May 15, 2014
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Fresh off the heels of having five of its own named to the Mountain West's All-Conference Team, UNLV softball had four members of that quintet selected to the NFCA's All-West Region Teams. Garie Blando, the MW's Player of the Year, as well as Pauline Monreal and Stefany Valentino were chosen to the association's second team, while Samantha Juarez was on the third team.
Valentino is a two-time honoree after being a second-team selection last year. It's the first regional recognition for Blando, Juarez and Monreal.
This is the seventh time that the softball program has had at least four members recognized in a single season, and it's the first instance since the 2005 campaign. In all, the Rebels have had 34 individuals earn all-region honors a total of 54 times.
Blando, a sophomore from Chino Hills, Calif., finished with a team-best .412 batting average, which ranks as the sixth-best in UNLV's single-season record book. She also tied for sixth in the record book in both runs (47) and on-base percentage (.488), and seventh in hits (73). Besides leading the team in those four aforementioned categories, she was also tops in at-bats (177) and stolen bases (17). She was second in sacrifice bunts (seven). She had a team-high 22 multiple-hit games, including a perfect 5-for-5 day at the plate against San Diego State on April 22 that tied a UNLV single-game record. She also had five multiple-RBI games. She scored the game-winning run three times and knocked in the game-winner once. She owned three hitting streaks of at least five games with the longest going for 17 contests.
Monreal, a senior from La Mirada, Calif., closed out her career at UNLV with her name listed in a quartet of the program's single-season marks. She plated a program-best 60 RBI this season, while tying for sixth in home runs (14) and placing 10th in both total bases (113) and slugging percentage (.685). All but the home run figure was first in the team's statistics. She also contributed a .345 batting average, 33 runs, 57 hits and a pair of sacrifice flies. Nearly 50 percent - 47 to be exact - of her hits went for extra bases with 27 of the 57 going for at least two bases (14 home runs, 12 doubles and one triple). She had a team-high 18 multiple-RBI games, including a six-RBI effort against Oregon State on May 4. She also had 17 multiple-hit games. She was responsible for four game-winning hits and three game-winning runs.
Valentino, a senior from Agoura Hills, Calif., concluded her career as a Rebel with a program-best 24-game hitting streak and a 35-game on-base streak. She led the team in triples (three), walks (26), sacrifice flies (four) and sacrifice bunts (nine). She was second in average (.393), at-bats (168), hits (66) and on-base percentage. She had 20 multiple-hit and three multiple-RBI games. She scored the game-winning run three times and plated the game-winner once.
Juarez, a junior from Las Vegas, finished third in most of the team's offensive categories, such as: average (.377), at-bats (167), runs (34), hits (63), home runs (eight), RBI (30), slugging percentage (.599), on-base percentage (.435) and sacrifice bunts (five). She led the team in game-winning runs (five) and hit-by-pitch (seven) and owned a share of the most game-winning hits (five) for the year. She was second in triples (two), total bases (100) and stolen bases (11). She had 16 multiple-hit and nine multiple-RBI games.
