Monday, April 25, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – A change of divisions for Concordia outfielder Meghan Luebbert and Central Washington head coach Mike Larabee did little to slow down their winning ways.

Luebbert was selected by conference coaches as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Softball Player of the Year while Larabee was honored as the Coach of the Year, leading the list of honorees on the 2016 GNAC Softball All-Conference Team.

Making the transition from NAIA membership to NCAA Division II with the rest of her Concordia teammates, Luebbert proved one of the top offensive threats in the conference as she led the Cavaliers to a tie for second place in the GNAC regular season standings and the No. 3 seed in the GNAC Championships.

The conference’s leading hitter with a .456 batting average, .497 on base percentage and an .857 slugging percentage, Luebbert finished the regular season with 83 hits, 59 runs, 17 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs. She had 27 multi-hit games and at one point owned a 19-game hitting streak. She ended the regular season with a 4 for 4 performance at Simon Fraser on Apr. 24 that included three home runs, tying the GNAC single game record.

Luebbert leads five total Concordia selections to the team, including four first team selections: freshman pitcher Jessica Lambourn, shortstop Taylor Bussey and third baseman Taylor Copher.

In his first season coaching Central Washington after six seasons at Division I Arkansas, Larabee led the Wildcats to an impressive 34-13 record and its first conference title since 2011. Picked to finish fifth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, Central Washington opened the season by winning 12 of its first 13 games and never had more than two losses in a row. The Wildcats ended the regular season leading the league in batting average (.339) and pitching (2.89 earned run average). The 34 wins runs Larabee’s record as a collegiate head coach to 297-341.

The Wildcats’ leading pitcher, Kiana Wood, was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Year. The junior finished a 17-5 record and was third in the GNAC with a 2.51 earned run average, allowing 56 runs and striking out 61 in 37 appearances and 142 innings. Wood threw a complete game three-hitter to beat Academy of Art 3-0 on Feb. 12 and struck out a season high eight batters in five innings in a 2-1 win over Western Oregon on Mar. 25.

Wood leads five Central Washington selections to the All-Conference Team. Joining Wood on the first team are senior Austin Wilkerson and first baseman Kailyn Campbell.

Northwest Nazarene’s Kylie Orr was selected as the Freshman of the Year in addition to earning first team honors. The Crusaders’ leading batter with a .393 average, Orr also led NNU with 59 hits, 12 doubles, five home runs, 35 RBI and a .587 slugging percentage. Orr earned GNAC Player of the Week for the week of Apr. 4-10 after she hit .619 (13 for 21) with six runs, five RBI, two doubles and a grand slam in six games against Concordia and Saint Martin’s.

Simon Fraser’s Tori Belton and Northwest Nazarene’s Brooke Bonsen share the league’s Newcomer of the Year award. Belton, a transfer from British Columbia’s Douglas College, finished with a 10-10 record and a 5.04 earned run average in 107 innings for the Clan, striking out 53. Bonsen, a transfer from Washington’s Bellevue College, led the Crusaders in the circle with a 9-12 record and a 3.56 earned run average. In 129.2 innings, Bonsen allowed 84 runs and struck out 64.

Rounding out the first team selections are Western Washington first baseman Emily Benson, Western Oregon second baseman Kelsie Gardner, Saint Martin’s outfielder Mary Dettling, Simon Fraser outfielder Rachel Proctor and Montana State Billings’ outfielder Heather Tracy.

The 2016 GNAC Softball All-Conference Team includes 16 unanimous selections and 13 repeat selections. Saint Martin’s third baseman Megan Miller and Western Washington outfielder Alexie Levin, both second team honorees, became four-time all-conference selections. Levin was a first team selection in 2013, 2014 and 2015 while Miller was a second team selection in 2015, a first teamer in 2014 and honorable mention in 2013.

Saint Martin’s led the league with six total team selections. Central Washington, Concordia, Montana State Billings and Western Oregon each yielded five selections.