LOUISVILLE, Ky. – San Diego State softball's Mac Barbara (Long Beach, Calif.) earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-West Region First Team honors and Lala Macario (Chula Vista, Calif.) was selected to the NFCA All-West Region Third Team, the NFCA announced Saturday.
NFCA member head coaches from each respective region voted on the teams and all student-athletes are now eligible for the 2024 NFCA Division I All-America squads.
The first player in program history to be named to the NFCA All-Region First Team in three seasons, Barbara pulls away from Patrice Jackson, who is the only other Aztec to land on the first team multiple times (2013-14). Barbara also becomes the only Aztec to be named to any All-Region team three times, let alone first team.
The Mountain West Co-Player of the Year, Barbara has started 48 of SDSU's 50 games, leading the team with a .382 batting average, a .500 on-base percentage and a .765 slugging percentage. She also leads the Aztecs with 52 hits, eight doubles, 14 home runs, 49 RBIs, 103 total bases, 33 walks and 220 putouts. Barbara places second on the team with 33 runs scored and a triple while tying for sixth with three stolen bases. Barbara's on-base percentage ranks 38th in the nation while she also ranks in the top 100 nationally in home runs (59), home runs per game (41), RBIs (70), RBIs per game (38), slugging percentage (34) and walks per game (34).
The slugging first baseman finished the season on a tear after moving to the leadoff spot in the Aztec lineup prior to the penultimate game of the regular season at UNLV. In her last five games prior to the NCAA Tournament, Barbara batted .688 with a .722 on-base percentage, a 1.750 slugging percentage and a 2.472 OPS. She had 11 hits including seven for extra bases, two doubles and five home runs, to go with 11 RBIs and eight runs scored. Her play earned her Mountain West Player of the Week for the final week of the season and Mountain West Tournament MVP honors. Barbara smashed the conference single-tournament home run record in just four at bats, tying the single-game and career records in the process.
Macario has started 49 of the team's 50 games this season. She is batting .295 with a .385 on-base percentage. Macario is the Aztecs' leader in runs scored with 39 and is second on the team with 43 hits including five for extra bases and seven RBIs. She also leads the team in stolen bases, having been successful in 20 of her 21 attempts. Barbara is the only Aztec with more walks than Macario's 19.
Mountain West regular season and tournament champions, third-seeded San Diego State (31-19) plays fourth-seeded Grand Canyon (48-12) in the loser's bracket of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional on the campus of the No. 6 overall seed UCLA (38-10) at 4:30 p.m. PT Saturday. With a win, the Aztecs would play again at 7 p.m. against the loser of UCLA and second-seeded Virginia Tech (40-12-1).