The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

CSM coach Nicole Borg turned Alyssa Jepsen from an all-state utility infielder into an all-state pitcher. The one constant? Jepsen’s bat. She hit over .400 in her two years at CSM.

After finishing second in the Coast Conference-North Division, the College of San Mateo softball team knew they were pretty much a lock for the state playoffs.

Last weekend, during the state meetings, this was confirmed and as the No. 10 seed in the Northern California bracket, the Bulldogs be taking a drive up to Redding to face Shasta College.

But before they hit the field, there was a little regular season hardware to be handed out.

Fifth-year head coach Nicole Borg was named the Northern California Coach of the Year for the first time in her career after leading the young Bulldog team to a game of her first outright division title. The award comes after she had already been named the Coast Conference Coach of the Year, an honor she received for the third time (2005, 2007).

“It’s a great honor,” Borg said. “You’re going up against some great coaches, so for people to think that I did a good enough to job that I deserved an award like that, it’s special.”

There is no question that Borg deserved the honor. Not only did she lead the team to a 26-11 record, she might have done her best coaching job ever after making a decision earlier in the season to take Alyssa Jepsen from her shortstop position and transform her into one of the best pitchers in conference.

Her move also opened the door for Samatha Pacheco to step into the six hole — all she did was hit .425 and play a solid short. Jepsen and Pacheco earned All-State team honors this weekend.

“It’s kind of cool. When I played at CSM, I was the Nor Cal pitcher of the year my sophomore year and now in my fifth year at CSM, I am the All-Northern California coach of the year, which is special,” Borg said. “It’s something that I definitely appreciate but I think the thing that is special to me is the team that I have and the reason that we’re so successful. … it’s just been a special year all the way around.”

Pacheco had a breakthrough year for the Bulldogs, coming out of nowhere to drive in 21 runs and steal nine bases. Jepsen, the reigning Coast Conference Player of the Year, had another phenomenal season for Bulldogs. She hit .435 with five home runs and 33 runs batted in from the leadoff spot. She also stole 18 bases, walked 17 times and hit 16 doubles. Her biggest contribution wasn’t even at the plate, it was in the circle. She won 14 games and was second in the conference with a 1.98 ERA.

“I’m so proud of them. I’m over-the-top happy. They’re both deserving of that honor,” Borg said. “I think they’ve taken on the challenge of ‘Hey, we need leadership here, we need our sophomores to step up and do big things in big games,’ and they’ve both done that. They’ve bought in to what I’ve been trying to sell these two years. They do everything I ask them to do. They’re two great kids, I love coaching both of them.”

CSM’s bid to be state champions will start Saturday when they take on Shasta, a team they split a couple of games with this season.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you play as long as you’re playing,” Borg said of the impending challenge. “When it’s all said and done, I’d rather be playing in Redding than not playing at all. Is it ideal to travel all five hours to play? No, no it’s not. But again, the alternative would be not playing and I would much rather drive than not play.”

The task won’t be easy, especially away from home. Shasta had three players named to the all-state team this weekend, Cassidy Horner, Kayla McConnell and Cassidy Olson.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done this year and we’re on the road now. We’ll be on the road from here on out if we make it all the way through. It’s something that we’ve accepted and moved past,” Borg said. “When you match the two teams up, it’s going to be great competition. We match up really well with them, in the circle, offensively and defensively. I’m actually pretty happy with the matchup and  I think we’ll have some good games.”