Full Release
WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The College Sports Communicators (CSC) released its Academic All-District softball teams this afternoon, and West Chester had four honorees as
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest), Antonia Browning (Newark, Del./Charter School of Wilmington), Olivia Mock (Clifton, Va./Paul V), and Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove) were all honored.
In order to be eligible for this honor, student-athletes must have been a starter or key reserve on their respective teams throughout the 2023 season, must have participated in at least 50 percent of their team's games/logged at least 10 innings pitched, and must have at least a 3.50 GPA.
With this honor, Aguilar, Browning, Mock, and Rittenbaugh all advance to the National Ballot, where they will have the opportunity to be named a First-, Second-, or Third-team Academic All-American when those teams are released later this year.
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs.
For Rittenbaugh and Aguilar, this marks their second postseason honor of the year as Rittenbaugh was a First Team All-PSAC East selection, while Aguilar collected Second Team honors earlier this month. This also marks the second Academic Honor of Aguilar's career, as she was a PhillySIDA Academic All-Area selection a season ago.
Rittenbaugh finished the 2023 season third on the team in batting average, batting .350 with 63 hits, including 12 extra-base hits, while scoring 35 runs and driving in 30 more. The senior also stole nine bases on nine attempts in 2023, ranking third on the team in steals. Rittenbaugh also finished the year with an .853 OPS, logging a .444 slugging percentage and a .409 on-base percentage.
Aguilar finished the year fourth on the team in batting average, hitting a solid .335 on the year with 57 hits, including 17 extra-base hits, which is second-best on the Golden Rams. Aguilar finished her 2023 season second on the team in RBI with 38 while also ranking second in runs scored, scoring 42 runs, while also slugging .482, and recording an on-base percentage of .421. The senior infielder, who transitioned back to the Golden Rams infield full-time in 2023, ranked second on the team in steals, swiping 14 bases on 14 attempts while recording a solid .924 fielding percentage.
Mock, another key member of the Golden Ram infield, finished the year with a .253 batting average, with 13 extra-base hits, including four home runs, while also driving in 28 runs and scoring 12. Mock also ended the year with a .722 OPS, including a .396 slugging percentage and a .326 on-base percentage.
Browning, the Golden Rams final All-District selection, pitched 42.1 innings in the circle this year, pitching to a record of 2-4 with a 4.30 ERA and a .280 batting average against. Browning struck out 19 batters on the year and registered one complete-game shutout on the season, a stellar outing against Mansfield at home in PSAC East action.
West Chester recently saw its 2023 season come to a close in the NCAA Tournament following a season which saw WCU earn a share of its first PSAC East Regular Season crown since 2019, while also returning to the PSAC and NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.
