May 17, 2011

LOS ANGELES - LMU Head Coach Gary Ferrin was named the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Coastal Division Coach of the Year and sophomore Molly Medeiros was selected Pitcher of the Year to highlight nine players who were honored on the postseason awards list, it was announced Monday. Medeiros, juniors Sam Fischer and Kylie Ahlo, and sophomore Danielle Smith were all named to the First Team, junior Kelly Sarginson was named to the Second Team, and senior Amy Charpentier, sophomore Olivia Alvarez, and freshmen Kathryn Dutton and Meghan Harman were Honorable Mention selections.

Ferrin was named Coach of the Year for the third time, also winning PCSC Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2007. The 17th-year head coach led the Lions to the 2011 Coastal Division title, with a 16-4 conference mark. Loyola Marymount fell to Portland State in this past weekend's PCSC Championship Series to finish 32-27 overall. The 32-win season marked a PCSC-high sixth, 30-win season for the Lions since the conference began play in 2003. Under Ferrin's guidance, Loyola Marymount has recorded the most overall and PCSC wins in conference history. The Lions are 290-192 overall, and 119-63 in PCSC play since 2003.

Medeiros went 16-8, with three saves, and a 2.01 ERA in 39 appearances, including 23 starts, for the Coastal Division champions. She also recorded 103 strikeouts while allowing just 40 walks. In PCSC play, the Saratoga, Calif.-native was 8-2 with a 1.02 ERA in 14 appearances, including 10 starts. In nine of her 10 PCSC starts, Medeiros allowed no more than one earned run. She was named the PCSC Coastal Division Pitcher of the Week on four separate occasions and is the second Loyola Marymount pitcher to win a Pitcher of the Year honor, joining former Lion Tiffany Pagano, who was named PCSC Pitcher of the Year three times prior to the start of division play, winning in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

The 2010 PCSC Coastal Division co-Player of the Year, Fischer (Simi Valley, Calif.) earned her second straight First Team selection after hitting .349 with 15 homers, 16 doubles, and 49 runs batted in. She led the team in doubles, runs scored (45), total bases (127), slugging percentage (.672), and sacrifice flies (four) and was second in home runs, hits (62), RBI, and walks (27). She also amassed 19 multi-hit games and drove in multiple runs on 12 occasions. On April 30, Fischer became the PCSC's career home run leader when she hit her 39th. She is currently sitting on 42 career homers, five shy of LMU's school record of 47.

Smith (Escondido, Calif.) followed up a Second Team selection in 2010 by gaining a place on the 2011 First Team. Smith led the PCSC with 76 hits, tying for the fourth-most in a single-season in LMU history. As the leadoff hitter and starting centerfielder, Smith led the Lions with a .384 average and 14 stolen bases while putting up 23 multiple-hit games. From March 6-April 1, she rattled off a 12-game hititng streak, which is the longest in the PCSC this season.

Ahlo (Honolulu, Hawai'i) emerged as one of the top hitters in the league to gain First Team honors for the first time in her career. Ahlo entered the season with just 26 career at-bats and nine starts but would hit .361 with 13 RBI in 39 starts in 2011. Selected as an outfielder, Ahlo led the team with a .373 batting average during conference play and ended the season on a nine-game hitting streak.

LMU's only Second Team selection, Sarginson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) set new PCSC and school records with 18 home runs and 59 RBI in 2011 to go along with a .308 average. In PCSC play, she hit eight homers with 25 RBI and became the first player in PCSC history to homer three times in a game when she did so against Cal State Bakersfield on April 30. Sarginson was named the Coastal Division Player of the Week three times in 2011, matching Fischer (2011) and Christine Foley (2007) for the most in a single-season in LMU history. Sarginson posted a team-high 16 multi-RBI games and proved to be outstanding in the clutch, registering 42 of her 59 RBI with two outs.

Four players who earned Honorable Mention recognition round out LMU's honorees. Charpentier (Bakersfield, Calif.) concluded her LMU career with her fourth All-PCSC selection. A second baseman and team co-captain, Charpentier batted .257 with a pair of homers and 14 RBI this season and was a two-time Coastal Division Player of the Week (Feb. 21 and Mar. 28). Alvarez (Torrance, Calif.) was recognized at first base after hitting .262 with five homers and 20 RBI. She had an outstanding conference campaign, raising her batting average to .333 while adding two homers and 10 RBI and earning Player of the Week honors on May 9. Dutton (San Diego, Calif.) was one of the hottest hitters during PCSC play, contributing six of her 10 homers and 18 of her 28 RBI while hitting .308 out of the catcher position. She, too, was named Coastal Division Player of the Week, earning the accolade on April 18. Lastly, Harman (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) posted seven homers and 25 RBI on the year to go along with a .225 average.

The nine LMU players selected to the All-PCSC teams equals the 2005 squad for second-most in school history. LMU received 10 selections in 2007.

Ferrin	Medeiros	Fischer	Smith	Ahlo
Sarginson	Charpentier	Alvarez	Dutton	Harman