COACH OF THE YEAR: Rob Walton, Oral Roberts
You can't give enough credit to the job Rob Walton has done with this team. Walton wasn't supposed to beat Oklahoma State and Arkansas. Not only did he do that during the season, his Eagles did it all through the regional as well. Combined, ORU went 6-for-6 against the Cowboys and Razorbacks this year. Not many mid-major programs have a record like that.

GOLDEN MIC AWARD: UA's PA announcer, Larry Shank
Whenever you hear Larry Shank over the PA at Baum Stadium, you instantly realize that Shank was born to do this job. He's got the perfect pitch and tone, and he knows how to have fun at the games, and to get the crowd's attention whenever the energy drops just the slightest bit. He's the epitome of how a PA announcer should do his/her job.

STARS AND STRIPES AWARD: UA freshman and RBI Girl Rachel Smithson
I'm one to believe that, of all the songs out there, the National Anthem should be about the song, and not the singer. In other words, it should be sung the way it was meant to be sung: note for note, with no wild changes in pitch or hanging notes. A wide assortment of singers performed the anthem, and from opera singers to a Christian rock group, none of them got the song right at all, some missing the pitch terribly. Only Smithson, who sang on Friday, got it exactly the way it should be. Her performance was not only spot-on, but she sang the song the right way. She knows she has a beautiful voice, but yet, it was important to her to show proper respect for the music and the lyrics. With all the performers out there, leave it to a 19-year old incoming sophomore to do it perfect.

FAN AWARD: The entire Trough (UA student section)
When Arkansas needed fan support at its most, down 2-0 to Princeton in the 8th, it was the Trough led the pep rally that brought the fans up and gave the team the much needed boost to come back and beat the Tigers.

SLOGGER AWARD: The various posters from ORU
The comments from ORU fans were frequent, intelligent, and very appreciative. Tonight, this award was sealed when one poster visited me at the game and thanked me for the coverage. It was my pleasure to cover this regional, and I offer my congrats to the Eagle faithful.

BEST HIT: tie - James Ewing's double vs. Princeton, and Chad Rothford's 3-run blast tonight vs. OSU
Ewing's was the hit that created the biggest cheer of the entire weekend, and was the most crucial hit the Hogs had in the regional. Rothford's hit put the nail in the coffin in what was a magical weekend for Oral Roberts.

BEST CATCH: Ty Wright's leaping wall catch to rob Brian Walker and end the season for Arkansas
This catch broke the hearts of over 5,000 Hog fans this afternoon. When it was hit, I honestly thought Arkansas had won the ball game. So did most everyone else in the stadium. It was going out, it was heading out, and Ty Wright made an incredible catch to shatter the hearts of Razorback fans.

BEST INTERVIEW: UA Diamond Dolls Melissa Mathews and Kenlie Posey
This interview was informative, and made for what I thought was a good feature story. It was also a light-hearted and fun conversation. Both girls were thrilled to do the interview and were as friendly as they could be. They made my job easy to do, and made me feel good about choosing them as a feature story.