The Big West softball awards were doled out today and Cal Poly, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara were each given two awards in a vote of the league's eight head coaches. Additionally, UC Davis laid claim to a major softball award for the first time in its short Division I history.
The Mustangs saw Anna Cahn nab Pitcher of the Year honors, while head coach Jenny Condon won Coach of the Year accolades for the third time in five years. LBSU saw Jennifer Griffin named Co-Field Player of the Year, while freshman Taylor Petty became LBSU's third consecutive Freshman Pitch of the Year, sharing the honor with UCSB's Krista Cobb. The Gauchos’ other award winner was Christine Ramos, who claimed Co-Field Player of the Year accolades. UCD's first honor went to Kelly Harman who was named the Freshman Field Player of the Year.
Cahn had a simply outstanding season as the ace of the Cal Poly pitching staff. The sophomore from Los Alamitos, Calif., leads the Big West in wins (27) and innings pitched (232.2), ranks third in ERA (1.71), second in strikeouts (151) and third in opponents’ batting average (.223). The four-time Big West Pitcher of the Week was solid during conference play to the tune of a 14-1 record, 2.10 ERA, 103.1 innings pitched, 46 strikeouts and only 18 walks allowed. Cahn also picked up four games of 10+ K’s including a career-best 11 in a 13-inning marathon win over Utah State March 8.
Griffin is the first LBSU player to win Field Player of the Year honors since Marcel Torres did it in the 2005 season. The senior from Whittier, Calif., was the 49ers’ top threat in the batters box this season, batting .329 and tying for the league lead in RBI (40) and runs scored (35), while leading the conference in doubles (17), walks (48) and on base percentage (.497). Griffin was very consistent during conference play as well as she batted .320 with 10 doubles, 13 RBI, 25 walks and four stolen bases. She also is among the top players in the NCAA in several categories as she ranks 17th in doubles per game (0.32) and fifth in walks per game (0.91). In addition to her bat and plate discipline, Griffin also committed just four errors in 122 chances at third base.
Ramos has been considered one of the top leadoff hitters in the Big West and the country and her senior season did nothing to dispel that notion. The native of Long Beach, Calif., led the Big West and set career-highs in hitting (.417) and base hits (75). Her batting average ranks 32nd in the NCAA and she is also one of the nation’s toughest strikeout victims as she only goes down on strikes .044 percent of the time, 21st on the national leaderboard. Ramos also showed she's a threat on the basepaths with a league-leading 16 steals, while also adding 31 runs scored and 19 RBI. On the Big West career leaderboard, Ramos broke into the top 10 career hits list this season and finishes sixth with 258 base hits. Ramos is the Gauchos' second straight Field Player of the Year and the third straight UCSB player to claim one of the major awards.
Petty, who hails from San Pedro, Calif., came out smoking in her first season at LBSU, going 15-4 with a league-best 1.41 ERA in 144.1 innings. She also collected 15 complete games, four shutouts, struck out 129 batters and allowed oppositing hitters to bat just .206. Petty’s numbers were even more stellar in conference action as she went 7-2 with a 1.38 ERA, seven complete games, one shutout, 54 strikeouts, a .914 opponents' batting average and only allowed 17 runs in 66.0 innings. Petty also showed a panchant for big games as she struck out 11 on two occasions this year and pitched a one-hitter against San Diego in her first career start February 21.
Cobb, a native of West Hills, Calif., had one of the finest seasons by a pitcher in UCSB history in just her first year on campus. She is tied for third on the league leaderboard in wins (18), eighth in innings pitched (148.2), sixth in ERA (1.93) and strikeouts (115) and is tops in opponents' batting average (.204). Cobb also tied the UCSB single-season wins mark, set a new standard for freshman pitchers with her victory total and shut out nine foes this year, four of them coming in conference action.
Harman made history as the Aggies' first major award winner after a stellar season at the plate. The native of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., batted .295 in her freshman year, leading the team in homers (5), RBI (23), runs scored (22), multi-hit outings (13) and multi-RBI games (6), while ranking second in hits (46) . Harman upped her production in conference play, batting .328 with two homers, 11 RBI, 20 hits, five doubles and six runs scored.
Including her first season in 2005, Condon has won the Coach of the Year award in every odd numbered season during her tenure. This year, she piloted the Mustangs to their second Big West championship and a school DI-high 39 victories and 18 wins in conference play. Additionally, Cal Poly became the first team in the league since Cal State Fullerton in 2002 to have two different 10+ game win streaks in the same season, was victorious in 17 straight home games and won 18 of its 19 home contests on the year.
Cal Poly raked in the most All-Conference selections as the Mustangs were honored with 10 choices, including four first teamers, across the three teams. Long Beach State was second with eight total choices and tied Cal Poly with four first team honorees. Cal State Fullerton had six All-Big West players, half of them coming on the first team, while UC Santa Barbara’s three first teamers headlined its five total choices. The complete Big West All-Conference teams are listed below:
2009 BIG WEST SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
| FIRST TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Pos |
B-T |
Ht. |
Year |
Hometown |
| Anna Cahn |
Cal Poly |
P |
L-L |
6-1 |
Sophomore |
Los Alamitos, Calif. |
| Ari Cervantes |
Cal State Fullerton |
P |
L-R |
5-10 |
Sophomore |
Tustin, Calif. |
| Taylor Petty |
Long Beach State |
P |
R-R |
5-5 |
Freshman |
San Pedro, Calif. |
| Krista Cobb |
UC Santa Barbara |
P |
R-R |
5-9 |
Freshman |
West Hills, Calif. |
| Lauren Lupinetti |
Cal State Fullerton |
C |
R-R |
5-10 |
Senior |
Long Beach, Calif. |
| Krysten Cary |
Cal Poly |
1B |
R-R |
5-9 |
Junior |
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. |
| +Christine Ramos |
UC Santa Barbara |
2B |
L-R |
5-7 |
Senior |
Long Beach, Calif. |
| +Melissa Pura |
Cal Poly |
SS |
R-R |
5-9 |
Senior |
Salinas, Calif. |
| Jennifer Griffin |
Long Beach State |
3B |
R-R |
5-5 |
Senior |
Whittier, Calif. |
| Torrie Anderson |
Cal State Fullerton |
OF |
R-R |
5-9 |
Sophomore |
Castaic, Calif. |
| ^Danielle Linke |
Long Beach State |
OF |
L-L |
5-5 |
Senior |
Whittier, Calif. |
| Ashley Weber |
Long Beach State |
OF |
L-R |
5-1 |
Junior |
Yorba Linda, Calif. |
| Anna Cahn |
Cal Poly |
UT |
L-L |
6-1 |
Sophomore |
Los Alamitos, Calif. |
| Alex Holmes |
UC Davis |
DP |
L-L |
5-9 |
Sophomore |
San Juan Capistrano, Calif. |
| Katie McWhirter |
UC Santa Barbara |
DP |
L-R |
5-5 |
Sophomore |
Monrovia, Calif. |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Player |
School |
Pos |
B-T |
Ht. |
Year |
Hometown |
| Brooke Turner |
Long Beach State |
P |
R-R |
5-11 |
Sophomore |
Buena Park, Calif. |
| Helen Peña |
Cal Poly |
P |
R-L |
5-5 |
Junior |
Hemet, Calif. |
| Stephanie Correia |
Cal Poly |
C |
R-R |
5-7 |
Sophomore |
Visalia, Calif. |
| Jonae Perez |
Long Beach State |
1B |
L-L |
5-5 |
Senior |
Moorpark, Calif. |
| Jessica Ziegler |
UC Santa Barbara |
1B |
L-R |
5-6 |
Junior |
San Diego, Calif. |
| Micah Putnam |
Cal State Northridge |
2B |
R-R |
5-7 |
Senior |
Fairfield, Calif. |
| Courtney Martinez |
Cal State Fullerton |
SS |
R-R |
5-6 |
Senior |
Chino Hills, Calif. |
| Cristen Lee |
Cal Poly |
3B |
L-R |
5-4 |
Senior |
Rowland Heights, Calif. |
| Jessica Rogers |
Cal Poly |
OF |
L-R |
5-7 |
Senior |
Santa Maria, Calif. |
| Tiffany Wright |
UC Santa Barbara |
OF |
R-R |
5-9 |
Senior |
Corona, Calif. |
| Paige Emerson |
Pacific |
OF |
L-R |
5-6 |
Freshman |
Rocklin, Calif. |
| Paige Emerson |
Pacific |
UT |
L-R |
5-6 |
Freshman |
Rocklin, Calif. |
| HONORABLE MENTION |
| Player |
School |
Pos |
B-T |
Ht. |
Year |
Hometown |
| Debbie Duran |
Cal State Northridge |
P |
R-R |
5-8 |
Junior |
San Jose, Calif. |
| Jessica Hancock |
UC Davis |
P |
R-R |
5-8 |
Senior |
Long Beach, Calif. |
| Krystal Heinle |
Cal State Fullerton |
P |
R-R |
5-5 |
Freshman |
Westminster, Calif. |
| Alex Holmes |
UC Davis |
P |
L-L |
5-9 |
Sophomore |
San Juan Capistrano, Calif. |
| Karie Wilson |
Pacific |
C |
R-R |
5-9 |
Junior |
Glendale, Ariz. |
| Casey Goldsand |
Pacific |
2B |
L-R |
5-3 |
Senior |
Scottsdale, Ariz. |
| Stephanie Tam |
Cal Poly |
2B |
R-R |
5-1 |
Senior |
San Pedro, Calif. |
| Kelly Harman |
UC Davis |
SS |
R-R |
5-11 |
Freshman |
Trabuco Hills, Calif. |
| Francesca Gonzales |
Cal State Fullerton |
3B |
R-R |
5-7 |
Junior |
El Monte, Calif. |
| Brittany Kenney |
UC Riverside |
OF |
R-R |
5-4 |
Freshman |
Canyon Lake, Calif. |
| Jenna Maiden |
Cal Poly |
OF |
R-R |
5-8 |
Senior |
Santa Maria, Calif. |
| Belinda Paine |
UC Davis |
OF |
L-R |
5-4 |
Senior |
Lakewood, Calif. |
| Brianna Goad |
Long Beach State |
UT |
L-R |
5-2 |
Senior |
Norco, Calif. |
| Marissa Alvidrez |
UC Riverside |
DP |
R-R |
5-6 |
Junior |
Bakersfield, Calif. |
| Brandy Reyes |
Long Beach State |
DP |
R-L |
5-10 |
Junior |
Moreno Valley, Calif. |
| Kellee Wilson |
Pacific |
DP |
R-R |
5-6 |
Junior |
Tracy, Calif. |
| ^ - Two-time first team All-Conference selection |
| + - Three-time first team All-Conference selection |
2009 CO-FIELD PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Jennifer Griffin, Long Beach State
Christine Ramos, UC Santa Barbara |
2009 FRESHMAN FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kelly Harman, UC Davis |
2009 PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Anna Cahn, Cal Poly |
2009 FRESHMAN CO-PITCHERS OF THE YEAR
Krista Cobb, UC Santa Barbara
Taylor Petty, Long Beach State |
2009 COACH OF THE YEAR
Jenny Condon, Cal Poly |