This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After a monstrous season at the plate and at second base, junior Hannah Flippen is Utah softball's first-ever Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Flippen led a group of five Utes earning all-conference honors, as she led the All-Pac-12 First Team along with sophomore pitcher Katie Donovan and junior shortstop Anissa Urtez. Senior catcher Shelby Pacheco and Flippen both landed on the All-Defensive team, while outfielder Ally Dickman made the All-Freshman team.
Flippen led the Utes with a .431 batting average through the season, but pumped up her numbers for conference play: In league games, she batted a league-leading .542 with a .667 on-base percentage and eight home runs. Her bat helped lead the way for Utah (32-19, 13-10 Pac-12) which set a program record for most Pac-12 wins this season.
During one particularly dominant stretch, Flippen earned national player of the week honors from espnW: She hit four homers and two doubles in while going 6 for 8 against Oregon State and Arizona with nine intentional walks.
It's the third straight year Flippen has earned All-Pac-12 honors, but she's the first Ute to earn conference Player of the Year in softball since 2001 (Lyndsey Trevis). Flippen's .384 career batting average is the highest of any Ute ever.
And yet, Flippen's glove was also dangerous to opponents. The Bonita, Calif., native was involved in 25 double-plays this year, more than any other player in the Pac-12. Her penchant for helping pull off double-plays helped her land on the All-Defensive team in addition to earning Player of the Year.
Urtez and Donovan both were all-conference players for the second straight time in their careers.
Urtez led the Pac-12 with 16 doubles, and batted .389 for the season. She also led the league in fielding assists (131).
Donovan accumulated an 18-10 record for Utah with a 2.46 ERA and 132 strikeouts. Her 18 wins were third in the league, and set a new career high for the hurler.
Pacheco finished the regular season with a .989 fielding percentage and threw out 15 runners stealing this year to lead the Pac-12.
Dickman batted .290 in her first year with the program with 11 doubles. Dickman's selection marks the fifth straight year the Utes have had a rookie selected for the all-freshman team.
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