Tiffany Caban, a sophomore right-handed pitcher for the GCSU softball team, won the Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of March 24.
Caban started a contest against Lander University on Saturday, March 22, tearing into the Bearcat offense. She finished with a final line of seven innings pitched, no walks and nine strikeouts.
In her performance, Caban retired the side twice, almost striking out the side in the fourth inning. Caban also limited advancement on the basepaths, allowing only one runner to second base.
In her first season as a Bobcat, Caban pitched to a 6.00 earned run average in 53 and two-thirds innings, striking out 55. However, it has been a breakout season for the sophomore, dropping her ERA down to 3.90 through 80 and two-thirds innings, creeping close to the strikeout century mark with 98.
“I feel like I’ve put in a lot more work to get where I am today,” Caban said. “We also have the best coaches, and it’s amazing what they’ve done for us and how she’s worked with us on pitching and different sequences.”
Caban is known for her strikeouts, accumulating four double-digit strikeout performances in the 2025 season as of Thursday, April 3.
She struck out 11 in performances against Mars Hill University, Erskine College and Columbus State University before setting a season-high strikeout record with 12 punchouts against the University of South Carolina-Aiken.
In her performances against the Cougars, while four runs were given up, slightly damaging her ERA and not qualifying as a quality start, Caban pitched all eleven innings of the contest, sending the Bobcats to a 5-4 win.
“She’s pitched a lot of innings for us, and she’s been dependable,” said Annalise Knop, a sophomore pitcher. “She’s just somebody that we can go to whenever. I mean, starting a game, closing a game, she always gets the job done.”
Diving into Caban’s sabermetrics, her 98 strikeouts provide her with an 8.5 strikeout per seven, which compares nicely to the 3.73 walk per seven metrics from her 43 walks on the season. She has also posted 4.7 hits per seven this season.
This season, Caban works more towards the fly ball in terms of how she collects her outs, posting a .32% groundout-to-flyout ratio.
“Just watching her is really impressive, and I think that her in a game just has a really calming effect on the team,” Knop said. “The combination of her space speed and spin just keeps good hitters off balance and lures them to swing at pitches outside of the zone. And we know that, and that just kind of keeps the defense at ease.”
Caban has also played most of her starts with sophomore catcher Karlie Gutierrez.
The backstop duo has played together at least a portion of every start this season. Having a consistent battery can fuel confidence in an attempt to shut down an opposing offense.
“She’s amazing,” Caban said. “She gets all her work done. She does very well. I love having her back there. I feel like I’m better overall when she’s back there.”
The GCSU softball team currently sits at a record of 18-17, one game above .500.
They have played exceptionally well in conference play, boasting an 11-4 record in Peach Belt Conference contests. The Bobcats are in third place in the conference behind the Flagler College Saints and the University of North Georgia Nighthawks, who share a 10-4 conference record.
Looking farther ahead, the Bobcats play three more series before the Peach Belt Conference tournament, with a two-game set against Shorter University beginning Tuesday, April 8.
The final home series of the year will be against Georgia Southwestern State University, starting on Friday, April 11, and closing with a doubleheader the following day. Then, the season will wrap up with another potentially crucial series against Flagler College beginning Friday, April 25.