CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 2024 Cascade Collegiate Conference baseball postseason awards were announced Friday by the conference office.
Tyler Horner of (RV) Oregon Tech earned the Rize Laboratory Player of the Year. No. 5-ranked Lewis-Clark State College’s
Drake George and
Shane Spencer along with Oregon Tech’s
Bronson Chapple were all named Co-Pitchers of the Year. Lewis-Clark State’s head coach
Jake Taylor was named the Coach of the Year. Bushnell University received the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Horner, a junior catcher from Twin Falls, Idaho, had a fantastic season for OIT. He is heading into the postseason leading the conference with a .731 slugging percentage. He also leads the conference in RBIs (58), total bases (144), and is ranked 2nd in hits (78), doubles (20), and homeruns (14). Horner helped Oregon Tech complete conference play with a 18-6 record for a 2nd place finish. This season, he earned CCC Player of the Week three times.
Spencer (3.42),
Chapple (3.50), and
George (3.60), all hold the lowest earned run averages in the CCC. Spencer has limited opponents to a .202 batting average (1st in the CCC) and has given up just 21 earned runs (1st in the CCC). Chapple has pitched a total of 74.2 innings (1st in the CCC), recording nine wins (1st in the CCC) while striking out 79 batters (2nd in the CCC). George has six wins (2nd in the CCC) on the season and has allowed just 24 earned runs (2nd in the CCC).
In his 6th year as the helm of the LC State program, Jake Taylor led the Warriors to its 11th regular-season conference championship. Under Taylor, LCSC boasts the best slugging percentage (.504) and holds the lowest ERA (4.25) in the conference. The Warriors have remained ranked on the NAIA Top-25 poll all year and have advanced to the national title game the previous two years. This marks his 4th time winning the CCC Coach of the Year honor.
LC State earned six while UBC and OIT both had four First Team All-Conference selections. Bushnell University also saw three representatives on the All-Conference First Team.
A complete list of the 2024 All-Conference Team and Gold Glove honorees (awarded to the top defensive players at each position) as voted on by the CCC baseball head coaches can be found
HERE.