IRVING, Texas – FIU produced three First-Team All-C-USA performers in sophomore pitcher Shannon Saile, junior outfielder Jackie Schoff and senior first baseman Kasandra Castle while sophomore shortstop Jessica Rivera earned All-CUSA Second Team honors and freshman second baseman Venessa Gallegos earned All-CUSA Freshman Team honors, the league announced Tuesday. The vote comes on the heels of the start of the 2018 Conference USA Championship, and the votes were by the league's 12 head coaches.
 
Saile leads C-USA with a 1.84 ERA in 30 appearances and 24 starts. She set a FIU single-season record with 259 strikeouts, which is tops in C-USA and ranks 10th nationally. Saile leads the league in opponent batting average (.163), batters struck out looking (70), ties for second in wins (17) and ranks fourth in innings pitched (174.2). She was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week three times. Saile has four games with 15 or more strikeouts, which is tops in the NCAA including a career-high 18 in a win over FAU. In C-USA play, she posted a 7-5 mark with a 2.65 ERA while teams hit just .206 against her.
 
Schoff earned All-CUSA honors for the third straight season in the outfield and her second straight All-CUSA First Team selection. She leads the team with a .361 overall batting average and hit .400 in C-USA games. Schoff has a team-high 69 hits, which ranks 23rd nationally and second in C-USA. She also leads the team in runs scored (31), total bases (85), stolen bases (14), on-base percentage (.388) and ranks second in doubles (10) and slugging (.445). Schoff ranks in the Top 12 in C-USA in batting average, total bases, doubles, stolen bases and total plate appearances. She was named C-USA Player of the Week after hitting .579, slugging .737 and going 2-for-4 with two RBI in the win at No. 4 Florida. Schoff also has a team-best 19 multi-hit games.
 
Castle earned All-CUSA honors for the first time in her career. She ranks third on the team with a .302 overall batting average after hitting a squad-best .406 in C-USA games. Her eight home runs lead the team and ranks in the Top 10 in C-USA. She ties for the team-lead in RBI (37) while leading in slugging percentage (.484) while ranking second on the squad in hits (48). Castle collected 13 multiple-hit and 13 multiple-RBI games including nine multi-hit games in league play. In-CUSA play, Castle ranked in the Top 10 in the league in batting avg. (406), slugging (.652), on-base (.449), runs scored (19), hits (28), RBI (18), home runs (5) and total bases (45). She went 3-for-4 with two RBI including a double and home run in the 5-0 win at No. 4 Florida.
 
Rivera also was selected All-CUSA for the first, making the second team as an infielder. She ranks fourth on the team with a .280 overall batting average and hit .349 in C-USA games. She is third on the team in RBI (27), home runs (4), total bases (64) and fourth in hits (44). She leads the team in walks (25) and ranks sixth in C-USA. She collected 13 multiple-hit and seven multiple-RBI games. In-CUSA play, Rivera ranked in the Top 10 in the league in slugging (.635), on-base (.462), runs scored (19), RBI (19), walks (14) and total bases (40). She was named C-USA Player of the Week after slugging 1.600, hitting .600 with five RBI, a triple and grand slam at North Texas.
 
Gallegos, in her first season with the Panthers, ties for the team-lead in RBI (37) and ranks second in home runs (5) while hitting .272. She started 52 games at second base and has 11 extra-base hits on the season which ties for fourth. She hit .339 in C-USA games, producing the third-most RBI (17) while adding 11 runs scored in 22 games. Gallegos ranked in the Top 10 in C-USA in RBI (37) and collected 11 multiple-hit and nine multiple-RBI games. She had two games with at-least four RBI and a career-best six RBI in a game.
 
Up Next
FIU finished the regular season 30-24 overall and 14-8 in C-USA play, which was second in the C-USA East Division, and earned the overall No. 3 seed in the 2018 C-USA Softball Championship. The Panthers will face the winner of the game between No. 6 Middle Tennessee and No. 7 North Texas Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET at Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium on the campus of the University of Charlotte.
 

 
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