Wednesday, February 19, 2020

WESTERN OREGON, SIMON FRASER SUCCESSFUL IN THE DESERT: After trading in the Northwest rain for Arizona sun, Western Oregon and Simon Fraser both emerged with three wins each as the Wolves and Clan competed in the D2 Cactus Classic in Tucson.

Western Oregon opened the tournament off with a bang on Friday, scoring an 11-3, six-inning victory over then No. 2 ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Wolves pulled out to a 5-1 lead after three innings and closed the contest with a six-run sixth that was punctuated by a walk-off grand slam by junior Chandler Bishop.

The Wolves added a 4-2 win over California (Pa.) on Friday and an 8-3 win over Southern Nazarene on Saturday.

Simon Fraser lost its first two games of the tournament before coming back to win the final three. The Clan picked up a 5-2 win over St. Mary’s (Texas) and a 2-1 win over Texas-Permian Basin, both on Saturday, and closed with a 5-4 victory over West Texas A&M on Sunday.

Sophomore pitcher Anissa Zacharczuk was the star for the Clan. She earned all three wins in the circle and compiled a 2.29 earned run average to be named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week.

An active week yields to a very quiet one for GNAC teams this week. Concordia will host Northwest Christian in a doubleheader on Wednesday while Montana State Billings will play four games in the Air Supported Dome Invitational in Minot, North Dakota.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Karley Yoshioka, Concordia
IF • 5-2 • Senior • Honolulu, Hawaii

Yoshioka led the Cavaliers’ offense in a 2-1 Bay Area road trip with a .583 batting average, .615 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage, going 7 for 12 with four runs, four RBI and a double. Yoshioka opened up by going 2 for 5 with a pair of RBI singles in Friday’s 11-3 win over Notre Dame de Namur. She went 4 for 4 with three runs and two more RBI singles in the 6-2 opening win on Saturday over Dominican (Calif.). She then went 1 for 3 and had her lone double in the 6-2 nightcap loss to the Penguins.

Also Nominated: Harlee Carpenter (Central Washington), Kylee Vanderbout (Saint Martin’s), Alex Ogg (Simon Fraser), Chandler Bishop (Western Oregon), Lauren Lo (Western Washington).

PITCHER
Anissa Zacharczuk, Simon Fraser
P/UT • 5-8 •  Sophomore • Kitchner, Ont.

Zacharczuk earned all three wins for Simon Fraser at the D2 Cactus Classic in Tucson. She earned a pair of complete-game wins on Saturday, allowing 2 runs on six hits with two strikeouts in a 5-2 win over St. Mary’s (Texas) and allowing one run on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Texas-Permian Basin. Zacharczuk closed out the week by allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a 5-4 win over West Texas A&M on Sunday. For the week, Zacharczuk amassed a 2.29 earned run average and struck out 12 in four appearances and 24 innings.

Also Nominated: Samantha Stanfield (Central Washington), Sally Bowles (Concordia), Brandi Schoessler (Saint Martin’s), Reilly Tidwell (Western Oregon), Anna Kasner (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington was an easy winner in a doubleheader against Division III Puget Sound in Auburn, Washington on Saturday, taking an 8-0, five-inning win in game one and a 13-5 win in game two.

• Sophomore Keegan Wise led the Wildcats offensively with a .600 batting average, going 3 for 5 in the twinbill. Wise went 2 for 3 in the opener with a run scored and then went 1 for 2  with two runs scored in the nightcap. Wise enters the week hitting .214.

• Freshman Harlee Carpenter went 3 for 6 in the doubleheader with a triple, a home run and seven RBI. She had two RBI without the benefit of a hit in game one on a pair of ground outs. She then went 3 for 3 with a two-run single in the first, an inside-the-park homer in the fourth and a two-run triple on the fourth. Carpenter is batting .345 with 10 hits in 12 games.

• Sophomore Samantha Stanfield and junior Lexie Strasser split the Wildcats’ pitching wins. Stanfield went the distance in the five-inning opener, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out nine. Strasser picked up the win in the second game in relief, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Stanfield is seventh in the GNAC with a 3.03 earned run average.

• Central Washington enters the week with a .259 batting average and  5.25 earned run average. The Wildcats rank ninth in Division II with 12 home runs and is 18th with 49 walks.

• The Wildcats do not play again until Saturday, March 7, opening their GNAC schedule with a doubleheader against Concordia.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia earned two wins on a three-game Bay Area road trip. The Cavaliers collected an 11-0, five-inning win at Notre Dame de Namur on Friday before splitting a pair of 6-2 games with Dominican (Calif.) on Saturday.

• Senior Karley Yoshioka was named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week after she batted .583 in the three games, going 7 for 12 with four runs, a double and four RBIs. Yoshioka opened by going 2 for 5 at Notre Dame de Namur with a pair of RBI singles. She then went 4 for 4 in the opening game at Dominican with three runs scored and a pair of RBI singles. Yoshioka is batting .381 in 13 starts for the Cavaliers.

• Senior Macy Besuyen batted .500 in the three games, going 5  for 10 with three runs and a double in the leadoff spot in the lineup. She opened by going 2 for 4 with a run scored at Notre Dame de Namur, added a hit and two runs scored in Saturday’s opener and then went 2 for 3 in the nightcap. Besuyen is seventh in the GNAC with a .400 batting average and is tied for 10th in Division II with six doubles.

• Senior Sally Bowles went 1-0 in two starts with a 1.50 earned run average on the trip. She went 2.1 innings in a start on Friday at Notre Dame de Namur, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. She went the distance in Saturday’s win over Dominican, allowing two unearned runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Bowles is fourth in the GNAC with a 2.80 earned run average and is tied for 30th in Division II with her four wins on the season.

• Concordia leads the GNAC and is 24th in Division II with a .340 batting average and is second in the conference with a 3.88 earned run average. The Cavaliers also lead the GNAC and rank 12th in Division II with a .574 slugging percentage.

• The Cavaliers open their home schedule on Wednesday hosting a doubleheader against Northwest Christian.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings did not play last week. The Yellowjackets will take part this weekend in the Air Supported Dome Invitational Tournament in Minot, N.D. They will face Northern State and Minot State on Saturday and Minnesota-Crookston and Mary on Sunday.

• Montana State Billings went 2-3 at the Courtyard Classic Feb. 6-8. The Yellowjackets picked up both wins on Thursday, beating Notre Dame de Namur 8-4 and Western New Mexico 10-2.

• Freshman Marin Penney led MSUB with a .500 batting average, going 6 for 12 with two runs, a double, a home run and four RBI. Penney opened the tournament by going 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a two-run homer against Western New Mexico. She also had two hits in Friday’s game against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Colorado Mesa. Penney has a .450 batting average in nine games.

• Freshman Julia Qualteri and senior Maddy Lincoln earned the pitching wins for the Yellowjackets. Qualteri went the distance to beat Notre Dame de Namur, allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits with a strikeout. Lincoln earned the complete-game win over Western New Mexico, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with a strikeout. Qualteri has a 4.31 earned run average while Lincoln is at 4.34.

• The Yellowjackets enter the week with a .286 batting average and 4.48 earned run average.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene did not play last week. The Nighthawks will play an exhibition doubleheader on Friday against College of Southern Idaho. They play their next counting game on Friday, March 6 when they open conference play at Western Washington.

• Northwest Nazarene finished with a 3-2 record at the Courtyard Classic, collecting an 11-3, five-inning win over Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday, on Feb. 6-8. The Nighthawks earned an 11-5 win over Hawaii Hilo on Friday and an 11-0, five-inning win over Fort Lewis on Saturday. The Nighthawks also played a doubleheader against Dixie State on Feb. 10, falling 9-0 and 5-1.

• Senior Brittany Genuardi hit .571 in the Courtyard Classic, going 8 for 14 with seven runs, seven RBI, two doubles, a home run and four walks. Genuardi had single hits in the first three games before going 2 for 3 with an RBI double in Saturday’s loss to MSU Denver. She then went 3 for 3 with a two-run double and a grand slam against Fort Lewis. Genuardi is second in the GNAC with a .516 batting average. She leads the GNAC and is 15th in Division II with 15 RBI.

• Freshman Emma Mulligan batted .500 in the seven games, going 6 for 18 with 10 runs, four doubles, four RBI and a home run. All six hits came in the first three games of the tournament, going 2 for 4 with two doubles against Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2 for 2 with a double and two runs against Notre Dame de Namur and 2 for 3 with two runs, a double and a home run against Hawaii Hilo. Mulligan has a .316 season batting average and is tied for 10th in Division II with six doubles.

• Junior Tori Hensley made four starts in the pitching circle, going 2 for 2. She earned the win against Hawaii Hilo by allowing three runs, one earned, on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts in four innings. She allowed just four hits in four innings for the win over Fort Lewis, striking out two.

• The Nighthawks enter the week with ranked second in the GNAC with a .329 batting average and are third with a 4.16 earned run average. They also rank 12th in Division II in scoring 7.75 runs per game.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s went 1-3 on a weekend road trip to Southern California. The Saints split on Friday with Azusa Pacific, losing the opener 2-1 before taking the nightcap 8-0. The Saints dropped both games at Concordia Irvine on Saturday, 14-3 (5 inn.) and 6-0.

• Senior Regan Byrd led the Saints’ offense with a .400 batting average, going 4 for 10. All her offense came in the Azusa Pacific games, going 2 for 4 in the opener and 2 for 3 with an RBI single in the second game. Byrd enters the week with a .385 batting average.

• Sophomore Kylee Vanderbout batted .333 in the four games, going 4 for 12 with a home run and three RBI. She had a hit in each of the four games and had all three RBI in Friday’s second game with Azusa Pacific on a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer. Vanderbout is averaging .370 with a .741 slugging percentage. She is tied for 24yh in Division II with 0.33 home runs per game.

• Freshman Abby Runyon picked up the pitching win for Saint Martin’s at  Azusa Pacific, allowing eight hits and three walks in the five-inning shutout. She threw 8.1 innings on the road trip, allowing three runs on 14 hits. Senior Brandi Schoessler took two losses on the trip and had a 1.85 earned run average, allowing seven runs, three earned, on 16 hits in 11.1 innings. Schoessler leads the GNAC with a 1.66 earned run average.

• Saint Martin’s has a .304 batting average and 4.54 earned run average. The Saints lead the GNAC  with 21 stolen bases and rank 24th in Division II with 2.33 stolen bases per game.

• The Saints do not play again until opening conference play on Saturday, Mar. 7 against Western Oregon in Lacey.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser went 3-2 at the D2 Cactus Classic in Tucson, Arizona. After losing their first two games, the Clan scored  a 5-2 win over St. Mary’s (Texas), a 2-1 win over Texas-Permian Basin and a 5-4 win over West Texas A&M.

• Sophomore Anissa Zacharczuk was named the GNAC Softball Pitcher of the Week after earning all three wins for  the Clan in Arizona. She earned a pair of complete-game wins on Saturday, allowing 2 runs on six hits with two strikeouts against St. Mary’s (Texas) and allowing one run on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts to beat Texas-Permian Basin. Zacharczuk closed out the week by allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a 5-4 win over West Texas A&M on Sunday. Zacharczuk is fifth in the GNAC with a 2.82 earned run average and is 18th in Division II with five wins on the season.

• Junior Alex Ogg paced the Simon Fraser offense with a .500 batting average, going 10 for 20 with six runs, a triple and three RBI. Ogg went 3 for 5 with three runs scored in Friday’s 12-9 loss to Western New Mexico, went 3 for 4 with two more runs against Texas-Permian Basin and closed the tourney by going 2 for 3 with a three-run triple against West Texas A&M. Ogg leads the GNAC and ranks 12th in Division II with a .615 batting average.

• Senior Chelsea Hotner added a .316 performance in the five games, going 6 for 19 with two runs, a double, a triple and four RBI. She went 2 for 5 with a two-run triple against Western New Mexico and 2 for 4 with an RBI single against St. Mary’s. Hotner has a .345 batting average.

• Simon Fraser enters the week with a .302 batting average and 4.48 earned run average. The Clan is 20th in Division II in scoring with 7.70 runs per game and 24th with a .519 slugging percentage.

• The Clan does not play again until opening GNAC play at Western Washington on Saturday, Feb. 29.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon also went 3-2 at the D2 Cactus Classic. The Wolves opened with a big 11-3, six-inning win over No. 2 ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday. They also scored a 4-2 win over California (Pa.) on Friday and an 8-3 win over Southern Nazarene on Saturday.

• Junior Ayanna Arceneaux led Western Oregon offensively with a .500 batting average, going 9 for 18 with six runs, a double, two triples  and two RBI. She went 2 for 3 with two runs against Texas A&M-Kingsville and went 2 for 2 with a two-run triple in Saturday’s loss to West Texas A&M. Arceneaux then went 3 for 4 against Southern Nazarene and ended the tournament by going 2 for 4 in Sunday’s loss to Dixie State. Arceneaux is fifth in the GNAC with a .465 batting average and is 10th in Division II with 20 hits. Last week, Arceneaux was one of 50 players named to the NFCA’s Division II Player of the Year Watch List.

• Senior Chandler Bishop dealt the final blow to Texas A&M-Kingsville, triggering the eight-run rule with a walk-off grand slam in the sixth. Bishop batted .308 in the five games and amassed a 1.75 earned run average in three pitching appearances.

• Returning to her home state, sophomore Reilly Tidwell earned two of three pitching wins for the Wolves. She went five innings to earn the win over California (Pa.), allowing two runs on three hits and five walks. She then went 4.1 innings for the win over Southern Nazarene, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

• Western Oregon is third in the GNAC with a .327 batting average to go with a 5.39 earned run average. They lead the GNAC and rank 19th in Division II with a .978 fielding percentage.

• Western Oregon was among teams receiving votes in this week’s NFCA Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll. The Wolves also received votes in the preseason poll.

• The Wolves return to the field on February 28, traveling to the PFX Athletics Tournament in Clermont, Florida.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington procured a split in its season-opening home doubleheader with British Columbia on Saturday. The Vikings dropped the opener 4-1 before taking the 4-0 victory in the nightcap.

• Junior Lauren Lo led the Vikings by going 3 for 6 in the twinbill. She went 2 for 3 and had the team’s lone RBI in the opener on a single to left field in the fifth. She finished by going 1 for 3 in the second game. Lo enters the week with a .389 batting average.

• Senior Jackie Lucido also went 3 for 6 in the two games. She did most of her damage in the second game, going 2 for 3 with. Lucido has a .267 batting average in 11 games.

• Junior Anna Kasner earned the pitching win in the second game to improve to 4-3 on the season. She allowed just six hits and three walks while striking out nine. Offensively, Kasner also contributed a two-run single in the third. Kasner is second in the GNAC with a 1.71 earned run average and is fourth in Division II with 61 strikeouts.

• Western Washington enters the week with a .256 batting average and leads the conference with a 2.52 earned run average. The Vikings are seventh in Division II with 53 walks.

• The Vikings do not play again until hosting Simon Fraser in the teams’ GNAC opener on Saturday, Feb. 29.