LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Four athletes on the California softball team earned All-Region recognition for their efforts this season as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Thursday.

Third baseman Makena Smith was selected to the Pacific Region First Team, designated player/utility Tatum Anzaldo garnered Second Team recognition, while catcher Kacey Zobac and second baseman Elon Butler earned Third Team honors.
Cal received four All-Region selections for the second straight season with Smith and Anzaldo both earning their second consecutive accolades.

View the full list of All-Region honors here.

Smith, who recently received back-to-back First Team All-Pac-12 honors, is a fifth-year leader and team captain putting the finishing touches on one of the greatest careers in Cal history. The Murrieta, California, native entered the Cal all-time top-five lists in both home runs and RBI, currently tallying 44 home runs and 159 RBI. She is four home runs away from fourth in Cal history and seven RBI out from fourth all-time.

Playing all around the diamond and behind the plate in her career, Smith became the everyday third baseman this season and made spectacular defensive plays throughout the year. Smith was responsible for eight double plays and 117 putouts. As one of the top offensive threats in the conference, Smith finished tied for third with 14 home runs and is fifth with 13 doubles, one shy of a five-way tie for first.  

Hailing from Whittier, California, Anzaldo earned her second straight Second Team All-Region honor after recently making a second consecutive All-Conference First Team. As the table-setter at the top of the lineup, Anzaldo tied for the most hits in conference play this season with 32 and was seventh with a .390 batting average. Since returning to the lineup on March 3 after missing 10 games, Anzaldo has collected a .398 average and is fifth in the conference with a .472 OBP. She hit two home runs in the May 6 win over Arizona to clinch the Bears' first series win in Tucson since the 2013 season.

Zobac saved her best season with the Bears for last. The senior from San Jose, California, who earned her first All-Pac-12 selection (Third Team), is third on the team with a .338 batting average and she tied for sixth in the conference with 12 doubles. Her .462 OBP is eighth in the Pac-12, while she finished second in the Pac-12 with 31 walks. Zobac is tied for second on the team with nine home runs.

Butler burst onto the scene immediately for the Bears this season, homering in her first-career at-bat at the Easton Invitational in February and didn't stop from there. Earning Third Team All-Conference honors and All-Freshman team recognition this season, Butler was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on April 3 after hitting .500 with five RBI, two home runs and a double in the series against then-No. 24 Utah. Butler blasted a 3-run shot in the third inning and a solo shot in the sixth frame that turned out to be the game-winner in Cal's series-clinching win over the Utes. The San Jose, native is tied for second on the team with nine home runs.  

NFCA Pacific Region First Team: Makena Smith, Third Base
NFCA Pacific Region Second Team: Tatum Anzaldo, DP/Utility Non-Pitcher
NFCA Pacific Region Third Team: Elon Butler, Second Base; Kacey Zobac, Catcher

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