Tuesday, April 7, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. –    Saint Martin’s opened up a three-game lead in the GNAC softball race Monday with a 10-8, 8-2 doubleheader sweep of Simon Fraser.

The Saints lead four teams by the same three-game margin.

Western Oregon (15-22, 7-5) is percentage points ahead of Western Washington (19-15, 8-6), Central Washington (18-17, 9-7) and Montana State Billings (19-18, 9-7) for second place as the four battle for the final three playoff spots.

Simon Fraser is also still in the hunt for the post-season trailing that quartet by  two games.

It’s a make or break week for the Clan as they play six more games this week, all at home.  The homestand begins Wednesday against border-rival Western Washington.

The Vikings also play six contests, hosting Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s Saturday and Sunday. 

The Wolves play four taking on SFU Sunday to complete a four-game road trip to Bellingham and Burnaby.

MSU Billings, which won three of four home games last weekend against Central Washington, also plays four as it takes its final road trip of the season traveling to Nampa to face Northwest Nazarene.

CWU is idle this week before finishing its regular-season the next two weeks with doubleheaders at Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon and home twin bills against Western Washington and Simon Fraser.

Once the dust has cleared four teams will advance to the GNAC Championships April 30-May 2 at Yakima, Wash. 

The winner of the double-elimination tournament earns an automatic berth in the NCAA West Regionals the following week.

Campbell Climbs Into 11th Place In RBIs with 46

A huge 15 RBI performance last weekend in a series against MSU Billings has catapulted Central Washington first baseman Kailyn Campbell into 11th place in NCAA Division II in RBIs with a total of 46.

In addition to ranking 11th in total RBI, she also ranks 12th in RBI per game with a 1.35 average.

MSUB’s Emily Osborn also had a big series slamming three home runs to raise her season total to 12.  She ranks  13th  in Division II.

She also has 28 career slams and needs one more to jump from 13th into a tie for ninth along with Western Oregon’s Amanda Evola.

Three other players rank in the Top 10 in this week’s NCAA Division II national report – Alyssa Slate of Saint Martin’s, Alicia Fine of Western Washington and MSUB’s Aubrey Conceicao.  They are tied for eighth in sacrifice flies with four each.

In team categories, Western Oregon and Western Oregon are eighth and ninth, respectively, in double plays averaging, 0.54 and 0.53, respectively. Saint Martin’s is 18th in batting with a .342 average.

Last Week's Team Notes

Central Washington:  Kailyn Campbell and Austin Wilkerson each hit four home runs as the Wildcats had nine in their four-game series at MSUB.  The Yellowjackets, meanwhile, hit 12.  Both CWU players will take three-game homer streaks into CWU’s April 18 doubleheader at Saint Martin’s.  The GNAC record is four.

Montana State Billings:  The Yellowjackets hit for a .400 average and a .693 slugging percentage, doubling five times and homering a dozen times in their four-game home series against Central Washington.  Taylor Hoke and Emily Osborn “touched them all” three times apiece.  The two also led their team with eight and seven RBI.  Bella Rovens had eight hits in 17 at bats, including a game-ending three-run home run in a 12-10 Friday win as MSUB overcame a mercy-rule 9-1 situation in the fifth.  Jessyka Macdonald earned three wins in the circle.

Northwest Nazarene: Gatalina Schuster and Whitney Carlton combined for 13 hits in 30 at bats in NNU’s four-game series at Simon Fraser.  Both Schuster (7-of-15) and Carlton (6-of-15) had two doubles, one home run and three RBI in their 15 official at bats.  Ashley Pesek also homered and drove in a team-high five runs.

Saint Martin’s:  Alyssa Slate and Sam Munger combined for 10 hits – the Saints had just 17 in the doubleheader – in 12 at bats as SMU split a twinbill with Western Oregon Saturday.  Slate was 5-of-5 and Munger, who had four of her team’s nine RBI, went 5-of-7. Munger extended her hitting streak to 13 games Monday, the second longest this spring in the GNAC.  Earlier this season she had an 11-game streak.

Simon Fraser:   Alex Baylak (8-of-16) and Robyn Mogavero (6-of-12) hit for .500 averages as the Clan won three of four against NNU.  Both players also drove in six runs.  Baylak went deep twice.  Kelsie Hawkins came out of the bullpen to win the final game 12-5, allowing three hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings.

Western Oregon: Amanda Evola scored her 150th career run as the Wolves split four games.  Evola reached home plate three times and had five hits in 13 at bats.  Jourdan Williams led WOU with six hits in 13 at bats and had a team-best five runs scored. She also scattered seven hits in a 6-1 win at Saint Martin’s, earning GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors. Lexi Jennings, who had her team’s only two home runs, drove in six. 

Western Washington:  Kali Patterson led the Vikings with three hits and was one of three players with home runs as they split a doubleheader with Western Oregon.  Jordan Walley and Emily Benson also homered.  Makinlee Sellevold, who allowed eight hints and five runs in 10 2/3 innings, earned both decisions and now has a 15-7 record.   Her 15 wins ranks 23^rd in Division II.

GNAC Players of the Week

Player – Bella Rovens, MSU Billings (OF, 5-7, So., Sparks, NV) and Kailyn Campbell, Central Washington (1B, 6-0, So., Duvall, WA - Cedarcrest) led their respective offenses as the Yellowjackets outscored the Wildcats 42-36 in a four-game series at Billings.  Rovens had eight hits in 17 at bats, including a game-winning home run in the eighth inning of a 12-10 victory Friday, as the Yellowjackets rallied from a 9-1 deficit in the fifth.  It was the first home run of the season for Rovens, who ranks second in the conference in walks with 20.   Campbell drove in 15 runs in the four-game series, slamming four home runs and batting .556 (10-of-18).  She also had a double and finished the trip with a 1.278 slugging average.  On the season she has 46 RBI, 10 more than anyone else in the conference. 

Pitcher – Jourdan Williams, Western Oregon (5-8, Sr., McMinnville, OR)…. In a week that was dominated by hitters – 178 runs were scored in 12 games (14.8 per game) – Williams had one of the few standout pitching performances limiting league-leading Saint Martin’s to a single-run and seven hits  in a 6-1 complete-game victory.  Williams also led the Wolves in batting with a .462 average (6-of-13) as WOU split a pair of twin bills with Western Washington and Saint Martin’s.

GNAC Weekly Report (PDF)