Wednesday, February 9, 2022

WOLVES LEAD THE WAY IN OPENING WEEK OF THE SEASON: Western Oregon had the conference’s heaviest load in the opening week of the softball season but the Wolves made the most of it.

The Wolves proceeded to go 5-2 in that seven-game week, opening the year with a doubleheader sweep at home over Bushnell last Tuesday, 4-2 and 6-2. At the California Kickoff Classic, Western Oregon was the only GNAC team to win three games, collecting an 8-2 win over Cal St. Dominguez Hills on Friday, a 4-1 win over Stanislaus State on Saturday and a 10-8 win over San Francisco St. on Sunday.

Western Oregon saw eight players hit .300 or better in the tournament and saw four players hit .400 or better over the first seven games. None was more impactful than sophomore Natalie Willoughby, who earned the first GNAC Softball Player of the Week award of the season. Willoughby batted .444 in the seven games with eight hits, seven runs, a double, a triple and 10 RBI.

Willoughby had two hits in each of the Bushnell games and launched a two-run homer and a three-run homer in the second game. She opened the California Kickoff Classic by going 2 for 2 with a solo home run against Cal St. Dominguez Hills and single hits against Cal St. San Marcos and San Francisco St.

The Wolves also had the GNAC Pitcher of the Week in senior Maddie Mayer, who went 3-1 with a save and a 0.79 earned run average in five appearances over the seven games. Mayer won the opener against Bushnell, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts in six innings. She received the three-inning save against Cal St. Dominguez Hills and earned the win by allowing five hits in six shutout innings against Stanislaus State. Against San Francisco St., Mayer allowed one run on one hit and struck out four in two innings of relief to earn her third win of the week.

Mayer and senior Logan Carlos were named to the California Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team. Carlos batted .474 in the tournament, going 9 for 14 with four runs, nine hits and five RBI.

The GNAC had four teams in the California Kickoff Classic. Montana State Billings and Western Washington picked up two wins while Northwest Nazarene won one.

DESERT STINGER: After a one-year COVID break, Montana State Billings’ annual Desert Stinger tournament returns to a new location. After a decade of playing the tournament in Las Vegas, the Stinger shifts to Tucson, Arizona where 14 Division II teams will square off for three days of action. In addition to the host Yellowjackets, Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s and Western Washington will participate in the tournament.

GNAC.TV: It is easy and free to access live streams and live stats for all 10 GNAC institutions. Visit GNAC.tv on your computer or device to access all that the conference’s digital network has to offer.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Natalie Willoughby, Western Oregon
C/IF • 6-0 • Sophomore • Junction City, Ore.

Willoughby batted .444 in the Wolves’ seven games, going 8 for 18 with seven runs, 10 RBI, a double and three home runs. Willoughby had two hits in each of the season-opening games with Bushnell on Tuesday, including a two-run homer and a three-run homer in the second game. She opened the California Kickoff Classic by going 2 for 2 in Friday’s 8-2 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills, including a solo homer in the second, and had single hits against Cal State San Marcos on Saturday and San Francisco St. on Sunday.

Also Nominated: Maycen O’Neal (Montana State Billings), Sidney Booth (Northwest Nazarene), Tatum Dow (Western Washington).

PITCHER
Maddie Mayer, Western Oregon
P • 5-8 • Senior • Portland, Ore.

Mayer compiled a 0.79 earned run average in five appearances and two starts, going 3-0 with a save in 17.2 innings pitched. Mayer went six innings to win the opener against Bushnell on Tuesday, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts. She earned the save in Friday’s 8-2 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills, allowing just one hit and striking out two over three innings. Mayer won in her start against Stanislaus State on Saturday, allowing five hits with three strikeouts in six shutout innings. She earned her third win in relief against San Francisco St. on Sunday, allowing one run on one hit with four strikeouts in two innings. For her efforts, Mayer was named to the California Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team.

Also Nominated: Julia Qualteri (Montana State Billings), Sidney Booth (Northwest Nazarene), Joie Baker (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington will open the 2022 season this weekend at the Desert Stinger in Tucson. The Wildcats will face Chico State and Academy of Art on Friday, MSU Denver and Concordia Irvine on Saturday and Cal St. Dominguez Hills on Sunday.

• The weekend marks the debut of Joe DiPietro as head coach. DiPietro was hired in November after Alison Mitchell stepped down in September to join the staff at Division I Montana. This is DiPietro’s first Division II head coaching assignment after leading Division I programs at Incarnate Word, Drexel, Temple and LaSalle.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings went 2-3 at the California Kickoff Classic. The Yellowjackets took a 5-0 loss to Cal St. San Marcos and collected a 10-2, five-inning win over Academy of Art on Friday. They took a 10-1 loss to Cal St. Monterey Bay and a 5-2 loss to Cal St. Dominguez Hills on Saturday before ending with a 3-1 win over Stanislaus State on Sunday.

• The Yellowjackets ended their SoCal run with a pair of losses at Concordia Irvine on Tuesday, 5-1 and 10-2 (five innings).

• Junior Maycen O’Neal led MSUB with a .313 batting average in six games over the last week with five hits, two doubles and five RBI. O’Neal opened her MSUB career by going 3 for 3 with a double and two RBI against Academy of Art. She opened scoring against Stanislaus State with a two-RBI double in the sixth.

• Freshman Julia Qualteri led the Yellowjackets in the circle with a 2-1 record and a 2.10 earned run average, allowing six runs, four earned, with 11 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. Qualteri won in relief against Academy of Art, allowing two hits with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings. She had the complete-game win over Stanislaus State, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts.

• The Yellowjackets enter the week with a .189 batting average and a 4.78 earned run average. The team ranks fifth in Division II with three double plays turned and 13th with 0.60 double plays per game.

• Montana State Billings hosts the Desert Stinger this weekend in Tucson. The Yellowjackets will play Washburn and Academy of Art on Friday, San Francisco State on Saturday and Chico State and Regis on Sunday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene went 1-4 in its SoCal openers. The Nighthawks opened with a 3-0 loss at Biola on Thursday. At the California Kickoff Classic, the Nighthawks took a 2-1 loss to Concordia Irvine and a 5-4 loss to Chico State on Friday along with a 2-1 loss to the Hawaii Pacific on Saturday. Their tournament run ended with a 7-2 victory on Saturday over Sonoma State.

• Sophomore Sidney Booth paced NNU both at the plate and in the circle. Booth batted a league-leading .467 in the five games with seven hits, three doubles and six RBI. She went 3 for 4 with a double and a two-RBI single against Chico State and then went 2 for 3 with a two-RBI single against Sonoma State. Booth amassed a 1.42 earned run average in three pitching performances. She earned the complete-game win against Sonoma State, allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Booth ranks 10th in Division II with three doubles and 27th with 27 strikeouts as a pitcher.

• Sophomore Abigail Gagnon batted .286 in the four games, going 4 for 14 with two runs and two doubles. Gagnon’s tournament was topped by a 2 for 3 performance against Chico State. She also tallied a hit against Concordia Irvine and a double against Hawaii Pacific.

• The Nighthawks enter the week with a .188 batting average and a GNAC-best 2.36 earned run average. The team has allowed the fewest runs and earned runs of any team in the GNAC over the first week.

• Northwest Nazarene will be among the teams traveling to the Desert Stinger this week. The Nighthawks will face MSU Denver and Minot State on Friday. They will play three on Saturday against Regis, Cal St. Dominguez Hills and Academy of Art.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s will open its 2022 season at the Desert Stinger this weekend. The Saints will face Washburn and Concordia Irvine on Friday, Chico State and San Francisco St. on Saturday and Minot State on Sunday.

• The Saints are coming off a 2021 season where they finished with a 19-18 overall record and in fourth place in the GNAC standings at 10-10. The team amassed its third straight winning season under Jim Peterson, who is in his fifth season as head coach.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser will not open the 2022 season until Friday, Feb. 18, when it travels to Tucson for the Cactus Classic.

• When Simon Fraser takes the field, it will have been 712 days since the team’s last game. They were last on the field on Mar. 8, 2020, in a doubleheader victory over Montana State Billings prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. Simon Fraser did not play in 2021 due to the U.S./Canada border closure necessitated by the pandemic.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon opened the 2022 season with a 5-2 record. Their year started last Tuesday with a home doubleheader sweep of Bushnell, 4-2 and 6-2. At the California Kickoff Classic, the Wolves opened with an 8-2 win over Cal St. Dominguez Hills on Friday before taking a 5-4 loss to Cal St. East Bay. They split on Saturday, beating Stanislaus State 4-1 and losing to Cal St. San Marcos 10-1. The Wolves closed the tourney on Sunday with a 10-8 win over San Francisco St.

• Sophomore Natalie Willoughby was named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week after she batted .444 in the seven games with eight hits, seven runs, 10 RBI, a double and three home runs. Willoughby had two hits in both games against Bushnell last Tuesday, which included a two-run homer and a three-run home in the second game. She opened the California Kickoff Classic by going 2 for 2 with a solo homer against Cal St. Dominguez Hills. Willoughby ranks second in Division II with three home runs and is ninth in total bases (18).

• Senior Maddie Mayer was named the GNAC Softball Pitcher of the Week after she went 3-1 with a save and a 0.79 earned run average in five appearances. Against Bushnell, Mayer allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts in six innings to win the opener. She earned a three-inning save against Cal St. Dominguez Hills on Friday. Mayer earned the win over Stanislaus State, allowing five hits in six shutout innings. She also earned the win in relief against San Francisco St., allowing one run on one hit in two innings. For her efforts, Mayer was also named to the California Kickoff Classic All-Tournament Team.

• Senior infielder Logan Carlos was also named to the All-Tournament Team after she batted .474 in the tournament, going 9 for 14 with four runs, nine hits and five RBI. She went 3 for 4 with a three-RBI triple that accounted for most of the scoring against Stanislaus State. She had two hits apiece against Cal St. San Marcos and San Francisco St.

• Western Oregon leads the GNAC after one week with a .314 batting average and owns a 4.23 earned run average. The Wolves rank fifth in Division II in hits (58), ninth in total runs (37) and walks (21), 12th in doubles (10) and 20th in home runs (3).

• The Wolves will host Warner Pacific for a doubleheader on Friday in the team’s only games of the week.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington went 2-3 at the season-opening California Kickoff Classic. The Vikings took a 7-2 loss to Cal St. East Bay and a 3-1 loss to Stanislaus State on Friday. After taking a 7-0 loss to Concordia Irvine on Saturday, the Vikings rebounded for a 7-2 win over Cal St. San Bernardino on Saturday and a 1-0 shutout of Cal St. Monterey Bay on Sunday.

• Senior Tatum Dow led WWU offensively with a .250 batting average in the tournament, going 4 for 16 with one run, a double and three RBI. Dow had a hit in each of the first two games, which included a two-RBI double against Cal St. East Bay. Dow also had hits in the win over Cal St. San Bernardino and San Francisco St., including an RBI single against the Coyotes.

• Freshman Joie Baker went 2-1 in her Vikings’ debut as a pitcher, allowing five runs, four earned, on 11 hits in 15.2 innings with a 1.79 earned run average. Baker went the distance to earn the win over Cal St. San Bernardino, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts. She then earned the win in relief against San Francisco St., allowing two hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. Baker ranks 10th in Division II with two complete games in the young season.

• Western Washington enters the week with a .183 batting average and is second in the GNAC with a 2.55 earned run average. The Vikings are second in Division II in fielding double plays (4), 10th in shutouts (1), 14th in triples (3) and 18th in triples per game (0.60).

• Western Washington will make the trip to the Desert Stinger this weekend. The Vikings face San Francisco St. and Cal St. Dominguez Hills on Friday, Washburn and Minot State on Saturday and MSU Denver on Sunday.