Wednesday, April 17, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – It was a great day for Saint Martin's University softball. On three different fronts.

Perhaps most importantly, the Saints earned a No. 4 ranking in the first of three NCAA Division II West Regional softball polls.  The regional poll will eventually determine which five at-large teams joins the GNAC, CCAA and Pac West champions in next month's West Regional playoffs.

The Saints were the only GNAC team to earn a Top 10 ranking.  Humboldt State earned the No. 1 ranking, followed by Grand Canyon and Sonoma State.

Secondly, the Saints moved up two positions and are now ranked 23rd in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 national poll.  Also ranked in the Top 25 is Humboldt State at No. 6 and Sonoma State at No. 16.

Thirdly, Saint first baseman Joslyn Eugenio was  selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Player of the Week.

A senior pitcher/first baseman from Kapolei, Hawai’i, Eugenio put together an impressive week, hitting .625 (10-for-16) with nine runs scored, a pair of doubles, two HRs and 10 RBIs while tallying 18 total bases, a 1.125 slugging percentage and a .647 on-base mark. 

With the two doubles she improved her career total to 61, making her the all-time leader in that category in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history. 

Among her top performances was a perfect 3-for-3 effort with three tallies, a double, a HR and four RBIs during a victory over Western Oregon and a 3-for-3 contest with a pair of runs scored, a HR and four more RBIs in a triumph over MSU Billings.

The GNAC Player of the Week currently leads the league in batting average (.401), total hits (57) and RBI (39), while rating third in total bases (82), fifth in doubles (tied with 11) and slugging percentage (.577) and ninth in on-base percentage (.411).

Saint Martin's (30-11, 12-4), which leads Simon Fraser (21-16, 11-4) by 1/2 in the conference race, travels to Burnaby Sunday for a doubleheader with the Clan.  SMU also takes on fifth-place Western Washington (19-19, 8-8) Saturday in another doubleheader.

This week's conference doubleheader slate begins Thursday with Montana State Billings (9-25, 7-10) playing at Northwest Nazarene (5-35, 0-20).  MSUB plays at third-place Central Washington (18-13, 12-6) and fourth-place Western Oregon (20-23, 9-7) visits Simon Fraser on Saturday.  On Sunday, Western Oregon visits Western Washington.

For more news from the GNAC, check out the GNAC Weekly Report.

RANKINGS: NFCA (Apr. 17) – 6. Humboldt State, 16. Sonoma State, 21. Saint Martin’s. NCAA West Regional (Apr. 21) – 1. Humboldt State (36-12); 2. Grand Canyon (36-12); 3. Sonoma State (32-12); 4. Saint Martin’s (22-9); 5. Dixie State (28-11); 6. CSU Dominguez Hills (26-19); 7. Hawaii Hilo (35-17); 8. UC San Diego (28-16); 9. Hawaii Pacific (22-15); 10. Notre Dame de Namur (23-15).  Note: Records are versus Division II opponents.