Eight players named All-PCSC, three individual awards announced

PROVO, Utah—Senior shortstop JC Clayton garnered PCSC Player of the Year accolades, while newcomer Gordy Bravo was named Freshman of the Year and head coach Gordon Eakin was given his fourth Coach of the Year nod.

Clayton was named Player of the Year alongside Loyola Marymount’s Sterling Shuster. The Cougars had a conference-high eight players on the All-PCSC team. In addition to Clayton and Bravo, senior outfielder Alexandra Hudson Shamo, senior utility player Bailie Hicken and junior pitcher-utility Katie Manuma were also named to the all-conference first team.

Senior pitcher Hannah Howell, junior third baseman Madisen Robb and freshman second baseman Coco Taualii also picked up second-team honors to round out the all-conference awards for BYU.

Second in the PCSC in batting average at .383, Clayton also led the conference in hits with 77 and runs scored with 45. She was also a perfect 12 for 12 in stolen bases and broke the all-time hits and stolen bases records at BYU during conference play.

Bravo made an immediate impact on the team as a freshman and led the conference in batting average, hitting a .389 clip. She was second in hits with 70, RBI with 43 and runs scored at 35. Another freshman, Taualii, came on strong at the end of the season to finish with a .313 batting average and was third on the team in RBI with 29.

Pitcher-utility player Manuma started the season as a first baseman, but was called upon to pitch midway through the year. In conference play, she led the team with a 1.02 ERA alongside a 5-1 record and a team-high three saves. She also led the team in RBI with 44 on the season and home runs with six.

Shamo, Hicken, Robb and Howell each earned their first all-conference honors. Shamo led the team and conference in on-base percentage and set career highs in almost every batting category for the Cougars. Hicken led the team with a .387 average in conference play and scored 13 runs on 13 hits. Pitcher Howell ended conference play with a 7-2 record and a 2.22 ERA. She highlighted the season and her career with the second perfect game in BYU history against LMU on Apr. 13.

Eakin’s Coach of the Year award is his fourth at BYU. He earned three-straight MWC awards from 2009-2011. In his 11 years at the helm of the BYU softball program, he’s won seven conference championships and has led his team to nine-straight postseason appearances. Clayton is his ninth Player of the Year and Bravo is his fourth Freshman of the Year.

Loyola Marymount’s freshman pitcher Sydney Gouveia earned unanimous selection for PCSC Pitcher of the Year. Utah Valley earned the second-highest amount of all-conference selections with seven.

Below is a complete list of the all-conference awards.

2013 ALL-PACIFIC COAST SOFTBALL CONFERENCE

FIRST TEAM

POS.           PLAYER                                            YR.             SCHOOL

C                 Megan Smith                                    SR               Saint Mary’s

1B               Amanda Robinson -#                     JR               Utah Valley

2B               Sterling Shuster                               SO              Loyola Marymount

3B               Meghan Harman                             JR               Loyola Marymount

SS               J.C. Clayton -!                                   SR               BYU

SS               Shay Fryer -!                                     JR               CSU Bakersfield

OF               Gordy Bravo                                     FR               BYU

OF               Karissa Veiga**                               JR               CSU Bakersfield

OF               Alexandra Shamo                           SR               BYU

UTL            Bailie Hicken                                    SR               BYU   

P-UTL        Katie Manuma                                 JR               BYU

P                 Sydney Gouveia                              FR               Loyola Marymount

P                 Cassidy Coleman                           JR               San Diego

SECOND TEAM

POS.           PLAYER                                            YR.             SCHOOL

C                 Jamie North                                      SO              Utah Valley

1B               Caitlin Rooney                                 SO              San Diego

2B               Coco Tauali’i                                    FR               BYU

3B               Madisen Robb                                  JR               BYU

SS               Krystin Jachim                                 SR               Utah Valley

OF               Brittany Sabatini                              JR               Saint Mary’s

OF               Kylee Brinkerhoff                            SR               Utah Valley

OF               Hannah Montalban                         FR               Loyola Marymount

UTL            Mary Grabowski                               FR               San Diego

P-UTL        Amber Mills                                      FR               CSU Bakersfield

P                 Tiffany Mills                                      SR               Utah Valley

P                 Hannah Howell                                SR               BYU

HONORABLE MENTION

POS.           PLAYER                                            YR.             SCHOOL

C                 Charly Swanberg                            JR               San Diego

C                 Nicole Clowdus                               FR               Loyola Marymount

1B               Kelly Scribner                                   JR               Santa Clara

3B               Chloe Kaneko                                  SO              San Diego

OF               Laura King                                        SR               CSU Bakersfield

UTL            Kelli Fox                                            SO              Utah Valley

UTL            Olivia Alvarez                                   SR               Loyola Marymount

P                 Josi Summers                                  SO              Utah Valley

P                 Kelsie Monroe                                  SO              CSU Bakersfield

*-  Number of first team selections

# - Unanimous selection.

! – Tie

Co-PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JC Clayton (SR, SS), BYU; Sterling Shuster (SO, 2B), Loyola Marymount

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Sydney Gouveia (FR), Loyola Marymount

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Gordy Bravo (OF), BYU

COACH OF THE YEAR: Gordon Eakin, BYU