Jackson Vaughn, Linfield College Wildcats head softball coach, and assistant coaches Erica Hancock, Greg Herman and Shelley Vaughan, are the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year.
They are pictured above. In the large photo is Jackson Vaughn. Left to right in the smaller photos are Hancock, Herman and Shelley Vaughn left to right.
Also announced by the association on 6/30/2011 was the fact Vaughan and his staff are the West Region Coaching Staff of the Year award winners.
The Wildcats went 51-3 in the 2011 season, culminating in their second national championship in five seasons. The first title was in 2007. Linfield set NCAA Division III records for wins and home runs (103) in a season.
Ranked No. 1 in the NFCA poll from the start of the season until the finish – the first team ever to do so – Linfield set new standards for team success. The Wildcats put together a 35-game win streak on their way to capturing an eighth straight Northwest Conference championship, a second consecutive regional title, plus the inaugural NWC Tournament crown.
At the NCAA regional in Pella, Iowa, Linfield won all four games while outscoring opponents 49-0. The Wildcats flew from Iowa to the NCAA finals in Salem Va., where they won six of seven games, outscoring the opposition 50-9.
Linfield’s season statistics were also impressive. The Wildcats broke the 2007 national championship team’s record for batting average, hitting .396. The team also set new standards for slugging percentage (.682), on-base percentage (.471), hits (.595) and runs scored (484). The record-breaking 103 home runs on the season surpassed only their own number of 78 from a year ago.
Linfield NFCA All-American first baseman Staci Doucette set new single-season records for batting average (.547), on-base percentage (.653) and walks (45). Her teammate and fellow All-American, Emilee Lepp, a catcher, set the school- and NCAA-record for home runs with 29, as well as single-season marks for slugging percentage (1.089), hits (89), total bases (195), runs (74), and RBI (94).
Through 10 seasons at Linfield, Jackson Vaughan has recorded a 368-86-1 record with eight straight NWC titles, four national finals appearances, one national championship runner-up finish, and two national titles.
