Central Baptist College second baseman Christen Kirchner was named A.I.I. Conference Player of the Year and Cal State San Marcos pitcher Brenna Sandberg was named A.I.I. Conference Pitcher of the Year at Wednesday night's A.I.I. Softball Awards Banquet in San Marcos, CA.

Players and coaches from the six participating teams gathered to celebrate the start of the tournament, which will kick off Thursday at 9:00 AM on CSUSM Softball Field. Along with the player and pitcher of the year awards, CSUSM Head Coach Dave Williams was named A.I.I. Coach of the Year, and the 2011 A.I.I. All-Conference Team was named and is listed in full below.

Kirchner, a sophomore, batted an NAIA-leading .567 in starting all 51 of her team's games this season. She also led the nation with 97 hits, 197 stolen bases, 82 runs scored, 82 runs batted in, and a 1.152 slugging percentage. Kirchner was also second in the NAIA with 23 home runs and 25 doubles for #4-ranked Central Baptist.

Sandberg threw an NAIA-leading 255.2 innings this year, over 87% of total innings for the #2-ranked Cougars. Sandberg also led the nation with 35 wins, ranked second with 322 strikeouts, and was in the top-10 in ERA (1.10), hits allowed per 9 innings (4.40), and opponents' batting average (.143). This is the second straight season Sandberg has been named A.I.I. Pitcher of the Year, and she was a 2010 NAIA Second-Team All-American.

Also recording a second straight win was Coach Dave Williams, whose Cougars posted a 39-7 record this year, rising to a program-best #2 in the national rankings. In this process, Williams picked up his 600^th career win as a head coach. His Cougars are the host and top seed at the A.I.I. Conference Tournament, which you can follow online at www.csusmcougars.com/aiisoftball.