Record-breaking Ray sparks SSU softball

Sonoma’s Keeley Ray is having a season for the ages as a senior center-fielder on the Sonoma State University women’s softball team that earned a third-place finish in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and takes a 39-19 overall record into the NCAA Division II West Regionals.

With the fifth-seed SSU women Seawolves opening the NCAA Division-2 West Regionals in Monterey at noon today against fourth-seed Humboldt State – the regional field also includes Montana State Billings and host CCAA champion Monterey Bay – Ray gets a chance as an impact player to add to her accolades.

Ray, a 2010 Sonoma Valley High School graduate and former all-league, All-Empire standout, who was a junior college first-team All-American at Santa Rosa Junior College, is wrapping up her college softball career in splendid fashion that recently earned her All-California Collegiate Athletic Association first-team honors.

The multiple record-?breaking Sonoman was also an All-CCAA first-team selection, as well as being named to the conference championship all-tourney team for the second straight season.

Finishing the regular season with a .469 batting average, Ray had 86 hits – ranking second all-time for an SSU single season – including eight triples and seven doubles, a .546 on-base percentage, and 27 stolen bases on 28 attempts, with her 45 runs and 33 RBIs both ranking second on the team.

She was ranked second in conference play with 53 hits, six triples, five doubles and a .477 batting average; was third with a .546 on-base percentage and 26 runs; fourth in RBIs with 23.

Entering NCAA Division-2 bracket play, Ray, who’s already set a new CCAA consecutive on-base game-streak record at 58 and tied the conference mark for consecutive games with a hit at 28, which is also an SSU record, is on the verge of breaking the college’s career record for on-base percentage and batting average.