Hansen named OCAA Female Rookie of the Year
Files from OCAA.com
TORONTO - The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is proud to announce that Shade Hansen of Humber College has been named its 2023-24 Female Rookie of the Year.
Hansen (Etobicoke) debuted with the Humber Hawks women's softball team on Sept. 9 and proceeded to strike out 16 Seneca Sting batters in a complete-game shutout victory, three shy of an OCAA single-game record. Hansen allowed just one hit in seven innings, walking none.
The following day, Hansen struck out nine Sheridan Bruins en route to a second win in just over 24 hours. Later in September against the same Bruins, Hansen pitched a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 10 in a 14-0 mercy rule victory. In this same outing, Hansen set a new Humber single-season strikeout record with 71 and counting.
Another memorable outing came two starts later against the Durham Lords. Hansen was locked in a proverbial pitcher's duel, shutting out the Lords through seven innings, striking out eight in a scoreless tie. Although suffering the loss in extra innings, Hansen's skills were on full display against one of the elite OCAA teams.
By the end of the regular season, Hansen went on to throw 73.2 innings in a dozen appearances, including 11 starts, striking out 127, a dozen shy of an OCAA single season record and more strikeouts than six OCAA teams received from their entire pitching staff.
Hansen had a 10-1 record, and threw a league-best nine complete games and six shutouts. Hansen struck out 10 or more batters in seven starts, and had a 0.57 ERA, limiting batters to a league-low .123 batting average.
Not surprisingly, Hansen was named OCAA Pitcher of the Year along with OCAA Rookie of the Year in women's softball. Hansen was also an OCAA League First-Team All-Star and headlined the OCAA All-Rookie Team.
Hansen also collected a pair of team bronze medals. For the first time in its history, the Humber program secured a spot on the podium at the Canadian Collegiate Softball Association National Championship, with Hansen picking up the save in the medal-winning game.
Hansen won Humber's opening game at the OCAA championship, striking out nine Seneca Sting batters in 3 2/3 innings of relief. Hansen recorded an additional five strikeouts in two appearances against the eventual champion St. Clair Saints.
A leader on and off the diamond, Hansen also excelled in the classroom, earning OCAA All-Academic honours.
