CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 2023 Cascade Collegiate Conference Softball postseason awards were announced Thursday by the conference office.
Three individuals on different ranked teams take home this year's top awards. No. 6-ranked College of Idaho’s
Haley Loffer was named the Rize Laboratory Player of the Year. No. 24-ranked Eastern Oregon University’s
Kaylie Hoskins was awarded Newcomer of the Year. No. 1-ranked Oregon Tech saw
Kacie Schmidt, grab Pitcher of the Year and
Greg Stewart was selected as the Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. Northwest University was awarded the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Loffer, a graduate student from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, had a phenomenal final season with the Coyotes. Heading into the postseason, Loffer holds a .414 batting average with the second-best slugging percentage in the CCC at .827. She has the most walks (39) and runs scored (70) with the highest on-base percentage (.568) in the CCC. With 11 home runs, 35 stolen bases, and 95 assists (all second in the CCC), this infielder is an obvious dynamic threat. In her freshman year, she earned honorable mention All-Conference and Gold Glove honors. In the last two years, she was named First-Team All-Conference. Loffer is just as successful as a student and has been awarded CCC All-Academic, NAIA Scholar-Athlete selection, and CSC Academic All-American during her collegiate career.
Hoskins, a sophomore from Lake Stevens, Wash., transferred from Everett Community College. She quickly became a key component of EOU’s success on the diamond in her first year. She boasts a 1.17 ERA (second in the CCC) with 18 wins and two saves for a total of 155 innings pitched (most in the CCC). She holds opponents to a .133 batting average (first in the CCC) but her strikeouts overpower all. With a total of 285 Ks on the season, she leads the conference and is second in the NAIA at sitting batters down. In her first year, Hoskins won Rize Laboratory CCC Pitcher of the Week five times and was named to First-Team All-Conference.
Schmidt, a sophomore from Beaverton, Ore., led the Owls to clinch another regular-season CCC title and earn hosting honors as the top seed of the conference tournament. She boasts a 1.32 ERA (third in the CCC) and is a force from the circle with 23 wins (first in the CCC) for a total of 148 innings under her belt. Schmidt is a knockout queen with 169 strikeouts (second in the CCC), holding opponents to a .196 batting average (third in the CCC). Last year, she was named to the CCC All-Academic and NAIA Scholar-Athlete Teams. This season, she won Rize Laboratory CCC Pitcher of the Week three times and was named to First-Team All-Conference.
In his 19th year as the head of the Owls, Greg Stewart led Oregon Tech to win the regular-season conference championship for the second consecutive year. For the fourth-straight week, the Lady Owls have been atop the NAIA Top-25 poll. Under Stewart, the Owls boast the best fielding percentage and second-best batting averages in the conference. This will be the tenth straight year the Owls have made a National Championship appearance. Stewart ranks No. 16 among active NAIA coaches with 688 career wins and No. 18 on the all-time NAIA wins list. This marks his eighth time winning the CCC Coach of the Year honor.
OIT saw five, SOU and C of I had four, while EOU received two First Team All-Conference selections. University of British Columbia, Carroll College, and Northwest University each saw one representative on the All-Conference First Team.
A complete list of this year’s All-Conference Teams and Gold Glove honorees (awarded to the top defensive players at each position) as voted on by the CCC softball head coaches can be found
HERE.