Contact: Jeff Sattora
CLEVELAND- Two Cleveland State Vikings' softball players were honored this week, named as preseason All-Horizon League selections by CollegeSportsMadness.com. The website picks the top players in each conference around the country, and expects both Vikings' selections to have major impacts this season.
Senior infielder Dara Toman, a 2012 Horizon League All-League First Team selection, was named First Team All-League preseason by College Sports Madness. While utility player Sara Shields was named a Second Team All-League selection by the site. Shields was both a Second Team All-League and All-Newcomer team selection in 2012 in the Horizon League.
Both Vikings are coming off impressive years for the green and white, and are looking to help improve for CSU in 2012-13.
Toman hit .405 in 2012 with a school single season record and league-high 19 home runs. She led the league in runs with 45 and tied for third with her 42 runs driven in. The then junior's .892 slugging percentage was far and away the tops in the league with the next closest finisher slugging at a .775 clip. Toman's totals ranked her seventh in the country in slugging percentage and tied her for 10th nationally in home runs.
Not only did Toman's numbers set a single season standard for excellence, she is currently making a push for an all-time great career in the Cleveland State record books.
Heading into her senior season Toman is currently first all-time on the CSU career home run list (45), second on the RBI career list (116), tied for third on the doubles career list (36), and fifth on the career runs scored list (106).
Shields was another player who made a big impact for the Vikings last season, her first at CSU after transferring from Lake Erie College. In her first season playing Division I, Shields was second on the team in average (.321), slugging percentage (.522), on-base percentage (.372), runs (24), hits (43) and home runs (seven).
|
|
|
The then sophomore also excelled on the pitcher's mound as she racked up a team-best 13 wins, tying her for sixth most in the league. On the year she pitched 158.2 innings, and finished with a 3.22 ERA and 129 strikeouts. The 158.2 innings placed her fifth in the league in that category.
The Vikings will open the 2012 regular season February 8th when the team takes on Towson at 10:00 a.m. in Greenville, North Carolina.