(Aliso Viejo, CA) The Great Southwest Athletic Conference announced its winners for conference player of the week Monday afternoon, tabbing Park-Gilbert’s very own Ileana Rivera as the GSAC softball player of the week.
Rivera becomes the first Buccaneers softball player this season to take home conference player of the week honors, after a six-game stretch batting .483 where she hit three home runs and recorded seven RBIs against Simpson University and Benedictine University Mesa last week. These efforts heavily contributed to the Bucs posting a five-game winning streak and a 5-1 record on the week.
The third baseman from Long Beach, Calif., already has 24 RBIs and seven home runs on the season which ties Park-Gilbert’s single-season HR record (Gabby Romero, 2023) with 14 games remaining in 2025. Rivera also holds the second-highest OPS and slugging percentage in the GSAC at 1.454 and .905 respectively.
Against Simpson in a doubleheader last Tuesday, March 18, Rivera went 3-3 at the plate with two homers and three RBIs in game one then went 2-3 with an RBI double in game two. Game one in this non-conference series marked the second time this season where she had multiple home runs in one game. The senior slugger kept the momentum rolling into the Benedictine Mesa series with a homer and four RBIs in Park-Gilbert’s 4-0 sweep over the Redhawks.
The Buccaneers softball team returns to action this Friday, March 28, with a non-conference doubleheader against the Westcliff Warriors in Irvine, California.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Garrett Campbell
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