Capping off a softball season in which she set multiple personal bests, senior right hander Lindsey Chalmers earned selections to both the Big West all-conference first team and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) all-west region third team.
“It feels really great,” Chalmers said. “It kind of puts an emphasis on how much work I’ve put in over the years and it just shows that putting in that much work can really pay off.”
This is Chalmers’ second time being selected to the all-west regional team, making her the fourth Cal Poly softball player to be selected more than once.
“I was actually kind of shocked, I didn’t really think I would get picked this year.”
One achievement that likely helped Chalmers be selected was her first career no hitter in a 1-0 game against UC Davis April 14. Chalmers faced 23 batters retiring 21 and letting three on base. One reached on a hit-by-pitch, one reached on a walk, and another reached on an error before being caught in a double play.
Throughout the season, Chalmers pitched a personal best 19 wins and 19 complete games, the second best mark in the entire Big West Conference. She was also third in starts, fourth in innings pitched and fifth in opposing batting average. She set another personal best in strikeouts with eight in a win against Maryland on February 9, then tied that record a month later against North Dakota.
“This year I really focused on just focusing on one game at a time and I think that really helped get a few more wins compared to prior years,” Chalmers said. “Just not thinking about the big picture and all of the games in the season as a whole.”
Chalmers’ favorite moment from her this season was beating CSU Fullerton on the team’s senior day. Going into the game, Fullerton had won 10 conference games in a row and sat at the top of the conference.
“That was a really big game for us,” she said. “Just being able to stay in there and compete with them was a really good feeling.”
Chalmers pitched a complete game shut out as the Mustangs went on to win 3-0. Throughout the season, the team supported Chalmers at the plate, providing enough offense to help take some of the pressure off.
“Defensively they backed me up all the time and they were always there for me,” Chalmers said. “Offensively, we hit a lot more this year so putting up the extra runs in support was really nice and helped kind of relax the feel a little bit during the game and gave me the opportunity to give up a run or two if needed.”
While this was Chalmers’ final season at Cal Poly, the business administration senior plans to finish her education in the fall and may still have some involvement with the sport and team.
“I’m finishing school in the fall and I will probably be out on the softball field a little bit,” she said. “As of right now I have no plans to play any further. I’m open to it, but I really just want to focus on finishing my school and then starting to get into a career.”