2014 All-PacWest Softball Teams

Newport Beach, CA -- Guiding a potent Academy of Art University Softball offense that averaged over five and a half runs in its battles with Pacific West Conference opponents, the trio of Kamyle Glover, Taylor Thurman, and Elyse Cordova were selected to the 2014 All-PacWest Softball Team in a Thursday announcement by the conference office. Glover was named to the All-PacWest First Team while Thurman and Cordova each earned All-PacWest Second Team honors.

"It is a great honor for our team and our program to have earned three All-Conference picks," co-head coach Sami Strinz said. "We are thankful for the coaches in our conference for recognizing our young ladies this year. Our offense was extremely potent and it is thrilling to see these three honored for their contributions to our team."
 
This year, the PacWest coaches or designated representatives from each school selected 43 student-athletes for All-Conference accolades. The squad consisted of a First Team, Second Team, Third Team, as well as Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Freshman of the Year.

Glover, one of six Urban Knights to play in all 50 games for ART U in 2014, stepped forward as a dynamic offensive threat at the plate. The junior ended up finishing second on the team in batting average (.400), runs scored (36), tied for fourth in RBIs (21) and the leader in walks with 16. For much of the season, Glover ranked in the PacWest's top five in batting average and would finish 10th at the end of the season while demonstrating her selflessness with 11 sacrifice hits (fifth most in conference).

"It was exciting to see Kamyle emerge as an offensive threat after being recruited here as a pitcher," co-head coach Randy Ward said. "We are pleased that she earned our designated player position and that she ran with the opportunity. She did a good job limiting the peaks and valleys that she had last year and remained very consistent as a hitter."

After tripling in her first official at-bat of the season, Glover later rode a 10-game hitting streak from Mar. 16 - Apr. 4 in which she hit .600 (21-for-35), scored 16 times, and registered eight RBIs. She had five three-hit games during that span and came out of it hitting .476 on the season. From that point in time, Glover's average never dipped below .400 and she simultaneously excelled in the classroom, finishing as the program's lone recipient of a Capital One Academic All-District honor. Highly productive at the top of the ART U batting order, Glover also reached base in 41 of her 50 games played in 2014 and finished with 17 multi-hit performances (second on the team).
  Thurman, an everyday starter at third base and in the cleanup spot in the batting order, set numerous records in 2014 with her power and ability to drive in teammates. The junior led not only ART U but the PacWest Conference with 52 RBIs and finished third on the team in batting average (.374). She was sixth in the conference in doubles (15), 11th overall in home runs (5), and 13th in slugging percentage (.568). Thurman had 15 multi-hit games and, like Glover, posted a 10-game hitting streak for her best of the season.

"Taylor hit in a lot of runs for us which is a huge credit to the table-setters ahead of her," Coach Strinz said. "It was nice to see Taylor have a bit of a breakthrough year and we are looking forward to her improving off of it next season."

Among the highlights for Thurman in 2014 were two PacWest Player of the Week honors. The first came in mid-March when, in a six-game week in Hawaii, she hit .522 with 14 runs batted in and hit for extra bases five times. "The Thurmanator" would continue her tear from that point in the season, registering at least one RBI in 24 of her final 34 contests and leading the squad with 14 multi-RBI outings. Thurman's second Player of the Week award came in early April after she drove in a conference-high 12 runs across six games while batting .400 for the Urban Knights. She highlighted that week by blasting two home runs with her first collegiate grand slam coming against Azusa Pacific on Apr. 12.

This year, Thurman became the program's new single-season RBI record holder as her 52 driven in surpassed 45 from Shampayne Clay in 2010. Additionally, Thurman's 100 RBIs over the course of her three-year career are the most by any Urban Knight to date. With a season of eligibility still left, she is the only ART U Softball athlete with 100 RBIs.
 Cordova, owner of the second highest batting average in program history (.395), started all 50 games in 2014 en route to her placement on the All-PacWest Second Team. The senior led the team with a .407 batting average (9th in PacWest) along with 33 runs scored, 13 doubles, 27 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases (10th in PacWest).

"It was a blessing to have such a versatile athlete in Elyse," Coach Ward said. "Defensively, she caught everything in the air in centerfield and had quite a few assists when runners dared to score on her. We were a little unorthodox offensively this year by putting E in the three hole. I assume other teams had a hard time figuring out how to play her knowing that she could drop down a bunt and beat it out with ease as well as drive in runs. We will sorely miss her and her work ethic in our program."

One of the toughest Urban Knights to strike out, Cordova made her presence felt immediately in 2014 with an eight-game hitting streak to start as well as contribute to a 16-game stretch bridging her junior and senior seasons. She went 4-for-5 twice in Hawaii, leading her team to a 10-8 victory over defending PacWest champion UH Hilo to start the trip and a 12-3 win at Chaminade in the finale. Five of her 13 doubles came in a seven-game stretch during that time of the year and she later swiped five of her 10 stolen bases while on a 10-game hitting streak in early April.

Cordova finished the season as the team leader with 23 multi-hit games and enjoyed the longest hitting streak (12 games) of any Urban Knight in 2014. She would close out her collegiate career by totaling 11 RBIs in her last eight games and serves as the program's career leader in runs scored (136), hits (255), triples (7), stolen bases (57), and outfield assists (11).

This is the third career All-PacWest Team honor for Cordova and the first for both Thurman and Glover.