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Donovan named NFCA’s NAIA Catcher of the Year By SOU Sports Information Updated: Jun 07, 2022 09:26 PM A A ASHLAND — A record-breaking individual season translated to more hardware Tuesday for Southern Oregon’s Riley Donovan, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced. Donovan was named the Diamond Sports/NFCA Catcher of the Year in the NAIA, and was one of four unanimous first-team NFCA All-America selections. The junior from Half Moon Bay, Calif., ended her second season at SOU with a .481 batting average, 20 home runs, 22 doubles and 89 RBIs. Donovan was only Raider to make the NFCA All-America team — separate from the NAIA All-America list, which will be released Wednesday — but four others joined her on the All-Region team. Cayla Williams was a first-team member as a pitcher, and a trio of Raiders made the second team: Deja Acosta as a second baseman, Ashton Cathey as a first baseman, and Phelicity Fa’aita as a designated player. Donovan is the second straight Raider to claim the Catcher of the Year award, following Allie Stines in 2021. She led the Raiders to a 49-14 record and within one win of another NAIA World Series appearance, having also taken the Cascade Conference Player of the Year award. On the national leaderboard, she finished No. 1 in hits (88), RBIs (89) and walks (51); No. 2 in home runs (20) and slugging percentage (.973); No. 3 in on-base percentage (.592); No. 4 in doubles (22); and No. 6 in batting average (.481) and runs scored (70). On Wednesday, Donovan has a chance to become the third Raider in four years to collect NAIA Player of the Year honors. Among the All-Region honorees, Williams went 16-4 with a 1.74 ERA in the circle and batted .438 with 26 extra-base hits and 54 RBIs at the plate. Acosta led the NAIA in runs scored (82) and went 48-for-51 on stolen-base attempts with a .379 batting average, and Cathey hit .383 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs. Fa’aita was another effective two-way player, going 12-3 with a 3.42 ERA as a pitcher and batting .415 with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs. Despite having their season cut short of a third straight national title, the Raiders finished with 40 more runs scored (493) than any team in the country. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneSOU's Riley Donovan, seen here during batting practice this past season, was named the NFCA’s NAIA Catcher of the Year on Tuesday.