Softball Sees Four Selected to All-SSC Teams

5/6/2024 4:58:00 PM | By: Kyrin Mayfield | @k_mayfield97

All-Conference Teams
MELBOURNE, Fla. - For the second-straight year, four members of the Embry-Riddle softball team received All-Sunshine State Conference honors, the conference announced on Tuesday morning. Raissa Bianco, Lauren Latoria, Delaney Morgan, and Emma Wood all earned spots on the All-SSC Second Team. It was the third-straight selection for Latoria and the second-consecutive season Bianco and Morgan gathered All-Conference honors. Voting was conducted among the league's 11 coaches.

To be eligible for All-SSC, A student-athlete must start a minimum of 51 percent of her team's scheduled contests at the position for which she's being nominated, except for pitcher. To be nominated at utility (pitcher), a student-athlete must have played at least 33% of the school's total games at other lineup positions besides pitcher. To be nominated at utility (non-pitcher), a student-athlete must have played at least two or more positions with no more than 60 percent of playing time at one position.

Bianco held down the second-base position and the leadoff spot in the lineup for a majority of the season. It was a much-improved second season for the junior as Bianco led the team in batting average (.365), which ranked sixth in the league. The Piraquara, Brazil product also placed inside the top 10 in the SSC in on-base percentage (.450, 6th), OPS (.910, 10th), runs (35, 6th), stolen bases (21, 6th), and fielding double plays (13, 2nd).

Bianco recorded more multi-hit games (13) than any other Eagle in 2024, had the team's longest hitting streak (nine games), and reached base in each of the final sixteen games of the season, an individual-best for the year.

The program's dedicated designated player, Latoria made an All-SSC team in each of her final three seasons. In 2024, the graduate student played in 48 games with 42 starts. Latoria's three triples were tied for the seventh most in the SSC. She also notched three doubles, one home run, and 20 RBIs. Latoria had a career-best performance against Chadron State this year where she went 4-for-4 with two runs and five RBIs, which tied for the fourth most by an SSC student-athlete in a game this season.

Morgan added on to last year's All-SSC performance with an even better season this year. The junior played in all 52 of the Eagles' games with 50 starts in center field. She ranked in the top 10 in the conference in multiple categories including batting average (.334, 10th), slugging percentage (.528, 6th), on-base percentage (.472, 3rd), OPS (1.000, 5th), runs (37, 5th), triples (5, T-3rd), walks (25, 5th), and stolen bases (24, T-4th).

Wood was one of Embry-Riddle's versions of Shohei Ohtani as the sophomore showed great strength inside the batter's box and in the circle. The start of the 2024 season showed glimpses of greatness as Wood went 3-for-3 with two doubles in the home opener and converted that into a six-game hit streak. Six of Wood's eight hits in that span went for extra bases. By the midway point of the season, the sophomore had racked up a league-high 11 doubles, which held up to tie for the fourth-most in the SSC by the end of the year.

Wood played in 49 games for the Blue and Gold and drew starts at four different positions including pitcher, first base, right field, and designated player. At the plate, Wood hit a solid .308 with a .451 slugging percentage. Over 141 at-bats, the Palm Coast, Florida product scored 19 times and drove in 24 runs with 11 doubles, one triple, and two home runs. Additionally, Wood led the program in multi-RBI games with seven.

As a pitcher, Wood held opposing batters to a .227 average, the lowest on the team. Over 18 appearances and 36.2 innings, she earned a 6-0 record, a 1.91 ERA, a team-low 1.12 WHIP, and struck out 13 batters. Wood finished tied for third in the SSC in saves with four, which also matched the single-season program record. Two of those occurred in Embry-Riddle's series against No. 25 Nova Southeastern.

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