Undefeated Cypress Sweeps Top Awards in All-OEC Voting

Vanessa Ledesma (left) was named the OEC Pitcher of the Year and teammate Taylor Pierce was named the OEC Most Valuable Player.
Vanessa Ledesma (left) was named the OEC Pitcher of the Year and teammate Taylor Pierce was named the OEC Most Valuable Player.

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

FIRST TEAM

Athlete

College

Postion

Year

Taylor Pierce

Cypress

P/INF

So

Justice Walker

Cypress

OF

So

Emili Olague

Santiago Canyon

INF

Fr

Tobi Salzman

Cypress

INF

So

Brigid Ruiz

Fullerton

P

So

Kaitlyn Lanksbury

Santiago Canyon

INF

So

Jordan Emanuele

Riverside City

INF

So

Vanessa Ledesma

Cypress

P

Fr

Tiffany Centeno

Fullerton

OF

Fr

Taylor Gallo

Orange Coast

INF

Fr

Danielle Lopez

Riverside City

INF

Fr

 

SECOND TEAM

Athlete

College

Position

Year

Jessica Daniel

Santiago Canyon

OF

So

Christina McCullogh

Santa Ana

INF

So

Samantha Molina

Saddleback

INF

So

Jezz Portillo

Cypress

C

So

Hattie Marshall

Santa Ana

UTL

So

Ashley Clark

Santiago Canyon

OF

So

Drew Moore

Saddleback

INF

Fr

Hunter LaCroix

Riverside City

C

So

Taylor Clinkaberry

Golden West

UTL

So

Manoa Weijgertse

Santiago Canyon

C

Fr

Becca Perez

Fullerton

OF

Fr