NEWARK, Del. - - Kylee Gunkel highlights four Wilmington University softball student-athletes who were named to the 2024 Division 2 Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) All-East Region Teams this week, being named the Regional Pitcher of the Year.
It is the first time in program history that the Wildcats garnered the D2CCA East Region Pitcher of the Year, following last year's honor by Lexi Moore being named the D2CCA East Region Player of the Year.
Joining Kylee Gunkel on the D2CCA All-East Region First Team are outfielders Tristyn Stewart and Taylor Gillis, as well as utility player Sara Miller.
Through the first game of the East Super Regional, Kylee Gunkel (Highland, Md.) is tops in the CACC with 22 wins and a 1.43 earned run average. She has now throw three straight complete game shutouts in the postseason, including a 3-0, five-hit shutout against Adelphi on Wednesday in game one of the Super Regional Series. She is 22-5 on the year with 20 complete games, eight shutouts, and a 1.03 WHIP. In 171,1 innings, she has 105 strikeouts and only 46 walks. She is the two-time CACC Pitcher of the Year as well.
Tristyn Stewart (Centreville, Md.) was also a First Team NFCA All-Region and All-CACC member and is second on the team with a .438 batting average. She has a CACC-high 76 hits, hitting three doubles and a homer, knocking in 20 runs while scoring 56 more runs. She leads the CACC and is third in all of NCAA DII with 51 stolen bases. Stewart is also fifth in the league with a .465 on-base percentage, totaling a 0.931 OPS on the season.
Taylor Gillis (Hockessin, Del.) is a repeat First Team All-Region performer, ranking seventh in the CACC with a .407 batting average, third in the CACC with a .488 on-base percentage, and ninth in the CACC with a .564 slugging percentage, going for a 1.052 OPS for the season. Of her 57 hits this year, she has 15 doubles and two triples, hitting a home run in the first East Regional Tournament game. She is also fifth in the CACC with 42 RBI and eighth while scoring 39 runs.
Sara Miller (Clayton, Del.) repeats as a D2CCA All-East Region performer, adding to her First Team All-NFCA East Region honor earlier this week. She leads the Wildcats and the CACC with 61 RBI on the year, hitting .368 while ranking fourth in the CACC with a .697 slugging percentage. She has a 1.112 OPS on the season, hitting 12 doubles, and four triples, and tying a WilmU single-season program record with 10 homers. She now has 158 career RBI, ranking second all-time.
The Wildcats continue their season in the NCAA DII East Super Regional best-of-three series, taking on Adelphi at Asbury Field.
2024 D2CCA All-East Region Softball Teams
First Team:
P – Gisselle Garcia – Pace
P – Kylee Gunkel – Wilmington
P – Lindsey Hibbs – Adelphi
C – Taylor Quinn – Caldwell
1B – Kaitlyn Stufft – Georgian Court
2B – Grace Condracek – Caldwell
3B – Brianna Shea – Pace
SS – Ashleigh Tavaska – Caldwell
OF – Shannon Sisco – Mercy
OF – Tristyn Stewart – Wilmington
OF – Taylor Gillis – Wilmington
DP – Olivia Wanser – Staten Island
UT/P – Caylea Campbehll – Queens
UT – Sara Miller – Wilmington
Second Team:
P – Sarah Clancy – St. Thomas Aquinas
P – Haile Hicks – Saint Anselm
P – Kaite Burawski – Bridgeport
C – Adriana Mungo – Georgian Court
1B – Samantha Franck – Mercy
2B – Elyse Marcano – St. Thomas Aquinas
3B – Angela Oros – Bridgeport
SS – Aileen Balderas – Staten Island
OF – Raelle Gorman – Pace
OF – Peyton Feldman – SNHU
OF – Alex Burns – Molloy
DP – Mya Jones – Bridgeport
UT/P – Eliana Raposo – St. Thomas Aquinas
UT – Jessica Feerick – St. Thomas Aquinas
D2CCA Player of the Year – Kaitlyn Stufft – Georgian Court
D2CCA Pitcher of the Year – Kylee Gunkel – Wilmington