HAMMOND, Ind. & WESTVILLE, Ind. – Four players for the Purdue University Northwest softball team earned Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference postseason honors, announced by the league Thursday.
Kyleigh Payne (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bishop McNamara) and Caroline Brown (Minooka, Ill./Minooka Community) each earned CCAC First-Team honors while Taylor Kotzo (Munster, Ind./Munster) and Holly Pagan (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) received CCAC Second-Team accolades.
Payne was atop the CCAC in many offensive categories, and the led the Pride with a .436 batting average, 37 runs scored, 51 RBI, 11 home runs and a .744 slugging percentage. Payne also ranked second on the team with nine doubles, 19 walks and five stolen bases.
Brown, who recently received NAIA and CCAC Pitcher of the Week honors, has led the Pride all season in the circle. She owns a 14-8 record with a 1.54 ERA with 19 complete games and five shutouts on the season. Brown leads the squad with 66 strikeouts and 141 innings pitched while holding opposing batters to a .215 average.
Kotzo has played an important role in the Pride’s success this season, ranking second on the team with a .364 batting average, 52 hits and a .545 slugging percentage. Along with four home runs, she is also tied for the team-lead with 37 runs while leading the team with 12 doubles.
Pagan rounds out the leaders for the Black and Gold with a .329 batting average and 24 runs scored, 22 walks and a .550 slugging percentage. Pagan ranks second on the team with seven home runs and 35 RBI and third on the team with eight doubles with a .412 on base percentage.
Olivet Nazarene’s Emily Carstens was tabbed the CCAC Player of the Year and St. Francis’ (Ill.) Morghan Dieringer was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year. Coach of the Year honors went to USF’s Amanda Jensen and Fighting Saints’ freshman Kayla Garcia was selected as the CCAC Freshman of the Year.