May 13, 2005
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Nine Lions were honored as the Pacific Coast Softball Conference announced its end of the year honors on Thursday. Sophomore Margo Pineda becomes the third Lion in a row to earn Player of the Year honors, while freshman Tiffany Pagano makes history by becoming the first LMU player to earn Pitcher of the Year. Head Coach Gary Ferrin was selected by his fellow coaches as the Coach of the Year.
Pineda and Pagano highlight LMU's first team selections. Joining the pair on the first team is senior Danielle Kaminaka. It is the third year in a row that Kaminaka has earned first team honors, as she was the 2004 PCSC Player of the Year. It is the first conference honor for both Pineda and Pagano.
Pineda's offense was a key reason that LMU won the PCSC Championship and will be heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. She led the team and PCSC in hitting during conference play, going 26-for-61 (.426) against PCSC teams. She hit four home runs with 10 RBI and a .689 slugging % in conference games. She was named the conference player of the week three times during the season.
Pagano has had a spectacular freshman season. She was named PCSC Pitcher of the Week three times this season, including the final two weeks of the season. She lowered her ERA to 0.50 in PCSC games, going 7-1 in 11 appearances (seven starts). She recorded eight shutouts on the season, good enough to place her in 6th place on the LMU career charts. In her rookie season, she led the team in wins, shutouts, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, games started, appearances, and saves.
Kaminaka had another strong season, earning PCSC Player of the Week honors twice. She hit .321 in PCSC games, with a .679 slugging percentage.
Caylin Hornish, Emily Foltz, Brittany Bassett and Kayla Meeks all earned second team honors. Hornish hit .308 in PCSC games with two home runs and three doubles. Foltz hit .271 with a pair of home runs, while Bassett hit .309 with four doubles. Meeks had a strong freshman year with a 1.24 ERA in conference games with a 5-1 record. She also hit .194 with a home run at the plate.
Lisa Abbott and Casie Phillips earned honorable mention honors. Abbott batted .222 with eight RBI and nine runs scored. Phillips hit .273 in her senior year.
Ferrin earns Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career after leading the Lions to their second PCSC title in three years. In 2000, he was named the WAC Coach of the Year.
The PCSC Champs are now preparing for the program's first ever NCAA Tournament game on May 20th. They will learn their first opponent and regional during the selection show on May 15th.
- GO LIONS! -
