It was a season like none other for the Kelowna Falcons.
That much was evident this week when the West Coast League handed out its individual awards.
Hunter Villanueva has been named the WCL’s Most Valuable Player. Over the course of the regular season Villanueva won the WCL batting crown with a .378 average.
He also tallied 62 hits which tied a Falcons team record, 12 doubles, 7 homeruns and 33 RBIs.
At shortstop he was fantastic as the quarterback of the infield, showing a great range and strong throwing arm.
Justin Flores joins Villanueva on the First Team All-WCL.
Villanueva becomes the first Falcons player ever to win a Most Valuable Player award.
Brady Miller has been named the WCL’s Pitcher of the Year.
During the regular season Miller was perfect finishing with a team high 6-0 record. In seven starts he threw 37 innings striking out 23 and allowed just nine earned runs. His 2.19 ERA was among the WCL’s lowest for starting pitchers.
Miller becomes the third Falcons pitcher to win this award, following Dayne Quist (2010) and Cord Cockrill (2012).
Jayse Bannister claims another honour for the pitching staff as he’s named Second Team All-WCL.
The West Coast League has also announced Billy Clontz is the Coach of the Year in just his second season. Clontz was able to more than double the Falcons win total from 2014 to this year.
Last season, the Falcons finished with a league worst 14-39 record. This season Clontz and company had 34 wins, setting a new team record.
Clontz becomes the first Falcons manager ever to win the league’s Coach of the Year award.
The Falcons front office was also honoured by the WCL as General Manager Mark Nonis was named the Co-Executive of the Year, sharing the award with Casey Powell of the Bend Elks.
Nonis helped Clontz build this year’s record breaking team, as well forged new partnerships off the field with community leaders.
The Falcons charity ballgames in 2015 helped raised thousands of dollars for local charities including the Fire Fighters Burn Fund and the United Way.
