SAN FRANCISCO — Little did they know that when they stepped between the lines on March 8 that the San Francisco State softball team would be playing its last games of the 2020 season that day. The Gators split the doubleheader. The Gators topped No. 4 Chico State 7-4 and dropped the nightcap 5-3. In the week following, the world as we know it changed.
Saturday, April 11 marked the team's scheduled Senior Day and we honor the five seniors on the 2020 SF State softball team. While some of these student-athletes will choose to play an additional season as granted by the NCAA, others will move onto the next chapter of their lives. We honor all five of our seniors together as teammates on the 2020 San Francisco State softball team
Emily Mitchell joined SF State in 2019 after two seasons at Feather River College, where she led her team to the Golden Valley Conference Championship and was named GVC Pitcher of the Year. Last season, Mitchell pitched in 36 games last season, which is 11th most in a single season by a Gator. Her 17 wins that season are tied for sixth most in a single season while her 114 strikeouts are the ninth most. This season, the Reno, Nevada native battled back from injury to toss 61.1 innings, which included a nine-inning complete-game win over Stanislaus State. An SF State scholar-athlete, Mitchell has her associates degree in Kinesiology and is studying Criminal Justice at SF State.
Marielena Torres appeared in 58 games over three seasons for the Gators. A key player off the bench, the speedy Torres swiped 11 stolen bases and scored 24 runs, nearly exclusively as a pinch runner. The Hayward, California native is studying Child Development with an emphasis on Early Childhood.
Andrea Hildan is a career .343 batter, which ranks fourth all-time in program history. Hildan's .367 batting average as a freshman ranks tied for eighth highest in a single season. The outfielder's 66 hits that season are tied for seventh. The Rocklin, California native was named to the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team and to the 2018 All-CCAA Second Team. An SF State scholar-athlete, Hildan is studying Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Project Management and Fluid Dynamics.
In three seasons,
Michelle Castro has made a huge impact on SF State Softball. The Acampo, California native played one season at William Penn, where she was All-Conference Second Team, before transferring to SF State. The middle infielder was an All-CCAA First Team selection and the conference Newcomer of the Year in 2018 and was an All-CCAA Second Team selection in 2019. Her 88 career stolen bases are a program record. Additionally, her 44 doubles rank second, .336 batting average ranks fifth, and 108 runs are sixth. Castro is also ranked in several program single-season categories: first with 45 stolen bases in 2018, fifth and seventh in runs (45, 41) second in RBI (41), and tied for ninth in hits (65). Castro is working towards a degree in Business.
The Gators' lone four-year letter winner,
Katie Rohrer has anchored the Gators infield at first base. She has appeared in 131 games in the purple and gold and has started all but one game this season. She is batting a career-best .310 this season and is a career .285 hitter. Rohrer is tied for fifth all-time with 631 putouts. An SF State scholar-athlete, Rohrer has earned a spot on the CCAA All-Academic Team all three seasons and is studying Criminal Justice.
