Hawaii softball: 8 Rainbow Wahine pick up Big West postseason awards
The 2019 postseason awards haul was respectable for a Hawaii softball team that put together its best season in six years.
Per UH, it was the most Rainbow Wahine players honored in total since 2013, which was the same year UH rejoined the Big West in softball.
First baseman/catcher Callee Heen, third baseman Nicole Lopez and pitcher Brittany Hitchcock were named to the All-Big West first team. Catcher Heather Cameron was named to the second team, and Cheeks Ramos (utility) and Brittnee Rossi (center field) were honorable mentions.
Lopez (.353, 12 HR, 45 runs) finished her career as a three-time first-teamer while Heen (.374, .509 OBP, 15 HR) has two first-team selections heading into her senior year. Hitchcock (20-8), a two-time first-teamer, became UH’s first 20-game winner since Kaia Parnaby in 2013 and finished her career with a personal-best 1.76 season ERA.
Cameron started 31 games at catcher for second-place UH (33-16, 14-7 Big West), and batted .282 in conference play.
Izzy Dino and Mikaela Gandia-Mak were named to the all-freshman team.
#BWCHonors All-Conf from @HawaiiSB:
Callee Heen (1st Team)
Brittany Hitchcock (1st Team)
Nicole Lopez (1st Team)
Heather Cameron (2nd Team)
Cheeks Ramos (HM)
Brittnee Rossi (HM)#GoBows | #PlayBig 🌈— Big West Softball (@BigWestSoftball) May 14, 2019
The major awards went to other teams.
Coach of the year — Kelly Ford, Cal State Fullerton
Pitcher of the year — Brooke Yanez, UC Davis
Field player of the year — Ari Williams, Cal State Fullerton
Defensive player of the year — Nichole Fry, Long Beach State
Freshman pitcher of the year — Dani Martinez, Cal State Fullerton
Freshman co-field players of the year — Kiarra Crockett-Pope, CSUN, and Alexa Neil, Cal State Fullerton
Ford won coach of the year for a Big West-record fourth straight year. Fullerton, the regular-season champ, received the Big West’s automatic berth to the NCAAs and was slotted in the UCLA subregional. The Titans open against Missouri.
Team fell a little short, but they put up a good fight with lots of wins. This was a good year. The all-conference selections are testament to how good they are. Congrats to all.
The team came close and still champs in my book! Great job wahine! Looking forward to next year! GO BOWS!!!
Congratulations to the seniors and thank you. Looking forward to seeing the local recruits next year. Understand they got a good local pitcher. She will have a great mentor in Dino.