Wednesday, February 8, 2023

The 2023 softball season is underway after all seven conference squads headed south to participate in three tournaments.

Five teams participated in the Concordia Kickoff Classic in Southern California, which featured 20 Division II teams from across the West. The GNAC won 10 games in the tournament, with Western Oregon and Western Washington leading the way with three wins apiece.

After sweeping two games from Bushnell on Feb. 1 in Monmouth to open the season, the Wolves collected a 4-2 win over Hawaii Pacific on Friday, a 2-1 win over No. 11 Cal St. San Marcos and a 2-1 win over Concordia, both on Friday.

The Vikings closed the tournament with three straight wins, collecting a 2-1 victory from Cal St. San Bernardino and a 4-3 win from Chico State on Saturday and earned a 2-0 shutout over Dominican (Calif.) on Sunday.

Both teams won thanks to solid pitching. Western Washington compiled a 1.16 team ERA in the five games and was led by junior Mareena Ramirez, who was named the GNAC Softball Pitcher of the Week after finishing the week with two wins and a 0.32 ERA. In 21.2 innings, Ramirez allowed just one run on 12 hits and struck out 26.

Western Oregon finished with a 1.58 ERA in the five games. Junior Chelsea Smith finished with two wins and a 0.91 ERA, allowing two runs on nine hits in 15.1 innings with 16 strikeouts. Senior Maddie Mayer won two games and struck out 12 in 18 innings.

The best individual game pitching performance, however, belonged to Northwest Nazarene junior Sidney Booth, who threw a no-hitter in the Nighthawks’ 1-0 win on Saturday over Cal St. San Bernardino. Booth was one base-runner away from a perfect game (reached on a two-out error in the sixth) as she struck out three. It was the 30th no-hitter in GNAC history and just the ninth complete-game seven-inning no-hitter.

The four pitchers were named to the Concordia Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team. They were joined by Central Washington’s Kate Hopkins and Montana State Billings’ Lauren Blaschak and Payton Meyer.

The top offensive team of the first week was not in action in Irvine but rather in Los Lunas, New Mexico. Simon Fraser batted .351 as a team at the South Central Regional Challenge as the Red Leafs won two games and lost two in extra-innings affairs. The Red Leafs had two players hit over .500 and five hit over .300.

Junior Megan Duclos led the charge, hitting .593 with 16 hits, 10 runs, two doubles and three RBI to earn GNAC Softball Player of the Week honors. Duclos  had multiple hits in five of her six games, topped by a four-hit performance against Western New Mexico on Friday. Duclos also went 9 for 9 in stolen base attempts and tied the GNAC single-game record with four stolen bases on Sunday against Fort Lewis.

Saint Martin’s also amassd three wins in the Seawolves Round Robin in Rohnert Park, California, earning a 3-2 victory over Academy of Art on Friday and a doubleheader sweep of Holy Names on Sunday.

While Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene extended their road trips over the course of the week, only two conference teams will be in action over the weekend. Western Oregon heads to Texas to face Texas Woman’s on Friday before a three-game series at Texas Tyler on Saturday and Sunday. Western Washington travels north for a twinbill on Saturday at British Columbia.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Megan Duclos, Simon Fraser
OF • 5-7 • Junior • Saint-Eustache, Que.

Duclos batted .593 with 16 hits, 10 runs, two doubles, three RBIs and nine stolen bases in the Red Leafs’ six games at the South Central Regional Challenge. Dulcos opened the season with a 4 for 5 performance in Friday’s 8-7 extra-inning loss to Western New Mexico. She went 3 for 5 with two RBI and two doubles in Friday’s extra-inning loss to Adams State, went 3 for 5 against New Mexico Highlands on Saturday and 3 for 4 with two runs and two stolen bases against CSU Pueblo on Sunday. Duclos went 2 for 3 with two runs in Sunday’s 6-3 win over Fort Lewis and tied the GNAC single-game record with four stolen bases.

Also Nominated: Kate Hopkins (Central Washington), Lauren Blacshak (Montana State Billings), Destiny Conerly (Saint Martin’s), Kirah McGlothan (Western Oregon), Kinzey Williams (Western Washington).

PITCHER
Mareena Ramirez, Western Washington
P • 5-4 • Junior • Maple Valley, Wash.

Ramirez was named to the Concordia Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team after she went 2-0 in three appearances with a 0.32 ERA, allowing just one run and striking out 26 in 21.2 innings. Ramirez took a no decision in Friday’s 1-0 extra-inning loss to Concordia, allowing just four hits and a walk with 13 strikeouts in nine innings.  She earned the complete-game 2-1 win over Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, allowing one run on seven hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. Ramirez earned her second win in relief, allowing one hit and two walks with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Dominican (Calif.).

Also Nominated: Ashlee Laver (Central Washington), Alyssa Etheridge (Montana State Billings), Sidney Booth (Northwest Nazarene), Abby Runyon (Saint Martin’s), Nevada Johnson (Simon Fraser), Chelsea Smith (Western Oregon).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington went 1-4 at the Concordia Kickoff Classic. The Wildcats took a 4-1 loss to Cal St. Monterey Bay and 3-1 to San Francisco State on Friday, then took an 8-3 loss to Cal St. East Bay and a 19-0 loss to Azusa Pacific on Saturday. The win came on Sunday, a 3-0 shutout of Cal St. Dominguez Hills.

• Junior Kate Hopkins was named to the All-Tournament Team after she hit .429 in the five games, going 6 for 14 with a double, a triple and a home run. Her best effort came in the opener against Cal St. Monterey Bay, going 2 for 3, while she scored her lone run of the week against San Francisco State.

• Senior Allie Thiessen batted .333 in the tournament, going 5 for 15 with three runs and a double. Thiessen went 2 for 3 with a run scored against Cal St. Monterey Bay and went 2 for 4 against Cal St. Dominguez Hills, scoring the first of the Wildcats’ three runs.

• Senior Isabel Womack earned the win for CWU in the circle against Cal St. Dominguez Hills, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out two. In three appearances on the week, Womack compiled a 4.81 ERA with 10 strikeouts.

• Central Washington currently owns a .216 batting average and 4.74 ERA.

• The Wildcats do not play again until hosting Corban for a doubleheader on Sat., Feb. 18.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings scored two wins in the Concordia Kickoff Classic. The Yellowjackets won Friday’s opener over Chico State, 3-2, before falling to Hawaii Hilo 6-5. Saturday opened with a 14-4, six-inning win over Cal St. San Marcos before an 11-3 loss to Biola. The tournament ended with a 6-3 loss to Cal St. San Bernardino. The Yellowjackets then dropped two games on Tuesday to Concordia, 10-2 and 9-3.

• Sophomore Lauren Blaschak led MSUB at the plate in the seven games, batting .391 with nine hits, eight runs, four doubles, a home run and four RBIs. Blaschak had at least a hit in each of the first four games of the tournament, going 2 for 4 with two runs, two RBIs and a double against Cal St. San Marcos and 3 for 3 with three runs and two doubles against Biola. The efforts earned Blaschak selection to the Concordia Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team. Her home run, a two-run shot, opened scoring in the second game against Concordia. She leads Division II with four doubles.

• Junior Payton Meyer also earned All-Tournament Team honors and batted .222 in the seven games. Meyer had her best outing against Hawaii Hilo, going 2 for 3 with a two-RBI single and a solo home run.

• Junior Alyssa Etheridge started four of the Yellowjackets’ seven games, compiling two wins and a 4.32 ERA. Etheridge allowed two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts to win the season opener over Chico State. Against Cal St. San Marcos, Etheridge allowed four runs, three earned, and a walk on five hits with four strikeouts in the six-inning win. Etheridge leads Division II with four complete games.

• The Yellowjackets finished the SoCal road trip with a .240 batting average and 5.58 ERA. Their 13 doubles leads the GNAC.

• Montana State Billings does not play again until Sat., Feb. 18, when it plays four games at the Minot State Bubble Invite.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene is 2-5 in seven games over the opening week. The Nighthawks opened with a 3-2 loss at Biola on Thursday before taking a 5-1 loss to Dominican (Calif.) and a 7-0 loss to Chico State on Friday at the Concordia Kickoff Classic. Saturday began with a 5-1 loss to San Francisco St. before a 1-0 win over Cal St. San Bernardino. The Nighthawks split a doubleheader with Azusa Pacific on Monday, winning the opener 9-3 and dropping the nightcap 7-1

• Junior Sidney Booth threw the 30th no-hitter in GNAC history and just the ninth complete-game seven-inning no-hitter against Cal St. San Bernardino. She allowed just one base-runner when Hayden Greene reached on an error in the sixth inning. Booth also earned the win over Azusa Pacific on Monday, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out six. In four appearances, Booth compiled a 2.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts and was named to the Concordia Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team.

• Senior Maia McNicoll batted .250 over the seven games and had two of the Nighthawks’ three extra-base hits. McNicoll had one hit in the season openers against Biola and Dominican (Calif.). She had a two-RBI double against San Francisco St. and went 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI double in Monday’s opener with Azusa Pacific.

• Senior Tori Hensley finished with a .471 batting average in the seven games, going 8 for 17 with a .471 on-base percentage. She went 2 for 3 against both Biola and Dominican (Calif.) and then went 3 for 5 with a run in Monday’s opener against Azusa Pacific.

• Northwest Nazarene owns a .190 batting average and a 3.58 ERA. The Nighthawks are tied for sixth in Division II with 26 strikeouts.

• The Nighthawks close out the SoCal road swing with a doubleheader against Concordia on Wednesday and a doubleheader against Colorado Christian in Irvine on Thursday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s went 3-2 at the Seawolves Round Robin in Rohnert Park, California. The Saints split on Friday, losing to Sonoma State 9-6 and beating Academy of Art 3-2. After a 3-2 loss to the Seawolves on Saturday, the Saints took both games of a Sunday doubleheader from Holy Names, 3-0 and 5-0.

• Junior Destiny Conerly batted .467 in the five games, going 7 for 15 with six runs, two doubles, a home run and four RBIs. Conerly bookended her best efforts, going 2 for 3 with two runs and a three-run homer against Sonoma State on Friday and ended the week by going 2 for 2 with two runs in the finale against Holy Names. Conerly currently ranks fifth in the GNAC in batting average.

• Junior Tia Ridings picked up two wins in three starts, compiling a 1.37 ERA in 15.1 innings. Ridings was the winner against Academy of Art, allowing one unearned run on two hits with six strikeouts in five innings. Ridings went four innings in the second game against Holy Names, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out five. Her 1.37 ERA ranks fifth in the GNAC.

• Junior Britney Patrick batted .412 in the five games with seven hits, two runs and two doubles. Her week was capped by a 3 for 3 effort on Friday against Sonoma State with a double, a run and an RBI.

• Saint Martin’s is second in the GNAC with a .257 batting and third with a 2.70 ERA. The Saints are 13th in Division II with nine doubles.

• Saint Martin’s does not play again until Sat., Feb. 18, when the Saints head to Hawaii for games against Hawaii Hilo, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser opened the season 2-4 at the South Central Regional Challenge. The Red Leafs took an 8-7 loss to Western New Mexico and a 19-14 loss to Adams State on Friday, both in extra innings. Saturday opened with a 10-9 extra-innings win over Adams State and closed with a 7-5 loss to New Mexico Highlands. On Sunday, SFU took a 9-8 loss to CSU Pueblo before beating Fort Lewis 6-3.

• Junior Megan Duclos was named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week after she batted .593 in the six games with 16 hits, 10 runs, three RBIs, two doubles and nine stolen bases. Five of her six games were multi-hit efforts, going 4 for 5 against Western New Mexico before going 3 for 5 against both Adams State on Friday and New Mexico Highlands on Saturday. She went 3 for 4 against CSU Pueblo and 2 for 3 against Fort Lewis in a game where she tied the GNAC single-game record with four stolen bases. Duclos is second in Division II in hits and third in stolen bases.

• Freshman Cassidy Affeldt batted .522 to open her SFU career, going 12 for 23 with six runs, eight RBIs, a double and three home runs. Affeldt went 2 for 4 against Western New Mexico with a two-run homer and went 3 for 5 in both games against Adams State. Her other two homers were solo shots against New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis. Affeldt is second in the GNAC in batting average and RBIs and ranks 10th in Division II with 18 total bases.

• Sophomore Abby McGlynn batted .462, going 12 for 26 with eight hits and 12 RBIs. McGlynn hit a grand slam against Western New Mexico and turned in three-hit games against Adams State on Saturday and CSU Pueblo on Sunday. McGlynn ranks 10th in Division II in RBIs.

• Sophomore Nevada Johnson went 2-2 in five appearances in the circle, compiling a 2.93 ERA. She was the winner in relief against Adams State on Saturday, allowing four runs, two earned, on two hits in one inning. Johnson went the distance against Fort Lewis, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

• Simon Fraser is ranked 20th in Division II with a .362 batting average, is second with 59 hits and eighth with 12 stolen bases.

• Simon Fraser played the tournament under interim head coach Stacy Fournier, who was named to the post last week after Tina Andreana resigned for a coaching job in the United States.

• Simon Fraser does not play again until Fri., Feb. 17, when it starts a five-game run at the Cactus Classic in Tucson.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon went 5-2 in its first games under head coach Aly Boytz. The Wolves opened the season with 8-1 and 2-0 wins at home over Bushnell on Feb. 1. At the Concordia Kickoff Classic, WOU beat Hawaii Pacific 4-2 on Friday before taking a 1-0, nine-inning loss to Azusa Pacific. The Wolves won both Saturday games, 2-1 over both Cal St. San Marcos and Concordia before falling 4-1 to Cal St. East Bay on Sunday.

• Senior Maddie Mayer was named to the All-Tournament Team after going 2-0 at the Concordia Kickoff Classic with a 2.33 ERA, allowing six runs on 19 hits with 12 strikeouts. After earning a complete-game win over Bushnell, Mayer allowed two runs on eight hits with four walks and six strikeouts for the win over Hawaii Pacific. She was also the winner on Cal St. San Marcos, allowing one run on five hits two walks and four strikeouts. Mayer is sixth in the GNAC with a 2.04 ERA and is second in Division II with three victories.

• Junior Chelsea Smith also earned All-Tournament Team honors after she went 1-1 with a 0.91 ERA, allowing two runs on nine hits in 15.1 innings. Smith was a winner in the second game against Bushnell and then went 8.1 innings in the loss to Azusa Pacific, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts. She was the winner against Concordia, allowing one run on four hits with 10 strikeouts. Smith is second in the GNAC with a 0.69 ERA and ranks eighth in Division II with 25 strikeouts.

• Senior Kirah McGlothan led the WOU offense, batting .391 with nine hits, two runs and three RBIs in the seven games. McGlothan went 2 for 3 with two doubles and two RBIs in game one against Bushnell. She had hits in four of the five games at the Concordia tournament, led by a 3 for 4 effort against the host Eagles.

• Western Oregon is batting .213 and is second in the GNAC with a 1.28 ERA, which ranks 20th in Division II. The Wolves also rank 22nd in Division II with a .981 fielding percentage and 30th with 38 hits.

• Western Oregon travels to Texas this week for games against Texas Woman’s on Friday and Texas Tyler on Saturday and Sunday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington opened with a 3-2 record at the Concordia Kickoff Classic. The Vikings lost both games on Friday, 1-0 in 10 innings to Concordia and 2-0 to Cal St. Dominguez Hills, before scoring a 2-1 win over Cal St. San Bernardino, 4-3 over Chico State and 2-0 over Dominican (Calif.).

• Junior Mareena Ramirez was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week and was named to the All-Tournament Team after going 2-0 in three appearances with a 0.32 ERA. Ramirez went nine innings against Concordia, allowing just four hits and striking out 13 in a no-decision. She allowed one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts for the complete-game win over Cal St. San Bernardino before allowing one hit and striking out five in 5.2 innings of relief for the win over Dominican. Ramirez leads the GNAC with her 0.32 ERA and is seventh in Division II with 26 strikeouts.

• Senior Kinzey Williams led the WWU offense with a .500 batting average, going 9 for 18 with two runs. Williams had hits in four of the five games, led by a 3 for 3 performance against Cal St. Dominguez Hills and a 3 for 4 effort against Dominican. Williams ranks third in the GNAC in batting average.

• Junior Sydney Brown also made three appearances in the circle, compiling a 2.69 ERA in 13 innings. Brown was the winner against Chico State, allowing three runs on seven hits with five walks and a strikeout. Brown ranks eighth in the GNAC in ERA.

• Western Washington leads the conference and is 15th in Division II with a 1.16 ERA and enters the week with a .240 batting average. The Vikings also rank 23rd in Division II with a .980 fielding percentage.

• The Vikings will be in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday for a doubleheader with British Columbia.