West Chester Lands Four Players on All-PSAC East Squad; Trio of Golden Rams Earn First Team Honors
LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its softball All-Conference teams on Tuesday afternoon, and West Chester had four players honored. Katelyn Rittenbaugh (Donaldson, Pa./Pine Grove), Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca), and Mairead Hopkins (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) earned First-Team honors, while Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) earned Second-Team honors.
Melvin and Aguilar both earned All-League honors for the fourth consecutive year, while Rittenbaugh became a three-time honoree after also earning First-team honors a year ago. Hopkins is the lone first-time selection for the Golden Rams after an outstanding 2024 regular season.
Rittenbaugh turned in another tremendous season in the Golden Rams infield in 2023 as she batted .310 (48-of-155) at the plate with 12 extra-base hits (12 doubles, one home run) while scoring 18 runs and driving in 21 more. Rittenbaugh also worked 17 walks during the year, just two shy of her career-high, heading to the PSAC Tournament in Quakertown, posting a .407 on-base percentage and a .430 slugging percentage. Rittenbaugh was even more impressive at the plate in league play as she led the team in batting average (.371; 36-for-97) while also leading in doubles with eight and ranking second in RBI with 19 in 31 games. Defensively, Rittenbaugh continued to show herself to be one of the top defenders in the PSAC, committing a career-low seven errors in the 2024 regular season and finishing with an excellent .958 fielding percentage.
Hopkins makes her first career appearance on the All-League squad after spending the majority of the 2024 season as the Golden Rams designated player. Hopkins wrapped up her sophomore regular season with the second-highest batting average on the team, batting an outstanding .333 (44-of-132) on the year with nine extra-base hits, including five home runs, which is tied for second-most on the team, trailing only Aguilar. Hopkins, who led all Designated Players (DP) in the PSAC East in batting average, posted the third-best batting average on the team in league action among players who played in at least 30 East games for West Chester and hit all five of her home runs against PSAC East competition, including two in an 8-2 victory over Shepherd in early April.
Melvin's 2024 season has been a fitting end to a tremendous career for the graduate student outfielder from South Jersey as she enters the postseason with a team-best .403 batting average (71-of-176) and 48 runs scored, which ranks sixth best in the PSAC entering the Tournament. A speed threat throughout her career, Melvin also swiped 41 bases on 43 attempts in 2024 as she broke PSAC records for career hits, runs, and steals during the course of the 2024 regular season. Melvin ended the year with a .494 on-base percentage and a .484 slugging percentage after tying her career-high for walks over the course of her 52 games played. Defensively, Melvin made a host of plays during the 2024 season, which saved runs and brought the Golden Ram faithful to their feet, ending the regular season with a solid .947 fielding percentage to show for her efforts in the outfield.
Aguilar, the final Golden Ram honored, earned PSAC East All-League honors for the fourth time in her career and second-team honors for the third year in a row after another excellent season as the Golden Rams shortstop in 2024. Aguilar ended the 2024 regular season with a .316 batting average (48-of-152) with 19 extra-base hits to her credit as she led the Golden Rams in both triples (5) and home runs (6). Aguilar is also tied for second in the PSAC in triples as the league heads to Quakertown as she is one of six players in the PSAC to have five or more triples in the regular season. Aguilar, who, along with Rittenbaugh, eclipsed the 200-hit plateau earlier this year, ended her regular season with 38 runs scored and a team-high 44 RBI. Aguilar also ended the year with a .411 on-base percentage and a .541 slugging percentage, while also ending the regular season with a .916 fielding percentage.
West Chester returns to action on Wednesday afternoon at Veterans Park in Quakertown to face off against No. 2 seed Seton Hill beginning at 12:30 p.m.
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