PORTLAND, Ore. – Two starting juniors for the CSU Bakersfield softball team, left fielder Karissa Veiga (Hemet, Calif., Hemet HS) and shortstop Shay Fryer (San Diego, Calif., University HS) were named to the All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference First Team, which was announced on Tuesday.
It is the second All-PCSC First Team selection for Veiga, who led the PCSC with a .408 batting average and .500 on-base percentage in PCSC play. She is the only member of the first team to make the squad two years in a row. For Fryer, who tied with BYU's J.C. Clayton as first team shortstop, the honor marked her first All-PCSC First Team selection as she received honorable mention last year. The PCSC teams and awards are voted on by the seven PCSC coaches.
In total, five Roadrunners were honored, reflecting CSUB's season where the 'Runners had their best-ever PCSC record at 10-14 in taking fourth place. Freshman pitcher/outfielder/designated hitter Amber Mills (Fresno, Calif., Clovis West HS) earned All-PCSC Second Team honors as the pitcher/utility player. CSUB center fielder Laura King (R-Sr., Camarillo, Calif., UNLV) and junior college transfer pitcher Kelsie Monroe (So., Los Banos, Calif., Delta College) both received honorable mention.
"This is a great honor for both Karissa and Shay to make First Team All-Conference," said CSUB head coach Crissy Buck. "For Karissa, the selection is a testament to her consistency as a player. For Shay, the selection reflects two years of hard work as well as her growth in confidence. I am extremely proud of all of our players who received votes and were honored with becoming members of the All-PCSC Conference teams. It shows that we have the competitors to continue to grow our program looking to next season and beyond."
In other awards announced Tuesday, Clayton, BYU's senior shortstop, and Loyola Marymount sophomore second baseman Sterling Shuster were named the PCSC co-Players of the Year. Loyola Marymount freshman right-hander Sydney Gouveia was named PCSC Pitcher of the Year; BYU outfielder Gordy Bravo was named Freshman of the Year; and BYU Head Coach Gordon Eakin was named the PCSC Coach of the Year.
Veiga scored 11 runs, recorded 29 hits, which was good enough to tie for the best in the PCSC, including six doubles and one triple, posted six RBIs, walked seven times, was hit by six pitches, stole five bases and put up a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 28 putouts and one assist. Her .521 slugging percentage was fifth-best in the PCSC, not bad considering Veiga's a leadoff hitter who often slaps. In 2012, Veiga was the only CSUB representative on the All-PCSC First Team. Overall on the season, Veiga posted a .326 batting average with a team-high 18 runs scored, while also adding seven doubles, two triples, seven RBIs, 11 walks, a .403 slugging percentage and a .409 on-base percentage.
Fryer, outside of displaying a wide range and strong arm at shortstop, helped add punch to the top of CSUB's lineup as the No. 3 hitter who posted a .351 batting average, 12 RBIs, nine runs scored, seven doubles and one home run with a .486 slugging percentage in PCSC play. Overall on the season, she hit .326 with 18 runs scored, 21 RBIs, 10 doubles, two homers, one triple, eight walks, four stolen bases (on four attempts) and a .439 slugging percentage.
Mills played a lot of roles for CSUB in her freshman season. As the No. 2 pitcher behind Monroe, Mills went 4-15 with a 3.97 ERA in 29 appearances. In 109.1 innings, she has one save, gave up 72 runs on 35 walks and had 38 strikeouts. All four of her victories came in PCSC play. At the plate, she posted 12 hits, including four doubles, with four runs and three RBIs, with 73 at bats. She also filled in as an outfielder when King was injuried in the beginning of the season.
Monroe, who took over as ace in her first season with CSUB, went 11-18 in 39 appearances with a 3.76 ERA. She tossed 16 complete games. In 186.1 innings, she struck out 113 batters while only walking 51 and held opponents to a .281 batting average. She was even better in PCSC play, posting a 2.82 ERA with a 6-7 record and 58 strikeouts in 89.1 innings.
King, the only senior on CSUB's roster, led the 'Runners with a .333 average on the season. She posted 33 hits, scored 15 runs, hit a team-high four triples, and stole a team-high eight bases on the season. Despite breaking her leg in the third game of the season, King battled back to get back in the lineup and didn't miss a PCSC game.
Conference-champion BYU placed a high of eight players on the All-PCSC team, including five first-team selections. In addition to Clayton and Bravo, senior outfielder Alexandra Shamo; senior utility player Bailie Hicken and junior pitcher-utility Katie Manuma earned first-team honors for the Cougars.
Clayton finished second in the PCSC in batting with a .383 average. She led the conference in hits, 77, and runs scored, 45; and finished second in stolen bases with 17. In PCSC games, Clayton hit .318 and was 12-for-12 in stolen bases.
In 52 games this season, Shuster batted .322 with seven home runs and 27 RBI. Her seven home runs tied for second in the PCSC and Shuster was also tied for second in the PCSC with 13 doubles. In PCSC play, Shuster recorded a .324 average with six home runs and 14 RBI.
Gouveia turned in a dominant freshman season in the circle to earn PCSC Pitcher of the Year honors, finishing 18-4 with a 1.82 ERA. She led the PCSC with 269 strikeouts in 173 1/3 innings of work, and currently ranks third in the nation averaging 10.3 strikeouts per seven innings. Gouveia also limited opponents to a PCSC-best .190 batting average. In 15 appearances, including 13 starts, during PCSC games, Gouveia went 10-2 with a 1.84 ERA, registering 132 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings.
Bravo was the PCSC's leading hitter, finishing with a .389 average in 56 games. She was also second in the conference in hits, 70; RBI, 43; and tied for second in runs scored, 35. Bravo hit .364 with two home runs, 22 RBI and stole six bases in conference action.
In BYU's first season in the PCSC, Eakin led the Cougars to the conference title and an NCAA Regional berth. BYU went 19-5 in PCSC play to win the conference by three games over Loyola Marymount. The Cougars finished 33-25 overall and appeared in the NCAA Eugene Regional. The PCSC title was BYU's seventh conference championship in 11 years under Eakin. BYU also won five Mountain West Conference titles and one Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship, under Eakin. The NCAA Regional appearance marked BYU's ninth postseason appearance with Eakin at the helm. For Eakin, the PCSC Coach of the Year Award is his fourth coach of the year accolade. He was named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year three straight years from 2009-2011
The PCSC contributed to this report. The full PCSC teams are listed below:
2013 ALL-PACIFIC COAST SOFTBALL CONFERENCE
FIRST TEAM
POS. PLAYER YR. SCHOOL
C Megan Smith SR Saint Mary's
1B Amanda Robinson -# JR Utah Valley
2B Sterling Shuster SO Loyola Marymount
3B Meghan Harman JR Loyola Marymount
SS J.C. Clayton -! SR BYU
SS Shay Fryer -! JR CSU Bakersfield
OF Gordy Bravo FR BYU
OF Karissa Veiga** JR CSU Bakersfield
OF Alexandra Shamo SR BYU
UTL Bailie Hicken SR BYU
P-UTL Katie Manuma JR BYU
P Sydney Gouveia FR Loyola Marymount
P Cassidy Coleman JR San Diego
SECOND TEAM
POS. PLAYER YR. SCHOOL
C Jamie North SO Utah Valley
1B Caitlin Rooney SO San Diego
2B Coco Tauali'i FR BYU
3B Madisen Robb JR BYU
SS Krystin Jachim SR Utah Valley
OF Brittany Sabatini JR Saint Mary's
OF Kylee Brinkerhoff SR Utah Valley
OF Hannah Montalban FR Loyola Marymount
UTL Mary Grabowski FR San Diego
P-UTL Amber Mills FR CSU Bakersfield
P Tiffany Mills SR Utah Valley
P Hannah Howell SR BYU
HONORABLE MENTION
POS. PLAYER YR. SCHOOL
C Charly Swanberg JR San Diego
C Nicole Clowdus FR Loyola Marymount
1B Kelly Scribner JR Santa Clara
3B Chloe Kaneko SO San Diego
OF Laura King SR CSU Bakersfield
UTL Kelli Fox SO Utah Valley
UTL Olivia Alvarez SR Loyola Marymount
P Josi Summers SO Utah Valley
P Kelsie Monroe SO CSU Bakersfield
*- Number of first team selections
# - Unanimous selection.
! – Tie
Co-PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JC Clayton (SR, SS), BYU; Sterling Shuster (SO, 2B), Loyola Marymount
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Sydney Gouveia (FR), Loyola Marymount
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Gordy Bravo (OF), BYU
COACH OF THE YEAR: Gordon Eakin, BYU
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