SATURDAY'S SCOREBOARD: Track and Field – Ken Foreman Invitational (SPU, SU, SMU, WWU, CWU, UAA). Baseball – Central Washington 8 at Northwest Nazarene 10 (2nd game to follow); MSU Billings at Western Oregon (2), noon. NCAA Softball Regionals - Humboldt State 8, Cal State Dominguez Hills 1; Humboldt State 1, Western Oregon 0.

Friday, May 9

Softball: Western Oregon Advances To Title Game

Katie Fleer	Hallmark

Western Oregon is one win away from winning the 2008 NCAA Division II West Region softball title.

The Wolves (33-16) stayed unbeaten in the tournament at Arcata, Calif., Friday blanking Cal State Dominguez Hills 7-0 as Katie Fleer tossed a four-hit shutout.

Fleer (21-5) struck out 11 in earning her third straight tournament victory. The Wolves have outscored their three tournament opponents 20-1.

WOU, the tournament's No. 6 seed, will play either top-seed Humboldt State or fifth-seeded CSUDH Saturday at 1:30 p.m. If the Wolves lose a final game will be played Sunday.

Humboldt State eliminated eighth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino 5-1 and defending champion Cal State Stanislaus 9-2 in eight innings in loser-out games Friday. San Bernardino ousted Seattle University 10-8.

Western Oregon put the game away early scoring four runs in the first, two in the second and one in the third. Center fielder Jessica Hallmark keyed the win both offensively and defensively.

Hallmark singled during WOU's four-run first inning, then doubled for a run in the second. Defensively, she threw a runner out at third base to cut short a potential CSUDH threat in the second and in the sixth she made a diving catch with a runner on first base.

The Wolves' first inning runs came on a ground out by Amanda Fleer, a wild pitch and a two-run double by designated player Krysta Pennington.

After Hallmark's double made it 5-0 in the second, she scored on a single by Trina Dorn. Whitney Lee homered in the third to complete the scoring.

Cal State San Bernardino 10, Seattle 8

Jordan Dahl and Jamie Lowe had back-to-back two-run doubles in the seventh as Cal State San Bernardino rallied from an 8-2 deficit to defeat Seattle University 10-8 and oust the Redhawks from the NCAA Division II West Regionals.

Seattle jumped to an 8-2 lead after three innings before CSUSB scored four to pull within 8-6 in the fourth.

SU starter Erin Martin protected that lead until the seventh and was one out away from earning her 26th win of the season before CSUSB loaded the bases on a pair of singles.

However, Dahl's double tied the game at 8-8 and Lowe's double put the CCAA school up by two. Tawni Baker then retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh - she allowed just one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings - to earn the win.

Seattle managed 13 hits in the game, including 12 in the first three innings. Second baseman Jane Purdy, first baseman Lauren Berin and third baseman Jamie Foote had two each.

Among Purdy's hits were a RBI single in the first and a solo home run in the third as she extended her GNAC career home run record to 37.

Dahl led San Bernardino with four hits. Tayler Wilson had three. Lowe had two hits and three RBI.

Baseball: Western Oregon Completes Spring Sweep

Mike Eisenhauer ran his personal win streak to 10 and lead-off hitter Dylan Bruck had six hits as Western Oregon swept a Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader from Montana State Billings at Monmouth Friday by scores of 5-3 and 6-4.

The two wins coupled with a Central Washington loss to Northwest Nazarene at Nampa enabled the Wolves (38-16, 23-7) to clinch their seventh consecutive GNAC baseball title. CWU lost its opener to NNU 9-6 before rebounding for a 9-4 victory.

It also completed a "spring sweep" for the Wolves as they previously also won GNAC titles in softball, men's track and field and women's track and field, the four sports in which they compete.

In all, WOU won a conference-best five GNAC titles during the 2007-08 sports season.

Eisenhauer improved to 10-3 on the season, allowing six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Jared Neyens pitched the ninth to earn his sixth save of the season.

WOU jumped to a 4-0 lead scoring twice in the first and twice in the fourth. In the first Bruck led off with a triple and scored on a single by Tyson Nelson. Cesar Lopez, who was hit by a pitch, later scored on an error.

In the fourth Taylor Mieras singled, advanced to third on a double by Tyler Moore and scored on a sacrifice fly by Travis Fox. Bruck singled to score Moore. Mieras had a RBI single in the seventh.

Montana State Billings was led by second baseman Matt Schoonover with three hits. Centerfielder Jonathan Schlender and first baseman Matt Kakalecik had two each.

In the second game, WOU snapped a 3-3 tie with two runs in the fifth as Bruck had another triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lopez. Nelson doubled to make it 5-3.

Bruck finished the contest with four hits, including two doubles. He also stole two bases to increase his GNAC record total to 38.

Greg Bobnick went five innings after relieving Mike Ward in the first inning and earned his fifth win against two losses. Patch Wirtzberger and Schoonover each had two hits for MSUB. Schlender went 0 for 3, ending his 21-game hitting streak.

Northwest Nazarene 9-4, Central Washington 6-9

Northwest Nazarene catcher Zach Aakhus tied a school single-season record for home runs and set a NNU season mark for runs batted in in leading the Crusaders to a 9-6 victory in the opening game of a doubleheader.

Aakhus doubled for two runs in the third and had a three-run home run in the fifth to increase his GNAC leading home run total to 15. The five RBIs gave him a new NNU mark with 53 on the season.

NNU outhit Central 12-5 as leadoff hitter Ryne Phillips led the way with four. Aakhus, Tim Puckett and Joel Oliver had two each. Jamie Nilsen had two of CWU's five hits.

Chris Mahelona allowed four hits in seven innings and struck out nine in winning his sixth game in 10 decisions.

Nilsen tied a GNAC career record for RBIs with a sacrifice fly during a four-run second inning. It was his GNAC-leading 59th RBI of the season and the 183rd of his career, tying the GNAC all-time record set by Greg McCarthy of Western Oregon between 2002 and 2005.

Central had 13 hits in the contest led by designated hitter Nate Rylaarsdam with four, including a pair of doubles. Rylaarsdam also drove in three runs.

Second baseman Kevin Walkenhauer had three hits, including two doubles. Walkenhauer also had a two-run triple in the opener.

Derek Shoemaker went the distance for CWU, allowing eight hits, in improving to 6-5 on the season.

Men's Golf: Two Vikings Earn All-Region Honors

Two members of the Western Washington's men's golf team, Sean Packer (Sr., Sumner - Auburn Riverside) and Jake Koppenberg (Jr., Everett), have been named to the Golf Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II West Region all-star team.

Koppenberg, who has a school-record pace 71.3 scoring average, tied for second at the West Regional. He has placed among the top 10 individually in eight tournaments this year, placing first once, second four times and third once.

The University of Idaho transfer has had nine rounds in the 60s, including a school-record 10-under par 62 in the final round at the Grand Canyon Invitational to take medalist honors.

Packer, who also received all-region recognition in 2005, has a 73.2 scoring average. He has had five top 10 performances, placing ninth at regionals.

Thursday, May 8

Softball: Wolves Blank Defending Champions 4-0

Katie Fleer

Katie Fleer pitched a six-hit shutout and four different players had RBIs as Western Oregon defeated defending champion Cal State Stanislaus 4-0 Thursday in a winner's bracket game in the NCAA Division II West Regional softball tournament at Arcata, Calif.

The Wolves, the tournament's No. 6 seed, will now play fifth-seed Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday at 2 p.m. The winner of that game will qualify for the championship game. CSUDH remained unbeaten with a 4-2 win over Cal State San Bernardino.

Stanislaus, the tournament's No. 2 seed, will face a loser-out game against top-seed and host Humboldt State Friday morning at 9 a.m. Seattle University, which ousted Cal State Monterey Bay 4-2, will play San Bernardino at 11:30 a.m.

Fleer didn't walk a batter and fanned six in winning her 20th game against five losses in snapping the Warrior' 18-game road winning streak.

The most serious trouble she faced came in the sixth when Kamiko Wright and Meghan Wright began the inning with singles. But, she got the next three batters to ground out.

Jessica Hallmark, who had six RBI Wednesday, gave WOU an early 1-0 lead with a RBI single in the third. The Wolves then added three insurance runs in the fifth on singles by Trina Dorn, Amanda Fleer and Katie Fleer.

The two Fleer sisters along with Tyler Sutherland and Kristin Maglasang all had two hits as the Wolves reached double figures for the second day in a row.

WOU, which is assured of finishing no worse than third in the tournament, had 13 hits in Wednesday's 9-1 win over Cal State Monterey Bay and is now hitting .411 in the regional.

"We are just playing great softball right now," said Wolves head coach Pam Knox.  "Katie (Fleer) is hitting her spots, we are getting hits from nearly everyone in the line-up and we are playing solid defense.  We are playing relaxed, we are in a good place right now."

Redhawks Stay Alive With 4-2 Victory Over Monterey Bay

Jane Purdy

Seattle University maximized its opportunities in defeating Cal State Monterey Bay in a loser-out game.

The seventh-seeded Redhawks (38-13) were outhit 11-2 in the contest, but still managed to come away with a 4-2 win over the third-seeded Otters (35-26).

Redhawk second baseman Jane Purdy keyed the victory. She hit a two-run home run in the first inning and then was hit by a pitch with two out in the fifth to jump-start another two-run frame.

After Purdy, who is now the GNAC all-time home run leader with 36 breaking a tie with CWU's Mallory Holtman, reached base, she scored all the way from first on an error by CSUMB pitcher Angela Cabral.

Kaha Weir then doubled to score Lauren Berin to give SU's Erin Martin a 4-0 lead. Martin gave up six hits in the final two innings, including a leadoff home run in the seventh to Homa Shafii, but managed to hold on to record her 25th win against five losses.

Martin didn't walk a batter - she has issued just one free pass in her last six starts - and fanned two.

Martin, Purdy, Antich Earn NFCA All-Region Accolades

Seattle University standouts Erin Martin, Jane Purdy and Katie Antich have all been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's NCAA Division II West Region all-star softball team.

The three were the lone GNAC players named to the first team. On Wednesday, Antich was also named the Daktronics team, which is selected by the region's sports information directors.

Eight other GNAC players were named to the second team including Katie Fleer, Tyler Sutherland and Trina Dorn of Western Oregon and Megan MacIsaac and Laurin Berin of Seattle University.

Also selected were Holly Rossman, Mallory Holtman and Kasey Druffel of Central Washington.

NFCA (Coaches): First Team - Erin Martin, Seattle (P, 5-7, Sr., Valencia, CA); Jane Purdy, Seattle (2B, 5-4, Sr., Missoula, MT), Katie Antich, Seattle (OF, 5-6, So., Spokane, WA). Second Team - Katie Fleer, Western Oregon (P, 6-2, Sr., Salem, OR); Holly Rossman, Central Washington (C, 5-6, Jr., Olympia, WA), Mallory Holtman, Central Washington (1B, 5-9, Sr., White Salmon, WA), Megan MacIsaac, Seattle (SS, 5-10, Jr., Santa Barbara, CA); Tyler Sutherland, Western Oregon (SS, 5-3, So., Gold Hill, OR); Trina Dorn, Western Oregon (3B, 5-4, Sr., Henderson, NV); Kasey Durffel, Central Washington (OF, 5-6, Sr., Colton, WA) ; Lauren Berin, Seattle (UT, 5-3, So., Lacey, WA).

DAKTRONICS (SIDs): First Team - Katie Antich, Seattle (OF, 5-6, So., Spokane, WA). Second Team - Katie Fleer, Western Oregon (P, 6-2, Sr., Salem, OR); Erin Martin, Seattle (5-7, Sr., Valencia, CA); Holly Rossman, Central Washington (C, 5-6, Jr., Olympia, WA), Mallory Holtman, Central Washington (1B, 5-9, Sr., White Salmon, WA), Jane Purdy, Seattle (2B, 5-4, Sr., Missoula, MT), Holly Morris, Saint Martin's (3B, 5-10, Jr., Richland, WA), Michelle Wrigley, Western Washington (OF, 5-7, Fr., Bothell, WA).

Purdy Lone GNAC Player on CoSIDA Academic Team

Jane Purdy of Seattle University has been named to the CoSIDA Academic District VIII College Division softball academic team.

Purdy, a senior from Missoula, Mont., was the lone GNAC player selected to the team. Purdy is a biology major and has a 3.46 cumulative GPA.

Purdy was also the lone Division II player selected to the team. All the other honorees either play for NCAA Division III or NAIA schools.

SportsCenter: CWU, WOU Story Featured On ESPN

The Central Washington/Western Oregon sportsmanship softball story was recently featured on ESPN's SportsCenter. To view the story, click here.

Wednesday, May 7

Softball: Western Oregon Upsets Monterey Bay

Hallmark

Jessica Hallmark drove in a school-record six runs with a pair of home runs to power sixth-seeded Western Oregon to a 9-1 upset of No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay Wednesday in the NCAA Division II West Regional softball tournament at Arcata, Calif.

In Wednesday's second game, defending regional champion Cal State Stanislaus blanked Seattle University 4-0. The Warriors were the only higher seeded team to win as No. 5 Cal State Dominguez Hills beat No. 4 UC San Diego 6-4 and No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino ripped No. 1 Humboldt State 10-1.

Western Oregon (31-16) will play CSUS (31-21) Thursday at 2 p.m. in a winner's bracket game. Seattle (37-13) will face Monterey Bay (35-25) in a loser-out contest at 11:30 a.m.

Hallmark staked WOU to a 4-0 lead in the second inning with a grand slam home run, then gave WOU a 6-0 lead with a two-run blast in the fourth.

Amanda Fleer doubled to drive in another run in the fourth and Tyler Sutherland then homered for two runs in the fifth. The Otters got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Wolves winning the game on the eight-run rule.

Hallmark has been on a hitting tear over the last three weeks.

"Jessica is just seeing the ball really well," WOU head coach Pam Knox said.  "She has put in the extra time and she is just really comfortable at the plate.  She is driving the ball very well."

WOU finished the contest with 13 hits, including three by Sutherland and two each by Kristin Maglasang, Hallmark and Krysta Pennington.

Monterey Bay managed just four hits off of WOU's Katie Fleer (19-5), who didn't walk a batter and fanned six.

Cal State Stanislaus 4, Seattle University 0

Jessica Gaumnitz blanked the Redhawks on two hits - singles by Katie Gould in the third and Jamie Foote in the fifth. Gaumnitz also walked three and fanned two in improving to 18-7.

The Warriors had eight hits off of SU's Erin Martin (24-5). The CCAA school jumped on top in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Casey Stephenson, then added another run in the fifth on a single by Meghan Franksen.

Stanislaus then added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth on a two-run home run by catcher Jessica Scholl. Scholl finished the contest with three hits in three at bats.

Eight Players Named to Daktronics West Region Team

Eight Great Northwest Athletic Conference players have been selected to the Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region softball team selected by the region's sports information directors.

Only one GNAC player - Seattle University outfielder Katie Antich - was a first team selection.

Earning second team accolades were pitchers Katie Fleer of Western Oregon and Erin Martin of Seattle, catcher Holly Rossman of Central Washington, first baseman Mallory Holtman of Central Washington, second baseman Jane Purdy of Seattle University, third baseman Holly Morris of Saint Martin's and outfielder Michelle Wrigley of Western Washington.

Track and Field: 111 Named To GNAC Academic Team

Clarke	Carlson	Wageman

A total of 111 student-athletes – 72 women and 39 men - have been named to the 2008 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Track and Field Academic all-star team.

Two of the women's academic all-stars have perfect 4.00 grade point averages – Kirsten Clarke of Central Washington and Krinda Carlson of Saint Martin's. The top scholar on the men's team is Josh Wageman of Northwest Nazarene who has a 3.95 GPA.

Northwest Nazarene placed the most athletes on the men's academic team with 11. Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington have seven and six academic all-stars, respectively.

NNU led way on the women's team with 17 academic all-stars. Seattle Pacific and Central Washington were also in double figures with 15 and 10.

Nineteen athletes were named to the team for the third time. Twenty-six others were selected for the second time.

To be eligible for the academic team, student-athletes must have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 and be in at least their second year of competition at their university.

Baseball: Wolves Move Up In NCAA Poll

Western Oregon moved up one spot to fifth place in this week's NCAA Division II West Regional baseball poll released Wednesday putting itself in good position to qualify for next week's regional playoffs.

Six teams will qualify for the playoffs including the CCAA and Rocky Mountain champions, which receive automatic berths, and four at-large teams. The GNAC does not receive an automatic berth.

NCAA Division II West Region (May 7) - 1. UC San Diego (41-14); 2. Sonoma State (42-12); 3. Cal State Stanislaus (36-19); 4. Chico State (35-13); 5. Western Oregon (36-16); 6. Mesa State (40-15); 7. Metro State (38-17); 8. Central Washington (25-16).

Men's Golf: Western Washington Earns National Berth

Koppenberg

Western Washington tied for the best round of the day and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Division II National Championships by placing second in the West Regional and third overall in the West/Northwest Super Regional Wednesday at the Adobe Creek Golf Club in Petaluma, Calif.

It is the Vikings' first trip to nationals since 2005 when they won the regional title.

Host Sonoma State got the automatic berth to nationals, which will be held at Houston, Texas, beginning next Wednesday. The Seawolves led all the way, finishing 3-under par for a three-day, 54-hole total of 861 (299).

Western shot a final-round, even par 288, for an 873 total, 12 strokes behind Sonoma State. Grand Canyon, which also shot 288, finished third at 880 in the eight-team field.

Western's Jake Koppenberg shot a final-round 3-under par 69 to finish in a three-way tie for second place at 212, and Thomas Jun shot a 73 and placed seventh at 215. Koppenberg's score was his ninth round in the 60s this season.

Sean Packer, who birdied four of his first six holes, had a 2-under 70 to finish ninth at 217.

Grand Canyon 's Ryan Sperry took medalist honors, shooting a final-round 69 for a 5-under par total of 211.

NCAA Division II West Regional (May 5-7 at Adobe Creek Golf Club, Petaluma, CA): Team Scores - 1. Sonoma State 861 (285-277-299); 2. Western Washington 873 (293-292-288); 3. Grand Canyon 880 (303-289-288); 4. Cal State Stanislaus 881 (298--290-293) and Cal State San Bernardino 881 (296-290-295); 6. Cal State Monterey Bay 883 (298-283-302); 7. Chico State 895 (303-290-302); 8. Hawaii Hilo 903 (305-294-304). Individuals (Par 72-6,840) - 1. Ryan Sperry, Grand Canyon, 211 (74-68-69); 2. Jake Koppenberg, WWU, 212 (72-71-69); 7. Thomas Jun, WWU, 215 (72-70-73); 9. Sean Packer, WWU, 217 (75-72-70); 25. Hiro Nezu, SMU, 225 (74-77-74); 33. John Eisentrout, SMU, 229 (76-76-77); 37. Julian Peters, WWU, 231 (74-79-78); 41. Brandon Brown, WWU, 236 (81-79-76); 42. Dale Raybould, NNU, 238 (77-82-79).

Women's Golf: Vikings Qualify For Nationals

Breanna Carmichael amd Kaitlin Parker tied for fifth with 54-hole totals of 226 to lead Western Washington to a second-place team finish at the NCAA Division II Women's Golf West Regional at The Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, Ariz. Wednesday.

The Vikings finished four shots back of Tarleton State to earn one of the two regional berths for the national tournament May 13-16 at the Memorial Golf Course in Houston, Texas.

Tarleton had a team score of 910, including 291 on Wednesday. Western finished with a 298 Wednesday to finish at 914.

Saint Martin's finished third with a 940 total. The Saints' Amy Dalzell and Stacie Henden tied for seventh with 229 totals.

Tarleton's Shraddhanjali Singh fired a three-under 69 to win medalist honors with a 218 total.

It will be the fourth national appearance as a NCAA member for Western Washington, which has placed fifth in each of its three previous trips.

The Vikings tied for the regional title in 2005 and finished second in 2004 and 2006. It is the sixth national trip overall for the Vikings. They placed eighth at the NAIA Championships in 1998 and 10th in 1997.

NCAA Division II West Regional (May 5-7 at The Legacy Golf Resort,, Phoenix, AZ): Team Scores - 1. Tarleton State 910 (318-301-291); 2. Western Washington 914 (319-297-298); 3. Saint Martin's 940 (320-301-319); 4. St. Edward's 941 (312-311-318); 5. Northeastern State 945 (315-314-316);6. Western New Mexico 968 (322-309-337). Individuals (Par 72 -6100 yards) - 1. Shraddhanjali Singh, Tarleton, 218 (76-73-69); 5. Breanna Carmichael, WWU, 226 (75-75-76) and Kailtin Parker, WWU, 226 (83-70-73); 7. Amy Dalzell, SMU, 229 (75-73-81) and Stacie Henden, SMU, 229 (78-75-76); 13. Catherine Kim, WWU, 232 (79-75-78); 15. Allison Gillette, WWU, 235 (86-78-71); 16. Babe Prante, SMU, 237 (83-75-79); 18. Lianne Matkin, WWU, 240 (82-77-81); 29. Lauren Roberts, SMU, 249 (88-78-83); 31. Lexi Coltom, SMU, 253 (84-81-88).