SIAC Announces 2023 Softball All-Conference Team

Courtesy of the SIAC

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has announced its 2023 softball all-conference awards, as voted on by the league’s coaches and sports information directors.

Lane’s Millay Lambert headlines the all-conference team after being selected as the 2023 SIAC Player of the Year and Utility Player of the Year. Her teammate, Jersey Cabana was named 2023 Starting Pitcher of the Year. 

Spring Hill’s Paityn Desormeaux earned this year’s Relief Pitcher of the Year honor and Fort Valley State’s Raven Webb was selected as the 2023 SIAC Freshman of the Year. 

Lane’s head coach, Joel Worthington, has been named the 2023 SIAC Softball Coach of the Year.

Lambert was the only player to appear and start in all of Lane’s contests throughout their 47-game regular season schedule. Throughout the season, she played catcher and all three positions in the outfield. The Florence, AL native finished the regular season with 60 hits, 53 runs, 101 total bases, 54 RBI, eight home runs, and a .400 batting average.

Cabana finished the regular season 18-5 with a 2.02 ERA. The California native pitched 155.2 innings and recorded 188 strikeouts while walking just 17 batters. She is ranked in the conference in ERA (2.02), victories (18), strikeouts (188), appearances (34), saves (5 – tied for fourth in Division II), shutouts (6), strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.38 – fifth in Division II), WHIP (1.07), and walks per seven innings (0.74 – ninth in Division II).

The two-time SIAC Relief Pitcher of the Year, Spring Hill’s Paityn Desormeaux, struck out 64 batters in 28 appearances this season. The Lafayette, La., native maintained a 3.16 ERA across 88.2 innings pitched and holds the second-best WHIP (1.22) in the conference.

Webb was an offensive threat at the plate and at the mound for the Wildcats in her rookie season. The Alpharetta, Ga. native was an anchor for Fort Valley State at third base and played an integral part of FVSU’s pitching rotation. In 24 games, the freshman hit .426 with 55 hits in 129 at bats. She scored 16 runs, 43 RBI, 16 doubles, nine walks, and two home runs with an on-base percentage of .464 and a slugging percentage of .597. The rookie has only struck out three times in 129 at bats. In the circle, Webb appeared in 17 games with eight starts and finished with a 6-3 record (2.78 ERA) over 65 innings pitched. 

Worthington has led the Dragons to a school record 34 wins and finished with a 11-6 record in SIAC play during the regular season. The Dragons enter the tournament as the fourth seed in the West Division. The team is currently ranked second in Division II in batting average (.382) and third in on-base percentage (.453). They are also ranked sixth in Division II in scoring (7.79). Lane is ranked in both the SIAC and NCAA Division II in slugging percentage (.551), total runs (366), hits (465), team ERA (2.39), strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.11), and shut outs (12). In addition to their accomplishments on the field, the team produced the college’s valedictorian and as well as the highest percentage of players named to the President’s List.

The Elite 14 award recognized the student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the SIAC championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Abigail Boudreaux of Miles College is this year’s softball Elite 14 recipient and Hailey Bracey of Fort Valley State University is the Co-Elite 14 Award recipient.

The 2023 Cricket SIAC Softball Championship is set to take place May 2-4, 2023, at Gordon Sports Complex in Albany, GA. For more information, click here. Events can be watched live on the SIAC Sports YouTube channel.

(complete team listed below)

SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS

Player of the Year: Millay Lambert, Lane
Utility Player of the Year: Millay Lambert, Lane
Starting Pitcher of the Year: Jersey Cabana, Lane
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Paityn Desormeaux, Spring Hill
Freshman of the Year: Raven Webb, Fort Valley State
Coach of the Year: Joel Worthington, Lane

Elite 14: Abigail Boudreaux, Miles College, 4.0 
Co-Elite 14: Hailey Bracey, Fort Valley State University, 4.0

First Team

Second Team