Wednesday, April 30, 2014

GNAC Championships (May 1-3 at Columbia Playfield, Richland, Wash.):  Thursday - #2 Western Washington (30-12) vs. #3 Central Washington (27-16), 4:30 p.m.; #1 Western Oregon (30-20) vs. #4 Saint Martin’s (26-20), 7 p.m.  Friday – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 2 p.m.; Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 4:30 p.m.; Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.  Saturday – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, noon; Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 2:30 p.m. (if necessary).

RICHLAND, Wash. - A automatic berth in next week’s NCAA Division II Softball West Regional tournament will be up for grabs in the second annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball tournament which begins Thursday at Columbia Playfield.

Western Oregon (30-20, 18-6) earned the top seed for the tournament by winning the GNAC regular-season title.  The Wolves finished one game ahead of second-seed Western Washington (30-12, 17-7), two ahead of third-seed Central  Washington (27-16, 16-8) and three ahead of fourth-seed Saint Martin's (26-20, 15-9) in the closely contested race.

The tournament begins Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with Central Washington taking on Western Washington.  Central Washington takes a No. 7 West Regional ranking into that game just ahead of eighth-ranked Western Washington leaving both teams in position to earn an at-large berth to the regional if they don't earn the GNAC's automatic berth.

Western Oregon plays defending champion Saint Martin’s in Thursday’s second game at 7 p.m.

The tournament continues Friday with games at 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.  The two survivors then advance to the championship game Saturday at noon. A second game, if necessary, will follow the noon contest.

All four teams have won GNAC softball titles since 2007 when Western Washington won its only championship.

Western Oregon shared the crown with Seattle University in 2008 and went on to reach the NCAA West Regional title game before losing to Humboldt State.

The Wolves have been led by outfielder Amanda Evola, shortstop Melanie Pfeiffer and pitcher Kelli Demianew this spring.

Evola leads WOU in hitting, batting .407 and also is the team leader in doubles (16), home runs (7) and RBI (48).  Her RBI total leads the conference.

Pfeiffer is batting .398 and is tied for the conference lead with Evola for most hits with 72.

Demianew has a 14-9 record and tops the GNAC in earned run average (1.77).

Western Washington, which won its only previous GNAC softball title in 2007, comes into the tournament having won seven of its last eight games and 19 of 23.

WWU first baseman Alexie Levin is making a bid to win the GNAC Triple Crown.  Levin, who was voted the GNAC Player of the Year, leads the conference in hitting (.433) and home runs (10) and ranks second to Evola in RBI with 46. 

Viking outfielder Meghan Carrillo is batting .432, just one point behind Levin.  Outfielder Autumn Isaacson is hitting .395 and has stolen a GNAC single-season record 30 bases. 

As a team, WWU ranks seventh nationally with a .353 team batting average and is on pace to set a GNAC single-season record.

Jenna DeRosier keyed WWU’s late season surge in the circle winning 12 straight before losing her last decision Sunday.  She brings a 17-4 record and a 3.05 earned run average into the tournament.

Central Washington will be bidding for its third GNAC title in the past five years.  It also won titles in 2010 and 2011.

Catcher Austin Wilkerson leads Central Washington in batting with a .360 average.  Second baseman Jill McDaniels is hitting .341 and leads the team in home runs (9) and RBI (36).

Pitcher Maria Gau brings a 16-6 record and a 2.27 earned run average into the tournament.   Gau, who was voted the GNAC Pitcher of the Year, leads the conference in strikeouts with 124.

The Wildcats had won seven straight games before dropping two of four contests last weekend at Northwest Nazarene. During the regular-season they split four one-run games with Western Washington, three in walk-off fashion.

Saint Martin’s, which  won its first conference softball title last year, is led by second baseman Lacey McGladrey.  McGladrey is a four-time GNAC first team all-conference selection.  She is just the fifth player in GNAC history to accomplish that feat.

McGladrey led the Saints this spring with a .382 average.    She brings impressive career numbers into the tournament, ranking third in GNAC history in runs scored (179) and fifth in career hits with 239.

Pitcher Sam Munger is the GNAC’s winningest pitcher with 19 victories this season and one of SMU's top hitters as well batting .355.  Munger has 59 career wins in the circle to rank third in GNAC history.

Another standout is outfielder Tavia Jenkins, who is batting .351 and leads SMU in home runs (7) and RBI (42).

The winner of this weekend’s tournament qualifies for next weekend’s NCAA West Regional.

The West Regional is divided into two four-team sub-regionals with the winners advancing to a best-of-three series.  The winner of that series qualifies for the eight-team national championship tournament May 22-26 at Moyer Complex in Salem, Virginia.

In addition to champions from the GNAC, PacWest and California College conferences, five West Region teams will be awarded at-large berths in the tournament.  The qualifying teams will be announced Monday at 7 a.m. on ncaa.com.

NCAA West Region (April 30) –1. Cal State Monterey Bay 44-6; 2. Dixie State 43-8; 3. Cal Baptist 39-11; 4. Humboldt State 42-13; 5. UC San Diego 33-14; 6. Sonoma State 35-19; 7. Central Washington 25-14; 8. Western Washington 28-12; 9. Cal State San Bernardino 29-24; 10. Hawaii Hilo 22-20.

For more GNAC Softball News, check out the GNAC Weekly release.