STARKVILLE, Miss. — Junior centerfielder Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes First Team on Thursday (May 17). Bell receives her first All-Region honor, while capturing Penn State’s first NFCA All-Region First Team honor since 2007 (Danielle Kinley). Bell now is eligible to earn All-America Honors.
On Wednesday, Bell was named to the All-Big Ten First Team for the first time in her career as she collected her second All-Conference honors in consecutive seasons. Bell’s first All-Region laurel is Penn State’s first since 2008 when Jackie Hill and Ashley Esparza landed on the second team. In 2007, Kinley went on to earn Penn State’s third All-America honor, all since 2000 under the direction of head coach Robin Petini.
Despite missing 18 games due to an emergency appendectomy, Bell was a force hitting a Penn State record .423 with 41 hits in 97 at-bats. She scored a team-high 23 times with six doubles, a triple and a team-high nine home runs, all in the final two months of the season. She also knocked home 20 runs batted in with a slugging percentage of .784 and an on-base percentage of .529 while stealing five bases in six attempts.
Bell ended the season on an 11-game hitting streak while reaching base in 26 of the final 27 games of the season with 11 multi-hit games. In the final 27 games (23 of which were in Big Ten play), Bell hit .469 with a slugging percentage of .889, being held hitless just three times. One standout day was at Kent State on Apr. 25 when went she went a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs, four RBI with two home runs and a walk.
A versatile athlete, Bell moved to shortstop after an injury to everyday starter Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.), fielding the position nearly flawlessly for the final six games of the season. Prior to moving to shortstop, Bell’s arm accounted for three outfield assists.
Bell has one year of eligibility remaining and returns as one of the best outfielders in the conference and in the region. She was a unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection, the only field player to be voted by the conference’s coaches to the first team.