CORVALLIS, Ore. – No. 5-ranked Lewis-Clark State College won the regular-season Cascade Collegiate Conference championship and took home two of the three top postseason honors, announced Friday by the conference office.
Brock Ephan was named the Player of the Year while Warrior skipper Jake Taylor picked up Coach of the Year honors. Corban University’s Zack Simon nabbed the Pitcher of the Year award after leading his team to a berth in the CCC Baseball Championship Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank.
Under Taylor, LC State boasts a 38-4 overall record heading into the postseason and claimed the first CCC baseball championship with a 30-2 conference mark. In just his third season at the helm, Taylor picks up his second conference Coach of the Year honor after leading his Warriors to rank in multiple statistical categories in the NAIA and CCC. LC State leads the conference and the NAIA in runs scored per game (11.286) and RBIs per game (10.238), while ranking second nationally in hits per game (12.881) and putouts per game (25.833) – both top marks in the CCC. Offensively, the Warriors boast a 0.342 batting average (first in the CCC, 13
th in the NAIA), while defensively boasting a 3.430 ERA (first in the CCC, sixth in the NAIA).
Ephan has played a big factor in the Warriors’ offensive success, leading to grabbing the Player of the Year honor. The redshirt-senior first baseman from Kaua'i, Hawaii, has been named the CCC Player of the Week four times this year and was named the NAIA Player of the Week once as well. He leads the conference with a .401 batting average, .850 slugging percentage (17
th in NAIA), .500 on-base percentage, 18 home runs (16
th in NAIA), and 69 RBIs (ninth in NAIA). Ephan also sits second in the CCC with 60 runs scored (24
th in NAIA) and 19 doubles (15
th in NAIA).
Simon, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Las Vegas, picked up the Pitcher of the Year award after a stellar campaign on the mound. He leads the CCC with a 1.93 ERA – the only pitcher to boast an ERA lower than 2.00 – after allowing just 12 total earned runs all year. Simon’s ERA ranks 18
th in the NAIA, while his total earned runs sits 12
th overall. He has six wins under his belt (second in the CCC), holds opponents to a .249 batting average, and has caught 15 batters looking (seventh in the CCC).
HERE is a complete list of this year’s All-Conference and Gold Glove honorees as voted on by the CCC baseball head coaches. The Gold Glove is awarded to the top defensive players at each position.