2008 Softball Season Review

Miranda McNealyA LANDMARK SEASON: When he was hired as Pacific softball coach in 2003, Tim Hill's goal was to return the Boxers to being among the top teams in the Northwest Conference and the nation. Six seasons in, Hill has certainly accomplished his goal.

Pacific truly emerged in 2008 as one of the top softball teams in all of Division III. At 31-9, the Boxers finished second in the Northwest Conference, behind defending national champion Linfield, and came within one win of the team all-time record of 32 victories set in 1987.

The Boxers opened the season with a string of nine straight victories, highlighted by a 9-8 extra-innings victory over NAIA power Oregon Tech and a pair of victories over Willamette. After a close 4-3 loss to Puget Sound ended the string, Pacific went on to win nine straight again. The second string included a 3-2 victory over then No. 11-ranked Tufts in the SunWest Tournament before Wellesley ended the string with a 3-2, extra-innings loss.

After a series sweep of George Fox to begin April, the Boxer found themselves challenged in the final three weeks. After two losses to Linfield, the Boxers split a home series with Whitworth and a two-game set with Willamette. The series ended with a split with the Wildcats in McMinnville, marking the first time since 2002 that the Boxers had downed the five-time NWC champions.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: Despite their stellar record and all-around sound lineup, the Boxers got little of the respect they deserved. Pacific earned a regional ranking for just two weeks, finishing as high as No. 5 in the poll voted on by a group of West Region coaches. The Boxers never received a vote in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Poll, and at one point late in the season saw Willamette jump into the Top 25 despite a pair of losses to the Boxers.

The ultimate snub, however, came when the field was announced for the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The selection committee passed up the Boxers for one of seven West Region tournament berths, with at-large selections going to Mary Hardin-Baylor and Redlands.

MIRANDA RIGHTS: Miranda McNealy's sophomore season in the circle proved to be even better than her standout freshman season. The Pacific hurler earned First Team All-Northwest Conference honors for the second straight season and became the first Boxer since 1999 to earn First Team NFCA All-West Region accolades.

McNealy continued to be one of the most feared hitters in the conference. She set a Pacific single season record with 18 victories and amassed a league-leading 1.09 earned run average with 167 strikeouts in 135 innings. She ranked second in the conference in opponent's batting average (.159) and innings pitched and third in strikeouts. Among NCAA Division III hurlers, McNealy ranked 11th in hits allowed per seven innings (3.84), 20th in earned run average, 23rd in victories and 31st in strikeouts per seven innings (8.7).

McNealy's ledger included a pair of five-inning no-hitters, against Northwest Christian on Feb. 23 and Lewis & Clark on Mar. 16, and finished with five one-hit games.

"Miranda had another superlative year," Hill said. "She brings a high level of competence and her competitiveness and determination give us the opportunity to win every game, regardless of the opponent. I see that as the ultimate contribution you can ask for from a pitcher."

Caitlin MastenbroekMASTENBROEK'S BEST SEASON: The heartbeat of the Pacific softball program saved her best season for last. Catcher Caitlin Mastenbroek earned her third First Team All-Northwest Conference selection in four years and was selected to the NFCA All-West Region Second Team.

Mastenbroek proved from the start to be one of the Boxers' most potent hitters. Leading the Boxers with a .417 batting average, she earned NWC Player of the Week honors in the first week of the season after going 12 for 22 in the Boxers' first six games. Her seven extra-base hits that week, which included five doubles and a grand slam, matched her total from the previous season.

Mastenbroek went on to tie with Kristen Croxford for a school single season record 16 doubles and fell two short of the school record for hits with 50. She finished third in the conference in batting average and on base percentage (.517), fourth in slugging percentage (.683) and tied for fifth in hits. On the national ledger, Mastenbroek finished the year ranked 43rd in doubles per game (0.40), 54th in hit by pitch per game (0.15) and 58th in on base percentage.

"This year was the best of all for Caitlin," Hill said. "Caitlin was determined to take her game to a whole new level and she certainly accomplished that. She had a major improvement in all of her offensive statistics, in her defensive work behind the plate and also in her approach to the game. She had a MVP year."

Kristen CroxfordCROXFORD'S RECORD SETTER: Kristen Croxford continued to be a steady and reliable player for the Boxers, parlaying some record setting efforts in recognition on the All-Northwest Conference First Team and NFCA All-West Region Second Team.

Croxford finished the year with a .410 batting average, marking the second time in three seasons that she has hit .400 or better. She set a single season record with 39 runs, bettering the mark of 35 set by Trinity Smith in 2006, and tied with Caitlin Mastenbroek for a record 16 doubles. Croxford was ranked sixth in the conference in batting average, second in doubles, fifth in on base percentage (.486), eighth in slugging percentage (.632) and 10th in runs batted in (32). Croxford also ranked 43rd nationally in doubles per game (0.40).

In addition to her on-field success, Croxford finished her first year as the undergraduate representative to Pacific University's Board of Trustees.

2008 Honors

NFCA ALL-WEST REGION
Miranda McNealy (P), First Team
Caitlin Mastenbroek (C), Second Team
Kristen Croxford (OF), Second Team
ESPN THE MAGAZINE/CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Caitlin Mastenbroek (C), First Team
Kim Whittaker (OF), First Team
ALL-NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
Miranda McNealy (P), First Team
Caitlin Mastenbroek (C), First Team
Kristen Croxford (OF), First Team
Carrie Maerz (UT), First Team
Amy Walters (OF), Second Team
Brooke Fogwell (IF), Second Team
Brooke Toy (IF), Second Team
Andrea Bansen (P), Second Team
Kim Whittaker (OF), Hon. Mention
Kelly Nishitomi (IF), Hon. Mention
NWC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Caitlin Mastenbroek, Player of the Week (Feb. 25)
Miranda McNealy, Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 17)
Brooke Toy, Player of the Week (Apr. 14)

PACIFIC'S ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: Pacific's cohesive team caught the attention of NWC coaches, voting 11 of the team's 16 players to all-conference teams. In addition to McNealy, Mastenbroek and Croxford, freshman Carrie Maerz was named to the first team as a utility player. Five players earned second team selections, including outfielders Stephanie Vanoudenhaegen and Amy Walters, infielders Brooke Fogwell and Brooke Toy and pitcher Andrea Bansen. Outfielder Kim Whittaker and infielder Kelly Nishitomi earned honorable mention positions.

ON THE FIELD AND IN THE CLASSROOM: Seniors Caitlin Mastenbroek and Kim Whittaker were honored for their work both on the field and in the classroom with selections to the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Team. In addition to leading the team at the plate, Mastenbroek posted a 3.50 grade point average in exercise science. Whittaker, who posted a college career best .284 average, was honored for posting a 3.81 grade point average in business. Both players received their degrees in during commencement exercises in May.

LONG ROAD TRIP ENDS: The opening games of Sherman/Larkins Stadium on Apr. 5 put an end to one of the longest road trips in all of Division III softball. Until that day, Pacific had played a total of 63 consecutive games on the road dating back to the final three games of the 2006 season. The trip was necessitated by the reconstruction of Lincoln Park, which closed the Boxers' former practice field. The trip was lengthened by wet and rainy conditions through most of the 2007 season that rendered their temporary home at Hillsboro's Gordon Faber Softball Complex unplayable.

In the end, it didn't matter where the Boxers played. Pacific finished the road trip with a 46-16-1 record, amassing a .730 winning percentage. The ledger included 24 neutral site games and four games played at the home field of their scheduled opponent.

POWER AND AVERAGE: Pacific's success at the plate resulted from a great combination of hitting for power and average. The Boxers' .340 batting average trailed only Linfield in the conference standings and their 23 home runs, the most in recent team history, ranked third. Nationally, the Boxers ranked 25th among Division III teams in scoring (6.98 runs per game), 26th in win-loss percentage (.775), 29th in batting average and 44th slugging percentage (.476). There wasn't a single spot in the Boxers' lineup that didn't produce. A total of eight Pacific batters posted averages of .300 or better.

KEEPING THEM OFF THE BASES: If the bats didn't do it, the Pacific pitching and defense kept opponents off the bases. The Boxers' 2.40 team earned run average ranked second in the conference and 69th among NCAA Division III teams. The staff of Miranda McNealy and Andrea Bansen held opponents to a sparse .220 average and struck out a total of 260 batters. Then there was the defense backing up McNealy and Bansen. The Boxers committed just 44 errors, the least in six years under Tim Hill, and the team's .960 ranked second in the conference and 55th nationally.

GRAND THEFT: Base-running has always been a hallmark of Tim Hill coached teams, and the Boxers once again proved to be one of the best at it. Pacific ranked 13th among Division III teams in stolen bases per game, swiping an average of 2.15 per contest. Stephanie Vanoudenhaegen led the base-stealing parade with 19 bags taken in 23 attempts, tying her for third best in the NWC.

Brooke ToyTOY SETS HOME RUN RECORD: For a while, it seemed that no one would be able to get past the single season record of five home runs. Freshman Brooke Toy finally did it against one of the nation's top teams. Against Linfield in the second to final game of the season, Toy clubbed a solo home run to tally her sixth of the season. The hit broke the record of five set by Kim Gainey in 2000 and equaled by Kristen Larkins in 2007. It was Toy's first home run in 16 games, having gone without a homer since hitting the first in Sherman/Larkins Stadium history on Apr. 5.

Toy, a three-sport all-state athlete in high school, proved herself a valuable asset to the Boxers and the future of the program. The freshman finished third on the team with a .358 average and notched a .653 slugging percentage. Her 15 multi-hit games were third best for the Boxers behind Mastenbroek and Croxford.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Pacific welcomed just three newcomers to the roster in 2008, but all made significant contributions to the Boxers' successes. Carrie Maerz earned First Team All-NWC honors after making solid contributions at shortstop and as a designated player. The Newberg native finished with a .321 average to go along with 22 hits, five doubles and 18 runs batted in. Stephanie Vanoudenhaegen, meanwhile, gave the Boxers some punch in the lead-off spot in the batting order. Vanoudenhaegen put together a .352 average with 44 hits, most of which were slap bunts. In 36 starts as the Boxers' center fielder, Vanoudenhaegen did not commit an error.