In her final year at BYU, former Baler J.C. Clayton finished with her strongest season yet.
Clayton dominated the Pacific Coast Softball Conference, finishing with a .383 batting average, 16 RBIs and 17 stolen bases to earn the conference’s Co-Player of the Year award.
Clayton was also named to the PCSC’s all-conference first team and was named among the top 50 players in the 2013 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year list. During the season, Clayton broke the all-time hit record for the Cougars with 302. She also set the school’s all-time career mark with 47 stolen bases. She also hit safely in 19 consecutive games during the year.
Clayton led BYU to a 33-25 record and a NCAA playoff berth. BYU, though, was quickly eliminated in the postseason, falling in games to No. 3 Oregon (5-2) and Wisconsin (6-0).
Bryan Granger
After just missing out on the playoffs last year, the Cal Poly baseball team was selected to the NCAA tournament last week.
The Mustangs finished the season 39-17 and were selected as the No. 2 in a four-team regional that includes San Diego, UCLA and San Diego State. The postseason begins Friday against San Diego.
Former Baler and Cal Poly sophomore Bryan Granger played an important role for the Mustangs as the team’s No. 3 starter. Granger started 13 games and finished with a 5.37 ERA. In 57 innings, Granger struck out 28 and allowed 34 earned runs.
He allowed opponents to hit .292 while earning a 5-4 record.
Jessica Vest
After struggling offensively as a freshman a year ago, 2013 has been a breakout season for Oklahoma sophomore Jessica Vest.
The former Baler has taken advantage of her offensive opportunities, hitting .296 in 49 games. She has three home runs and 14 RBIs in 27 plate appearances. A year ago in the same amount of at-bats, Vest hit .111 with 2 RBIs.
Vest’s success has helped the Sooners go 52-4 and advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. It’s the second consecutive year that Vest has advanced to the World Series. Its the Sooners third straight year in the World Series.
The Sooners enter the World Series as the No. 1 seed. Last year, Oklahoma lost the championship series to Alabama two games to one. After winning the first game 4-1, Alabama won the next two.
Darin Gillies
After a slow start on the mound to start the season, former Baler Darin Gillies was moved to the Arizona State bullpen where he found success.
Gillies ended the year with a 4.81 ERA, striking out 28 in 33.2 innings. Opponents hit .235 off him.
Gillies will get a chance to pitch in the NCAA tournament, which begins Friday in the NCAA Fullerton Regional.
Arizona State enters the Super Regional as the No. 2 seed with a 35-20-1 record.
CSU Monterey Bay
The CCAA regular season champs CSU Monterey Bay were powered by a trio of former Balers throughout the season. Mark Hurley, Ronnie Fhurong and Brian Haggett led the Otters to a 39-17 record – a 13 win improvement over last year.
Hurley led the way for the trio, hitting a team-best .347 with three home runs and 32 RBIs. He finished with 13 doubles and a .467 slugging percentage.
Fhurong wasn’t too far behind with his batting average, finishing with a .338 average. He also added 27 RBIs.
Sacramento State transfer Haggett also hit well for the Otters. He finished with a .327 batting average, four home runs and 32 RBIs. He also added 14 doubles and a triple to his offensive season.
The trio led the Otters into the West Super Regional where they were eliminated by league rival Sonoma State.
