It’s hard to believe it, but the 2018 season is already half over. And you know what that means: It’s time for our Mid-Season Award presentations. If the season ended today, these are the players and coaches that you could see taking home some major hardware.
Coach of the Year
Winner: Heather Tarr, Washington
Tarr’s Huskies lost their best hitter to graduation after last season and saw starting catcher and offensive stalwart Morganne Flores go down with a torn ACL just weeks before the season began. In the preseason, Tarr said that one of her team’s biggest challenges was going to be retooling their offensive attack and figuring out how to score runs. Since that time, the Huskies have outscored their opponents 229-29 and only just saw their twenty-eight game winning streak come to an end. During that streak, the Huskies pitching staff recorded a streak of eight consecutive shutouts.
Honorable Mention: Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA; Lu Harris-Champer, Georgia; Kim Sowder, Long Beach State
Player of the Year
Winner: Vanessa Shippy, Oklahoma State
The senior infielder started the season hot and has barely cooled down since that point. Her .563 batting average is second in the nation and her .710 on-base percentage is a mark that paces the country. One of the toughest players to get out, Cowgirls head coach Kenny Gajewski, in a recent interview, called it a “surprise” when a Shippy at-bat does not end with her on base. Despite ranking fourth on her team in home runs, Shippy’s .875 slugging percentage ranks in the top thirty nationally and she has drawn thirty walks in twenty-seven games thus far on the year.
Honorable Mention: Meghan Gregg, Tennessee; Kirstyn Thomas, Washington; Alyssa DiCarlo, Georgia
Pitcher of the Year
Winner: Taylor McQuillin, Arizona
Despite earning all-region honors a season ago, McQuillin has been something a breakout star in 2018, impressing peers and critics alike with her leadership of the Wildcat pitching staff. McQuillin quieted the doubters in swift fashion to start the year and still sports a 0.75 ERA and 136 strikeouts. The junior southpaw boasts sixteen wins on the year, more than any other pitcher nationwide. She boasts victories over Oklahoma; Wisconsin; and USC-Upstate, and earned two wins in the Wildcats’ sweep of their first conference series of the year over Utah.
Honorable Mention: Brittany Gray, Georgia; Miranda Elish, Oregon; Megan Kleist, Oregon
Freshman of the Year
Winner: Aaliyah Jordan, UCLA
Jordan entered the collegiate ranks and made an immediate impact on her team, playing a huge role in the Bruins’ own twenty-five game winning streak. Jordan leads her team with a batting average of .506, one of just seven players nationally with a batting average at or above the .500 mark. She has reached base fifty-two times via a hit or walk and owns seventeen extra base hits, including six home runs, a number that is tied for the team lead.
Honorable Mention: Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma; Mary Haff, Arkansas; Meghan Beaubien, Michigan; Mia Davidson, Mississippi State
