Defending National Champion Oregon Tech Picked to Win CCC Crown
2012 CCC Quick Facts
Preseason NAIA Top 25 Poll
LA GRANDE, Ore. – Defending Cascade Collegiate Conference and NAIA champion Oregon Tech is the choice to win the 2012 CCC softball crown, according a preseason poll of the conference’s seven head coaches.
The Owls, who begin the season ranked first nationally in the NAIA preseason Top 25 poll, open their season Feb. 10 at the Simpson Invitational in Redding, Calif.
Oregon Tech went 42-13 overall last season, and became the first team in the Cascade Collegiate Conference to win the national championship in the 31-year history of the event. OIT earned five first-place votes and totaled 35 points in the poll.
Corban was picked to finish second, receiving two first place votes, and was followed by Concordia, College of Idaho, Southern Oregon, Northwest Christian and Eastern Oregon.
The winner of the CCC’s regular season crown will earn the right to host the conference’s three-team postseason tournament May 4-5. The winner of the CCC postseason tournament will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NAIA Championships.
The NAIA Championships are scheduled for May 17-23 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Oregon Tech returns three All-CCC players among its six returning starters from 2011. The Owls are led by last year’s conference Coach of the Year, Greg Stewart, who enters his eighth year as head coach. All-CCC pitcher Taylor Schmidt returns after going 17-4 a year ago. Ashleigh Larson comes back after recording 66 RBI last season, which was 11th in the NAIA. Shawna Collins also brings back her team-leading batting average of .358.
Corban was ranked No. 23 in the NAIA preseason Top 25 poll. Leading the way for the Warrior returnees is a trio of all-conference honorees in Emma Winckler, Courtney Castronovo and 2011 CCC Player of the Year Stephanie Nippert. Last season, she became the first player in Corban University softball history to be named NAIA First Team All-American.
Nationally, Nippert ranked in the Top 10 in five offensive categories that included home runs per game (2nd - 0.452), total bases per game (3rd - 3.119), slugging percentage (3rd - 0.985), runs scored per game (6th - 1.286), and home runs (7th - 19). Defensively, Nippert was tied at the top of the national leader board with a perfect fielding percentage in 53 chances.
Concordia and The College of Idaho are each receiving votes in the preseason national poll.
The first game featuring a Cascade Conference member is Feb. 9, as No. 23 Corban travels to Menlo. Cascade Conference play opens on March 16.
2012 CCC Preseason Poll
| Rk. |
Team |
Points |
2011 Overall |
2011 CCC |
| 1 |
Oregon Tech (5) |
35 |
42-13 |
19-5 |
| 2 |
Corban (2) |
32 |
25-17 |
16-8 |
| 3 |
Concordia |
24 |
22-15 |
15-9 |
| 4 |
College of Idaho |
23 |
24-16 |
14-10 |
| 5 |
Southern Oregon |
15 |
18-19 |
14-10 |
| 6 |
Northwest Christian |
10 |
10-28 |
4-20 |
| 7 |
Eastern Oregon |
8 |
8-32 |
2-22 |
| First place votes in parentheses |