Angie Yoshizu, Kirsten Wilson take home CACC Player, Rookie of the Year honors

By: Andrew Mees, Director of College and Athletics Communications                      communications@bloomfield.edu

A pair of Bloomfield College softball players received the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference’s highest honors on Tuesday, April 29, as senior shortstop Angie Yoshizu (Kaneohe, Hi.) was named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Player of the Year in results released by the league office.

Rookie pitcher Kirsten Wilson (Beaver Falls, Pa.) is the second player to receive postseason accolades for the Lady Deacons, earning CACC Rookie of the Year honors after a brilliant freshman campaign. The honors are the result of voting conducted by the conference’s 14 head softball coaches, marking the first time in the program’s NCAA Division II era the team has fielded the league’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.

“I could not be more proud of Angie and Kirsten for receiving this recognition, and it is certainly well-deserved,” Bloomfield head coach Rocco Constantino said. “They have both had incredible seasons, and they are indispensable parts of our team. They should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished.”

The first Bloomfield student-athlete to win both CACC Rookie and Player of the Year honors, Yoshizu finished the 2014 regular season with a .388 batting average (52-134) and led the team with 34 runs scored. In addition to her fine offensive season, Yoshizu played every game at shortstop for the Deacons and committed just four errors in 125 total chances.

Adding to Player of the Year honors, Yoshizu was named a first team All-CACC selection for the third consecutive season. She became Bloomfield's second softball player to be named first team All-CACC three times, and the first to do so in three straight campaigns. Earlier in the season, she became the program’s all-time hits leader, totaling 241 career hits heading into this week’s CACC Tournament.

“This award shows that the coaches respect how great of a player she's been this year and over the course of her career,” Constantino said of the shortstop. “She's such a hard worker on and off the field, and deserves all the honors she receives."

Already one of the league’s best pitchers, Wilson led the CACC in strikeouts per game (10.2), a mark that placed her ninth in the nation in the category. Also dangerous at the plate, the rookie led the CACC in both doubles and runs batted in per game, earning her a first team All-CACC selection at the Designated Player position.

"Winning CACC Rookie of the Year is a great honor for Kirsten,” said Constantino.  “She put up numbers this year that didn't just stand out in the CACC, they stood out nationally. I don't know where we'd be this season without her. I've never had a player make such an impact both hitting and pitching for us, so she is very deserving of this great honor."

“This is wonderful recognition for both Angie and Kirsten, and I couldn’t be happier for them,” athletic director Sheila Wooten '85 said. “They are both model student-athletes, excelling on the field and in the classroom. They are shining examples of what our other athletes should strive to achieve.”

The softball team will enter the CACC Tournament Friday, May 2 as the eighth seed in the double-elimination postseason event. The team will take on top-seeded Caldwell College in the opening round, which begins at 10 a.m. at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J.

For more information on the CACC Tournament, visit caccathletics.org.

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