CORVALLIS, Ore. – After securing its third-straight Cascade Collegiate Conference regular-season championship, No. 1-ranked Southern Oregon University swept all four postseason conference top honors, released Thursday by the conference office. Lauren Quirke was named the Player of the Year, Gabby Sandoval was named the Pitcher of the Year, Riley Donovan was named the Newcomer of the Year, and Jessica Pistole was named the Coach of the Year.
Quirke picks up the top Player of the Year honor and is the most well-rounded player in the conference, proving to be a threat from the batter’s box and the pitcher’s circle. The senior infielder/pitcher from San Mateo, Calif., picked up four weekly conference honors (two Pitcher of the Week and two Player of the Week) and leads the CCC with 79 hits and 59 RBIs, while ranking second in multiple others: 10 home runs, 129 total bases, .482 batting average, and .787 slugging percentage. From the circle, Quirke has 14 wins (fourth in the CCC), 102 strikeouts (fifth in the CCC), and a 1.72 ERA (third). She also leads the conference with 25 earned runs allowed and is second in the CCC after holding batters to a .198 batting average.
Sandoval picks up her second CCC Pitcher of the Year honor after winning the title in 2019. The senior from Anaheim, Calif., has broken multiple records, including the conference’s career records for wins and saves and ranks in the top-four of the NAIA’s all-time wins list at 115 career wins. She has five CCC Pitcher of the Week honors this year and heads into the postseason ranking in multiple categories both at the conference and national levels. Sandoval leads the CCC with 25 wins (third in the NAIA), a 1.28 ERA (No. 23 in the NAIA) and a .192 opposing batting average (No. 24 in the NAIA). She also sits second in the conference with 154 strikeouts – 33 of which caught the batter looking – and third with 28 earned runs allowed.
Donovan grabbed Newcomer of the Year after transferring to the Raiders as a junior. The catcher from Half Moon Bay, Calif., ranked in multiple categories both in the CCC and the NAIA. Her 57 RBIs sit second in conference and sixth nationally, while her 20 doubles are second in the CCC and fifth in the NAIA. Donovan has 68 hits (fifth in the CCC) and has scored 49 runs (sixth in the CCC) so far. She also sits 13
th in the NAIA in doubles per game (0.417) and RBIs per game (1.188).
Pistole returned to the Raiders after a brief year away and picked up right where she left off, claiming her fourth CCC Coach of the Year honor. Under Pistole’s helm, SOU has been the top-ranked team all year and boasts a 45-3 overall record heading into the postseason. The Raiders rank in multiple statistical categories in the NAIA, including: No. 1 in hits per game (12.021), runs scored per game (8.667), RBIs per game (7.604), batting average (0.418), total hits (577), and total runs scored (416). SOU is also second in the NAIA in total RBIs (365), triples (28), triples per game (.583) and slugging percentage (0.587).
HERE is a complete list of this year’s All-Conference and Gold Glove honorees as voted on by the CCC softball head coaches. The Gold Glove is awarded to the top defensive players at each position.