Undefeated Cypress Sweeps Top Awards in All-OEC Voting

At the annual post-conference coaches meeting, the Orange Empire Conference coaches selected the First and Second All-Orange Empire Conference teams while also awarding the conference's top individuals. Cypress College, the 2016 OEC Champions, took all three of the top awards with Taylor Pierce being named the Most Valuable Player, Vanessa Ledesma named Most Valuable Pitcher and Brad Pickler named the Coach of the Year. Santiago Canyon College's Krista Carranza received the first-ever Defensive Player of the Year recognition as well.

Pierce, the 2015 OEC Most Valuable Pitcher, was among the conference leaders in both offensive and pitching categories. On the mound, she posted a 7-0 record with a 1.97 ERA, which was third in the OEC. Offensively, Pierce was second with a .519 batting average to go along with 24 RBI, seven doubles and four home runs.

Ledesma led the conference with a 1.71 ERA while also posting the most wins at 12-0. She made 16 appearances with 10 starts while compiling 69.2 innings pitched. She ended the season with four-straight wins, three in the OEC, including three-straight complete game victories.

Along with those awards, the OEC coaches recognized Carranza as the Defensive Player of the Year. As a member of second place Santiago Canyon College, Carranza anchored a defense that finished second in the OEC with a .961 fielding percentage. At short stop, Carranza committed just two errors in 81 total chances. She accounted for 28 putouts, 51 assists and helped turn four double plays during conference competition.

The complete First and Second All-Orange Empire Conference Teams are listed below.

2016 ALL-ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE SOFTBALL

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Vanessa Ledesma, Fr., Cypress College

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Taylor Pierce, So., Cypress College

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Krista Carranza, So., Santiago Canyon College

COACH OF THE YEAR
Brad Pickler, Cypress College