sam Houston school mark for most home runs in one season (11).

Tucker hit .271 for the Bearkats this year and is one of the top defensive players in the league.

Damian and Tucker stand first and second in career home runs at Sam Houston.

Damian hit .299 with six doubles and nine home runs this season.

Tiffany Castillo was the Kats’ second leading hitter in 2013 with a .381 average, seven doubles and nine homers.

Slater hit .335 with three doubles and two triples.

Coggins batted .325 with 50 total hits.

Isbell hit .284 and was one of the league’s top catchers.

Sam Houston State led all teams with nine all-conference selections.

Northwestern State had six selections while regular-season championship McNeese State had five.

Central Arkansas and Houston Baptist each received four all-conference selections followed by Southeastern Louisiana with three.

Nicholls State placed two players on the all-conference teams while Lamar, Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi had one all-conference selection apiece.

The 2013 Southland Conference Softball Tournament is slated to get underway Thursday at the Lady Demons Softball Complex in Natchitoches, La., with game one starting at 11 a.m.

McNeese State won its third regular-season title and is the No. 1 seed.

The tournament fields a six-team double elimination format with the winner punching its ticket to the NCAA tournament.

About Cheval John

Cheval John is the Founder and CEO of Vallano Media, LLC, a marketing agency which helps small to mid-sized businesses use social media correctly to build a loyal following and in the process become more profitable. Cheval is also the host of "What's The Word?" a podcast about finding out what inspires people to choose their respective careers and how social media impacted their lives and business. He is the author of two books including the Amazon Best-Seller, "8 Lessons Every Podcaster Needs To Learn." He has spoken at Social Media Week Lima in Ohio and at Social Media Day Houston 2017 about topics around live streaming and podcasting. Cheval has been featured in media outlets including Ebony Magazine, Social Media Today and Forbes. He was named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer (2016 and 2017) and a Twitter Top 50 Influencer by Onalytica in 2018.

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