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Varley named CCC's top player, Brown top pitcher By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Southern Oregon University's Haley Varley, a sophomore second baseman, has been named the Cascade Conference softball player of the year. The Raiders' senior ace, Brandi Brown, earned the pitcher-of-the-year honor. Varley, a North Medford product who edged out Oregon Tech's Lindy Schneider in the voting, leads the conference with a .427 batting average. She made the all-conference team for the second straight season. "It's very impressive," SOU head coach James Gravelle said. "I'm very impressed with Haley's contribution to our team in the last two years and her play has really paid off for us, not only on the field but with accolades as well. "I was excited to say the least for Haley and she's the last one to dwell on achievements. � The best thing about it was that Haley was so surprised herself that she got it. When I told the team, she actually blushed and got embarrassed." Brown leads the conference with a 23-7 record and a 1.47 ERA. She's also a threat offensively, hitting .350 with six home runs and 36 RBIs. "I think it's a year late," Gravelle said, referring to the fact that Brown was not named pitcher-of-the-year after her spectacular 2002 season. "But Brandi's a team player and she doesn't care about awards. All she wants to do is win softball games. Her reaction was, 'Oh, good." Other repeat selections on the 15-person team are SOU third baseman Angie Chaplin, a senior from South Medford, Raider teammate Lisa Aitchison and OIT's Schneider. Chaplin is second to Varley in batting average for SOU at .398 and leads the team with a .694 slugging percentage. She's first on the team in triples (3), tied for first in homers (6) and second in RBIs (30) and doubles (8). "Angie was our power source and she proved it again this year and we're going to rely on her during the stretch run coming up." The Raiders (26-9 overall, 10-4 CCC) were scheduled to take on Oregon Tech (22-20, 9-5) today in a noon doubleheader at University Field. The Raiders needed only a split to win the conference title outright. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -