College Update: Hatzer turns in first-team senior season

The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.

Sabrina Hatzer (Crescenta Valley High, 2012) Cal State East Bay water polo senior: From her days at Crescenta Valley to L.A. Valley College to Cal State East Bay, Hatzer has put up big numbers and brought in big accolades.

A former All-Western State Conference honoree at Valley and a former News-Press Female Athlete of the Year at CV, Hatzer earned All-Western Water Polo Assn. first-team accolades and then was named to the first team of the WWPA All-Tournament team.

Hatzer’s decorated career came to an end on May 1 when East Bay lost to UC San Diego, 9-5, in the WWPA tournament championship. It marked the third straight year that East Bay lost to San Diego in the final.

Hatzer had a match-high three goals on four shots along with an assist and a steal in her final water polo game. It culminated a three-match tournament run in which Hatzer led all players with 10 goals and 13 points.

Hatzer led her team with 51 goals, which was sixth-best in the WWPA. She was also second on her team and fifth in the conference with 38 assists and was also second on her team and fifth in the conference with 51 steals.

Nayiri Kechichian, a senior out of Crescenta Valley and L.A. Valley also, finished her season with the Pioneers with nine goals, seven assists and 15 steals.

CSUEB finished its season at 16-11.

Angel Rodriguez (Glendale Community College, 2013) Cal State Northridge baseball senior: Rodriguez is set to make the final Big West Conference start of his career at 6:30 p.m. Friday at home against UC Irvine.

Headed into Thursday night’s game against the Anteaters, the Matadors were 32-20 with a 10-11 mark in conference.

Rodriguez ventures into Friday sporting a 3.12 earned-run average with a 4-4 record across 17 appearances and 11 games started. Through 75 innings of work, Rodriguez had 65 strikeouts to just 15 walks.

Rodriguez received a no-decision in his last start on May 20 after throwing six innings of two-hit, shutout ball in which he struck out four and walked none at Purdue.

Eugene Shin (Hoover High, 2011) Biola baseball senior: Shin, a transfer from West Los Angeles College, wrapped up his days with the Eagles.

The catcher played in 45 of his team’s 58 games with 31 starts. Shin hit .234 (29 for 124) with 17 runs, 13 runs batted in, five doubles and three home runs. Shin made just one error behind the plate, tallying a .980 fielding percentage.

Biola’s season came to an end on May 12 in a 10-7 loss in the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament. The Eagles went 31-27.

Melanie Abzun (Crescenta Valley High, 2015) Chico State softball freshman: An All-Area selection last season, Abzun had an up-and-down freshman season at Chico.

When all was said and done, she played in 27 of 56 games for Chico with 10 starts.

She hit .212 (seven for 33) with eight runs, four runs batted in and a perfect fielding percentage.

Her first collegiate game was far and away her best, as she went two for three with two runs, three RBI and slugged her first and only home run on Feb. 6 in a 14-1 win over Academy of Art.

Chico went 40-16, losing, 5-0, in the NCAA West Sub-Regional to Humboldt State on May 7.

Hailey Cookson (Crescenta Valley High, 2015) Arizona Western College softball freshman: Cookson put together a sterling freshman season at the junior college level.

Cookson hit .374 with 48 runs batted in, 47 runs scored and 12 doubles playing for an Arizona Western squad that went 43-17 and finished its season on May 6 with an 11-10 loss to Eastern Arizona in the Region 1 Tournament. Perhaps most impressive, just as Cookson displayed in her days as an All-Area standout with the Falcons, she was a consummate contact hitter, striking out just five times in a team-high 211 at-bats.

Cookson had 23 multi-hit games. During a three-game stretch on March 11-12, Cookson had three consecutive three-hit games in which she went a combined nine for 11 with five runs, 10 RBI and five doubles. That span was part of an overall 11-game hitting streak.

Cookson hit safely in nine of her last 10 games.