May 29, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior outfielder Cassidy Bell was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America first team after a record-breaking season that left her name etched in Penn State softball history. She is the first Penn State player to earn first-team honors.
Bell is the fourth Penn State player to be named an NFCA All-American and is the first since Danielle Kinley did so in 2007. Bell joins Ashley Esparza (2005) and Karen Gulini (2000) in that group, as well. The full list of NFCA Division I All-American honorees is available here.
Bell, a first-team All-Great Lakes honoree, was also named first-team All-Big Ten this season after finding her way on the NFCA All-Great Lakes and All-Big Ten first-team lists as a junior in 2012. She is the second Penn Stater to earn her way on back-to-back first-team All-Region lists alongside Esparza (2005-06).
The Bakersfield, Calif., native is the lone Big Ten representative to make the first team while Tatum Edwards of Nebraska and Michigan's Sierra Romero landed on the second team. Minnesota's Kaitlyn Richardson and Michigan's Ashley Lane earned a third-team spot.
Bell finished the season batting a program-record .456 at the plate. She also broke single-season Penn State marks with 20 home runs, 55 runs and 42 walks while posting a 1.007 slugging percentage and .591 on-base percentage. The center fielder was quick on the basepaths as well, leading the team with 18 stolen bases, 13 doubles and a triple. Bell totaled 17 multiple-hit and 10 multi-RBI games while reaching base safely in 48 of 50 contests, including at one point extending her hitting streak to 22 games early in the season before reaching base in 31 games to close the regular season.
A consistent threat at the dish throughout her four years, Bell moved to the top of the Nittany Lion career leaderboards in home runs (37) and total bases (375) while she finished second in runs (141) and walks (98), third in RBI (110), fourth in doubles (41), fifth in hits (209) and tied with associate head coach Jen McIntyre for seventh in stolen bases (42). Bell is in second place with a career .359 batting average after starting all 189 games she played in her career.