CHICO, Calif. – Entering the CCAA Softball Tournament as the No. 3 seed this week, the Cal State San Marcos softball team placed six on the 2023 All-CCAA team, announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
 
Bianca Gutierrez was named to the All-CCAA first team while Jillian Albayati, Savannah Coyle, Paige Donnelly, Gianna Lombardi and Madison Waymire were selected to the second team.
 
CSUSM's starting centerfielder, Gutierrez leads the team with 48 hits and is third on the team with a .322 batting average. The Camarillo native has the third-longest streak of reaching base safely in the CCAA at 21 games with Cal State Dominguez Hills' Raquel Jaime the conference leader at 34 games and CCAA Player of the Year Anna Zoia-Buescher second with 29 games. Gutierrez is the fourth-toughest batter to strikeout in the CCAA, averaging only one strikeout every 21.3 at bats. The sophomore outfielder has the longest hitting streak for CSUSM this season at 10 games. This is Gutierrez's second consecutive All-CCAA first-team nod.

A finalist for the CCAA's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year, Donnelly finished the regular season in the top 4 in the CCAA with a 1.129 OPS (2nd), 34 RBIs (3rd), a .641 slugging percentage (3rd), eight home runs (3rd), 27 walks (3rd) and a .488 on-base percentage (4th). The Poway native has recorded a team-leading 11 multi-RBI games and 14 multi-hit games. She reached base safely in 14 consecutive games. Donnelly was named CCAA Player of the Week twice this season and was listed under NFCA's top performances twice.  This is Donnelly's second time earning All-CCAA honors as last season she was a first-team selection.
 
Coyle has been outstanding once again as she earned two CCAA Pitcher of the Week honors. She finished the regular season with a 15-6 record. The left-handed Oceanside native was sixth in the league in ERA (1.76), fifth in opposing batting average (.219) and third in wins (15). Coyle's 12 wins against conference opponents this season rank second behind Cal State San Bernardino's Samantha Vargas. This is Coyle's second time earning All-CCAA honors as last season she was a first-team selection.
 
Albayati has the sixth-best slugging percentage at .574 and is tied for eighth with six home runs in the CCAA. The freshman third baseman from Anaheim ranks second on the team with 17 RBIs, eight doubles and slugging percentage while coming in third with 76 assists, 15 walks and 19 runs scored. This is Albayati's first All-CCAA honor.
 
Lombardi boasted a .319 batting average with 29 hits including four doubles and one home run this season. The sophomore Santa Clarita native split time between catcher, third base, shortstop and designated player this season. This is Lombardi's first All-CCAA honor.
 
Waymire ranks fourth in the CCAA in walks per game (0.56) and seventh in sacrifice bunts per game (0.20). The sophomore third baseman/outfielder from Rancho Cucamonga leads CSUSM in runs scored (26), sacrifice bunts (8) and triples (3) while ranking second in doubles (8) and walks (23). This is Waymire's first All-CCAA honor.
 
The Cougars (27-18) will make their second appearance in the CCAA Tournament on Wednesday at 12 p.m. as No. 3-seed CSUSM faces No. 6-seed Chico State on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California.  
 
The winner of the tournament will receive the CCAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament beginning on May 11. The Cougars were the No. 5 seed in the most recent West Region poll.