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OGDEN, Utah (May 15, 2013) - Portland State’s Tobin Echo-Hawk was named the 2013 Big Sky Softball Coach of the Year in a vote by the league’s seven head coaches. This is Echo-Hawk’s first coach of the year award in the Big Sky, but her fifth coach of the year award overall.
Echo-Hawk, in her fifth season as the head coach, led Portland State to its first Big Sky Conference co-regular season title. The Vikings were the No. 2 seed in the Big Sky Championship. In the Championship, Portland State defeated Southern Utah 8-0 in five innings in the first round, The Vikings then faced No. 1 Idaho State and defeated the Bengals 5-3. Portland State headed to the championship game and faced Southern Utah for a second time, and defeated the Thunderbirds 4-0 to advance to the 2013 NCAA Softball Tournament.
Portland State will be traveling to Seattle, Wash., for the Seattle Regional and will face the overall No. 11 seed, Washington. Hawai’i and Minnesota are also at the Regional. Portland State has a 25-29 overall record, going 14-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings were picked first in the preseason poll.
Echo-Hawk has compiled a 146-125 record in her five-year head-coaching career. She has led Portland State to a Pacific Coast Softball Conference Championship (2009, 2011 and 2012), a Mountain Division Title (2010, 2011 and 2012), a Big Sky Conference Championship (2013) and Division I NCAA Tournament berths (2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013)
Echo-Hawk is assisted at Portland State by Cristina Cobb-Adams and Jason Baker.
She began her coaching career at her alma mater, Nebraska, serving as a volunteer assistant during the 1997 and 1998 campaigns. She assisted in the preparation and supervising of all practices, scouting opponents, was a bench coach and assisted with hitting and defensive instruction.
As a player for the Cornhuskers, Echo-Hawk had a stellar four-year career from 1993-1996 as a third baseman. She was a four-time All-Big XII Conference selection, a three-time All-Midwest Region performer (1994-1996), and was a second team All-American as a junior and senior. She set single-season marks for batting average (.439), doubles (22), runs scored (66) and assists (170). Echo-Hawk also graduated as Nebraska’s all-time leader in hits (226) and doubles (48).
Following her two-year stint as a coach at Nebraska, Echo-Hawk played three seasons (1998-2000) for the Akron Racers of the Women’s Professional Softball League, earning WPSL All-Star honors in 1999 and 2000. She then went overseas, where she starred for three seasons with the Rhea Vendors in the Italian League from 2002-04. In 2002, Echo-Hawk was the Italian League MVP.