Three Jags named first-team All-RRAC

SAN ANTONIO – Three UHV softball players earned first-team recognition on the All-Conference softball team announced by the Red River Athletic Conference on Thursday.

Claire Blinka, Cameron Cowan and Kenzie Chambers were selected to the team while Madysin Leighton was named to the second team.

Lauren Caka was a Champion of Character selection for her work in the classroom and in the community.

"I'm extremely proud of each of these girls," said head coach Lindsey Ortiz. "Each of them set great examples for our team to follow. These five are extremely deserving of this recognition."

Blinka, a junior first baseman from Port Lavaca, is a repeat first-team honoree. She hit .336 with a team-leading 41 hits in 39 regular season games, leading the team in RBIs with 39, which also ranked second in the conference. She was named RRAC Player of the Week for the week of April 17-23.

Cowan, a three-time Pitcher of the Week winner, closed the regular season with a 15-5 start after winning her last three starts to pick up first-team honors for the first time to go with a second-team nod in 2021. The junior from Shiner held a 2.18 ERA and struck out 94 batters entering the postseason. She tied the all-time shutout mark (13) in a 2-0 win over Texas A&M-San Antonio on April 29 before setting the new record in a 2-0 win over LSU-Alexandria on Thursday to open the conference tournament.

Chambers, a sophomore utility player from Galveston College, was a danger on the base path, stealing 29 bases in the regular season to rank second in the RRAC. The Grand Prairie native hit .317 in her 33 regular season appearances. She caught three runners stealing while playing catcher.

Leighton, a junior from Fort Bend and the Jaguars' leadoff batter, led the conference in on-base percentage with a .542 average in the regular season. The center fielder had 26 stolen bases this season, which was Top 5 in the conference.

UHV faces No. 2-ranked Our Lady of the Lake University in the second round of the RRAC tournament at 12:30 p.m. Friday.