College Update: Burbank’s Hooper ends record-breaking career with CSUN softball
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Katie Hooper (Burbank High, 2013) Cal State Northridge softball senior: Hooper wrapped up a record-breaking career in her final season with the Matadors.
On April 26, Hooper blasted her 46th career double to set a new CSUN mark. The utility player ended the season with 14 doubles to increase her all-time mark to 50. Hooper had double-digit doubles in all four of her seasons at CSUN.
Hooper, the 2015 Big West Player of the Year, is only the fifth player in Big West Conference history to tally 50 career doubles.
Hooper, who started 50 games this season for the Matadors, proved to be one of the CSUN’s most prolific offensive threats. She finished second on the team in batting average, hitting .358 (53 for 148), was tied for second in runs batted in with 37 and tied for second in home runs with eight. In addition, Hooper scored 22 runs and had a .642 slugging percentage.
The Matadors (31-22, 11-10 in conference) wrapped up their season Saturday with a pair of wins against UC Davis, 4-3, 8-3. Hooper had a walk in the opening game and had a hit and scored a run in the second.
Caitlyn Brooks (Burbank High, 2015) Notre Dame softball sophomore: The Fighting Irish have earned a spot in the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament with the help of the former Bulldogs standout.
Notre Dame (33-21) earned its 19th straight NCAA bid when the selections were released Sunday. The Irish will take part in the Auburn Regional and earned a No. 3 seed. They will take on the University of California Berkeley at 11 a.m. Friday in a game that will be televised on ESPN2.
The Golden Bears are 30-22.
Notre Dame posted a 13-11 record during its fourth season as an Atlantic Coast Conference member, placing fifth in the regular season before advancing to the ACC Tournament semifinals. In the semis Friday, the Fighting Irish fell to Florida State, 6-0.
Brooks, a pitcher/outfielder who has started in 52 of 54 games, earned All-ACC Tournament honors.
Brooks is currently fourth on the team in hitting with a .304 average (48 for 158) and is third among the Fighting Irish in runs batted in with 37. In addition, she has walked 24 times (tops on the team) and has 23 runs, 10 doubles and seven home runs (tied for team high).
In the circle, Brooks has a 5-4 record and a 4.25 earned-run average in 24 appearances and 61 innings, striking out 39 and walking 53.
Shayne Beamer (Burroughs High, 2013) UC Dan Diego men’s volleyball senior: The 6-foot-6 middle blocker enjoyed success in his final collegiate season.
The Tritons completed their season Friday with a 25-19, 25-19 and 25-19 nonconference loss to California Baptist University. UCSD finished the year at 7-20 and 3-15 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Beamer, who played in 21 matches, starting in 18, finished third on the team in kills with 98, third in blocks with 43 and third in points with 131.5. In addition, he had 10 aces (fourth best) and 12 digs.
His best match came March 17 against Concordia when he recorded a season-high 13 kills. Beamer also had 11 kills and five blocks against Cal State Northridge on March 1 and had seven blocks Feb. 18 against BYU.
Ryan Galan (Burroughs High, 2015) Los Angeles Mission College baseball sophomore: The former Indians player helped the Eagles make history and earned all-conference accolades in the process.
Mission College finished with a 28-16 record, setting a new mark for wins in a season. In addition, the Eagles won the Western State Conference South championship with a 15-5 record.
In the postseason, the Eagles took two of three games against Palomar to win the California Community College Athletic Assn. regional playoff series.
Unfortunately for the eighth-seeded Eagles, their season came to an end with losses Friday (5-4) and Saturday (7-5) against No. 4 Long Beach City College in the CCCAA Southern California Super Regionals.
Galan, an infielder, was a steady contributor for Mission College, earning second-team all-conference honors.
The sophomore appeared in 40 games, starting in 34. Along with a .289 average (36 for 121), Galan scored 21 runs and had 16 runs batted in and four doubles.
Twitter: @jefftsports
