Tuesday, March 13, 2018

LAYOFF DOES LITTLE TO PHASE WILDCATS: A 20-day layoff from games did little to put rust on Central Washington’s bats. After not having played since their trip to Hawaii ended on Feb. 18, the Wildcats proceeded to take all four games from Montana State Billings to open GNAC play. Central Washington enters the week with a 10-4 overall record.

Central Washington collected wins on Saturday by scores of 9-2 and 6-4 and closed out both of Sunday’s games in five innings, 10-0 and 10-2. The Wildcats outscored the Yellowjackets’ 35-8 in the series and had five different players with four or more hits while the pitching staff held MSUB to a .215 opponent’s batting average.

A freshman led the way for the Wildcats. Theresa Moyle was named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week after she hit .700 in the four games, going 7 for 10 with seven runs scored, a home run, five RBIs, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .769 on-base percentage. She went 2 for 4 and scored three runs in Saturday’s opener and went 2 for 2 with a two-run homer in the nightcap. Moyle followed that by going 2 for 2 with a run and an RBI in Sunday’s opener and 1 for 2 with two RBIs in the nightcap.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE: Also on a roll is Simon Fraser, which improved to 5-3 in GNAC play by taking three of four games from the conference’s Oregon schools over the weekend. The Clan split its doubleheader with Concordia on Saturday, winning the opener 6-5 before dropping the nightcap 6-5. On Sunday, the Clan collected a sweep from Western Oregon by scores of 2-1 and 5-3.

Taylor Lundrigan led the Clan by batting .538 in the four games, going 7 for 13 with two runs, three doubles and three RBIs. She had two hits in both games against Concordia on Saturday before finishing the weekend by going 2 for 3 in Sunday’s finale against Western Oregon, which included three RBIs.

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS UPCOMING: Six of the conference’s eight teams will square off against each other this weekend before all eight squads head south to California’s Central Valley for the Stanislaus Tournament of Champions. The annual tournament, and one of the largest in Division II, will feature GNAC teams in 48 games over three days. The conference has amassed 22 wins in the tournament in each of the last three years.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON PICKED TO REPEAT AS CHAMPIONS: With two straight regular-season championships under its belt, Central Washington has been selected to win the conference in the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Softball Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Wildcats, under third-year head coach Mike Larabee, received six of eight first-place votes to finish with 59 points in the poll. Central Washington used a solid start to the season to claim the regular season crown, winning 15 of its first 16 conference games. The magic faded at the end, however, with the Wildcats losing five of their last six and fell in the GNAC Championships consolation bracket to Western Oregon.

Western Washington, which used a strong finish to the season to win the GNAC Championships and earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship, is picked second with 51 points. The Vikings finished the 2017 regular season on an eight-game win streak and swept through the GNAC Championships.

Coaches expect a tight race for the final two tournament positions with three teams tied in the poll with 42 points. Saint Martin’s was picked to repeat in third while Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon each received one first-place vote.

Following the third-place logjam was Montana State Billings (sixth, 21 pts.), Concordia (seventh, 16 pts.) and Simon Fraser (eighth, 15 pts.).

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Theresa Moyle, Central Washington
IF/C • 5-4 •  Freshman • Weiser, Idaho

Moyle finished with a .700 batting average with seven runs, five RBIs and a home run to lead the Wildcats to a four-game GNAC sweep of Montana State Billings. She went 2 for 4 and scored three runs in Saturday’s opener and went 2 for 2 with a two-run homer in the nightcap. Moyle followed that by going 2 for 2 with a run and an RBI in Sunday’s opener and 1 for 2 with two RBIs in the nightcap.

Also Nominated: Mckenzie Smith (Concordia), Brittany Genuardi (Northwest Nazarene), Dallas Tilley (Simon Fraser), Mariah Deleon (Western Oregon).

PITCHER
Jordan Adams, Northwest Nazarene
P/1B • 5-8 •  Freshman • Gig Harbor, Wash.

Adams threw 14 scoreless innings in the Nighthawks’ series win at Saint Martin’s. In the two games, Adams allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out 17. She allowed only one runner past second base. Adams won Friday’s opener, 4-0, as she allowed two hits and a walk while striking out 12. She then earned the victory on Saturday to improve to 7-4 on the year as she allowed five hits and a walk and struck out five in the 7-0 victory.

Also Nominated: Lexie Strasser (Central Washington), Alia Stachoski (Simon Fraser), Haley Fabian (Western Oregon), Anna Kasner (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• A break of nearly three weeks from play did little to stop Central Washington. After having not played since Feb. 18, the Wildcats opened GNAC play last weekend with a four-game sweep of Montana State Billings. The Wildcats won Saturday’s games 9-2 and 6-4 and won both of Sunday’s contests in five innings, 10-0 and 10-2.

• Freshman Theresa Moyle was named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week after she hit .700 in the four games with seven runs, five RBIs and a home run. She had two hits in each of Saturday’s games, hitting a two-run homer in the second game, and went 2 for 2 in Sunday’s opening game. Moyle has played in 13 games, starting 11, and owns a .382 batting average on the season.

• Sophomore Savannah Egbert and freshman Katie Kastning each hit .417 in the series, going 5 for 12. Kastning finished with seven runs scored while Egbert had four RBIs. Kastning’s best game came in Saturday’s opener where she went 3 for 4 with three runs and an RBI. Egbert went 2 for 3 with two RBIs in Saturday’s second game. Egbert is second in the GNAC and 29th in Division II with a .500 batting average.

• Freshman Lexie Strasser went 2-0 in the circle with a 0.58 earned run average. She won Saturday’s opener by allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits with four strikeouts in the complete-game effort. Strasser then allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out two in Sunday’s five-inning opener. Strasser is now 4-3 on the season with a 4.33 earned run average.

• Central Washington enters the week leading the GNAC and 24th in Division II with a .334 batting average and is third with a 4.01 earned run average. In addition to Egbert, Jacie McDaniels is fourth in the GNAC with a .432 batting average. Taylor Williams leads the pitching staff with a 2.86 ERA and a 3-0 record in three appearances.

• The Wildcats come to Oregon for four games this weekend, playing at Concordia on Saturday and at Western Oregon on Sunday.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia opened its GNAC season with a split on the road. The Cavaliers lost its Saturday opener with Simon Fraser, 6-5, and won the nightcap 3-2. On Sunday, Western Washington took a 3-0 win in the opener while the Cavaliers won the nightcap, 4-3.

• Sophomore Macy Besuyen led Concordia offensively as she went 4 for 11 in the four games. Three of those hits came in Saturday’s opener with SFU as she went 3 for 4 with two runs. Besuyen is Concordia’s leading hitter and is seventh in the GNAC with a .397 batting average and is second in the league with 21 runs scored. She is also 19th in Division II with her three triples.

• Junior Mackenzie Smith finished hitting .300 in the series. She had two of her three hits in Saturday’s opener against Simon Fraser. In addition, Smith threw two games for the Cavaliers. She earned her fifth win of the season in a complete-game effort at Western Washington on Sunday, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with four strikeouts. Smith enters the week with a 5-1 record and is second in the GNAC with her 2.74 earned run average.

• Junior Samantha Byron is fifth in the GNAC with a 3.06 earned run average. She saw limited pitching action over the weekend. She threw 2.2 innings of relief in Sunday’s opener, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out two. She also threw 1.2 innings in Saturday’s second game victory.

• Concordia enters the week with a .290 batting average and is second in the GNAC with a 3.72 earned run average. The Cavaliers share the GNAC lead with 27 stolen bases.

• The Cavaliers are home for a weekend set, hosting Central Washington for two on Saturday and Saint Martin’s for a doubleheader on Sunday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings dropped all four games at Central Washington over the week as the Yellowjackets dropped to 2-6 in conference play. They lost Saturday’s games 9-2 and 6-4 and then dropped a pair of five-inning games on Sunday, 10-0 and 10-2.

• Senior Myrissa Prince led the Yellowjackets offensively with a .300 batting average in the four games, spreading her three hits out over three games. Prince enters the week with a .282 batting average.

• Senior Heather Tracy saw her 21-game hitting streak come to an end in Sunday’s opening 10-0 loss, a game where MSUB finished with just one hit. Tracy did have two hits and a run in Saturday’s opener. Tracy enters the week as the GNAC leader and ranked 21st in Division II with a .517 batting average and also ranks among the Division II leaders in runs scored (27) and total bases (69). Tracy is also tied for fourth in the GNAC with 20 RBIs.

• Among the pitching staff, senior Megan Dettling is second in the GNAC with 57 strikeouts while sophomore Maddy Lincoln is 10th in the GNAC with a 3.61 earned run average Lincoln’s 18 appearances lead the GNAC as does Dettling’s 10 relief appearances.

• Montana State Billings is fourth in the GNAC with a .315 batting average and leads the conference with 25 home runs. They are ranked 23rd in Division II with 1.00 home runs per game. The Yellowjackets’ pitching staff owns a 4.79 earned run average and rank 21st in Division II with four shutouts.

• The Yellowjackets will not play this weekend and will return to action on Fri., Mar. 23, at the Stanislaus State Tournament of Championships in Turlock, Calif.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene took three of four games from Saint Martin’s on the road to even its GNAC record at .500. The Nighthawks took both games on Friday, 4-0 and 14-3, and won Saturday’s opener 7-0 before taking an 8-7 loss in Sunday’s finale.

• Freshman Jordan Adams was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week after she threw two complete-game victories, allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out 17 in 14 innings. In Friday’s opener, Adams allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out 12 in the 4-0 win. In the opener on Saturday, Adams allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five more batters. Adams enters the week as the GNAC leader with a 2.29 earned run average with a 7-4 record. She has allowed 28 runs in 58 innings.

• Junior Shelbie Martinez was NNU’s leading hitter with a .583 batting average over the four games, going 7 for 12 with three runs, four RBIs and a home run. She opened the series with a two-run homer in Friday’s first game and went 3 for 4 in Saturday’s finale. Martinez is currently hitting .276 in 20 games for the Nighthawks.

• Senior Lisa Sylvester went .500 in the four games as she hit 6 for 13 with three hits, three RBIs and a double. Her week was punctuated by a 3 for 4 performance in Saturday’s opener, which included a pair of RBI singles. Sylvester enters the week with a .329 batting average. Her six sacrifice flies tie her for sixth in Division II.

• Northwest Nazarene enters the week third in the GNAC with a .319 batting average and also has a 4.43 earned run average. The Nighthawks are tied for the GNAC lead with 27 RBIs. The team’s 225 hits lead the conference. The Nighthawks lead the GNAC with 47 doubles and are 23rd in Division II with 1.88 doubles per game.

• The Nighthawks will also take the weekend off and will return to competition on Mar. 23 at the Stanislaus State Tournament of Champions.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s dropped three of four games to Northwest Nazarene in the Saints’ home-opening weekend. The Saints dropped Friday’s games 4-0 and 14-3 and Saturday’s opener, 7-0, before using a seventh-inning rally to win Saturday’s nightcap, 8-7.

• Freshman Julia Lucas and sophomore Regan Byrd each had three hits to lead the Saints offensively. Lucas’ final hit proved to be the lone game-winner for the Saints as she singled home pinch-runner Taylor Wolf in the bottom of the seventh inning in Saturday’s 8-7 victory. Lucas had a .353 batting average in 11 games with four starts while Byrd has a .240 average in 12 games.

• Senior Kim Nelson had two hits in Friday’s opener. She also picked up the lone win of the week in the circle in relief, allowing one run on three hits in 1.2 innings in Saturday’s nightcap. Nelson is sixth in the GNAC with a 3.24 earned run average.

• Senior Tessani Dixon had two hits in the Saturday’s victory, which included a two-RBI single in the fourth and a two-RBI double in the fifth. Dixon has a .242 batting average and leads the Saints with 11 RBIs.

• The Saints enter the week with a .246 batting average and lead the conference with a 3.29 earned run average. The Saints have allowed the fewest earned runs (47) and walks (28) in the conference over 15 games.

• Saint Martin’s will be in the Willamette Valley for four games this weekend, playing a doubleheader at Western Oregon on Saturday and at Concordia on Sunday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser took three of four games from the Oregon schools to improve to 5-3 in conference play. The Clan split on Saturday with Concordia, winning the opener 6-5 before losing the second game 3-2, and then beat Western Oregon twice on Sunday, 2-1 and 5-3.

• Senior Taylor Lundrigan batted .538 in the four games, going 7 for 13 with two runs, three doubles and three RBIs. She had two hits in both games against Concordia on Saturday before finishing the weekend by going 2 for 3 in Sunday’s finale against Western Oregon, which included three RBIs. Lundrigan is sixth in the GNAC with a .400 batting average and is second with eight doubles. She is fourth in Division II with 0.73 doubles per game.

• Junior Hailey Gearey, senior Dallas Tilley and freshman Kate Fergusson each had four hits in the series. Fergusson had two hits in Saturday’s nightcap against Concordia while Tilley went 2 for 3 in Sunday’s final game against Western Oregon.

• Senior Alia Stachoski threw in all four games and went 2-1 with a 2.06 earned run average. She earned the win in Saturday’s opener in relief, striking out two in the seventh inning. Stachoski went the distance in Sunday’s second game win over WOU, allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts. She also earned the save in the opener against WOU, allowing three hits in two innings. Stachoski enters the week with a 3.60 earned run average and leads the GNAC with her three saves.

• Simon Fraser is second in the GNAC with a .320 batting average. The Clan leads Division II with a .987 fielding percentage, having made just four errors in 11 games. The team is also ninth in Division II with 2.18 doubles per game.

• Simon Fraser will engage cross-border rival Western Washington for four games this weekend. The teams will play in Bellingham on Saturday and in Burnaby on Sunday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon split four games last weekend as the Wolves opened GNAC play. Western Oregon took both games from Western Washington on Saturday, 6-3 and 4-3, before losing both games to Simon Fraser on Sunday, 2-1 and 5-3.

• Junior Ryanne Huffman led the Wolves are the plate with a .500 batting average in the four games, going 7 for 14 with three runs, one RBI and one double. She had a RBI single in Saturday’s opener with Western Washington and went 2 for 4 in the nightcap. Huffman then went 3 for 4 in Sunday’s opener at SFU as she scored the Wolves’ lone run of the game. Huffman leads WOU and is fifth in the GNAC with a .415 batting average and is tied for third in the GNAC with 27 hits.

• Freshman Mariah Deleon went 4 for 7 in three games for the Wolves. She went 2 for 4 in Sunday’s opener at SFU, which included an RBI single in the third that accounted for the Wolves’ lone run of the game. Deleon enters the week with a .371 batting average in 14 games.

• Junior Haley Fabian went 1-1 in the circle and compiled a 1.62 earned run average in two appearances. She went the distance to win Saturday’s opener at WWU, allowing three runs, two earned, on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts. In the loss in Sunday’s opener at SFU, Fabian allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits with one strikeout, Fabian enters the week with a 4.49 earned run average and is tied for 18th in Division II with two saves.

• Western Oregon enters the week with a .307 batting average and a .428 earned run average. The Wolves are second in the GNAC with a .966 team fielding percentage.

• The Wolves will host Saint Martin’s for a doubleheader on Saturday and Central Washington for two games on Sunday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington dropped three of four games to the Oregon schools over the weekend. The Vikings dropped both games to Western Oregon on Saturday, 6-3 and 4-3. Western Washington won the opener over Concordia on Sunday, 3-0, before losing the nightcap 4-3.

• Sophomore Paityn Cyr led the Vikings offensively with a .385 batting average in the four games, going 5 for 13 with two runs, five RBIs, two doubles and a home run. Cyr accounted for all of the scoring in Sunday’s win over Concordia, scoring three runs on a three-run homer to left field in the fourth inning. She also had 2 for 3 and doubles in two runs in Sunday’s nightcap. Cyr enters the week with a .295 batting average.

• Junior Shearyna Labasan amassed a 2.00 earned run average in the two games, taking a pair of losses. She allowed four runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts in Saturday’s second game with WOU and allowed four unearned runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts in Sunday’s loss to Concordia. Labasan enters the week with a 3.56 earned run average and is 25th in Division II with 0.84 walks allowed per game. Labasan is also third in the GNAC with a .462 batting average and is 15th in Division II with a .588 on-base percentage.

• Sophomore Anna Kasner earned the win in the Vikings’ lone victory of the weekend, allowing two hits and striking out seven against Concordia on Sunday. Kasner enters the week with a 4.61 earned run average and leads the GNAC with 60 strikeouts.

• Western Washington enters the week with a .270 batting average and a 4.69 earned run average.

• The Vikings close a 10-game home stand by hosting Simon Fraser on Saturday before traveling north to face the Clan in Burnaby on Sunday.