Michigan's Carol Hutchins, Amanda Chidester and Haylie Wagner sweep Big Ten softball awards
Michigan senior first baseman Amanda Chidester (3) is a two-time winner of the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year award.
Senior first baseman Amanda Chidester repeated at the Big Ten Player of the Year and Carol Hutchins was named Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
Haylie Wagner hasn't been around Ann Arbor long enough to repeat any awards, but she did grab a pair of the conference honors, which were released Wednesday. She was named the league's Pitcher of the Year and its Freshman of the Year.
Chidester is the fourth Wolverine to repeat as Big Ten Player of the Year, according to MGoBlue.com.
Carol Hutchins
Haylie Wagner
She batted .433 during conference play and .354 overall with eight multi-hit games and five games with at least two RBIs. She finished the season with 44 RBIs, 35 runs and nine home runs in 53 games.
Wagner, who was a unanimous selection for Pitcher of the Year, led the conference with a 15-1 record and 1.77 ERA during conference play. Overall, she was 29-5 with a 1.55 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 217 innings. Her 29 wins is the eighth-highest single-season total at Michigan and the second most by a freshman.
For Hutchins, the Coach of the Year Award is her 13th since taking over the program in 1985. She now has a 1,248-422-4 (.747) overall record and 15 Big Ten titles at Michigan.
Chidester and Wagner were joined on the All-Big Ten team by Michigan freshman Sara Driesenga, who appears at the utility player position. Driesenga appeared in all 23 Big Ten games at either designated player (.387, 4 HR, 10 RBI) or pitcher (3-4, 3.05 ERA, 2 saves).
Senior outfielder Bree Evans and sophomore outfielder Nicole Sappingfield were named second-team All-Big Ten and junior second baseman Ashley Lane earned third-team honors.
The Wolverines will play in an NCAA Regional in Louisville, Ky., starting with a game against Kentucky on Friday (4:30 p.m., ESPN2).
Get the Ann Arbor RSS Feed
AnnArbor.com