Wednesday, May 5, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – Whether at the plate, in the circle or in the field, Northwest Nazarene has done it all well.

After claiming the program’s second regular-season title in four years and ranking among Division II’s best in a number of categories, the Nighthawks claimed three of the special awards and three first-team positions to lead the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Softball All-Conference Team.

Senior catcher Brittany Genuardi was named by coaches as the Player of the Year while freshman Sidney Booth was selected as the Pitcher of the Year. Rich Wagner, in his ninth season leading Northwest Nazarene, earned his second career Coach of the Year award.

Western Washington junior shortstop Tatum Dow earned Newcomer of the Year honors while Saint Martin’s third baseman Britney Patrick was named the Freshman of the Year.

Coming back for a second senior season after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 campaign, Genuardi was a consistent presence for the Nighthawks both offensively and defensively. The GNAC leader for much of the year, Genaurdi finished the regular season ranked second with a .429 batting average. She finished second with 12 doubles, tied for third with 45 hits and fourth with 72 total bases. Her .510 on-base percentage ranks 10th in Division II. With 150 chances defensively, Genuardi did not commit an error.

Booth excelled as a two-way threat for the Nighthawks. Selected to the first team as a utility player, Booth led the GNAC with 13 wins, a 1.80 earned run average and 137 strikeouts over 109 innings to rank 28th in Division II. She finished the regular season with a .198 opponent’s batting average and had six games with 10 or more strikeouts. At the plate, Booth finished third in the GNAC with a .402 batting average, led the conference with 39 RBI and was tied for third with 45 hits.

Wagner led Northwest Nazarene to its third consecutive GNAC Championships berth and the program’s second regular-season championship in the last four years. His program enters the postseason ranked 11th in Division II with a .343 batting average, eighth with a .430 on-base percentage and 15th with a .536 slugging percentage. In all, Wagner’s Nighthawks are ranked in the Division II top-30 in 17 statistical categories.

Dow leads the GNAC with a .460 batting average and is second with 46 hits. She leads the Vikings with a .680 slugging percentage, .518 on-base percentage, 46 hits and 25 RBI. Dow started for the Vikings in all 32 games at shortstop and owned a 12-game hitting streak entering the final week of the regular season. Dow is ranked 30th in Division II’s “toughest to strike out” statistical category, having struck out just three times in 100 at-bats.

Patrick, the only first-team selection for Saint Martin’s, leads the Saints with a .336 batting average, 40 hits and nine stolen bases. The starter in all 35 games at third base, Patrick had hits in eight of her last nine games, which included a string of four games with two or more hits. Patrick went 10 for 18 with eight runs, four RBI, two doubles and a home run at Montana State Billings on April 24 and 25, earning GNAC Player of the Week honors.

Western Washington led all teams with four first-team selections. Joining Dow on the first team is senior pitcher Anna Kasner, junior pitcher Kira Doan and junior outfielder Lauren Lo. Northwest Nazarene landed three first-team selections in Genuardi, Booth and sophomore outfielder Maia McNicoll. Central Washington is represented by sophomore second baseman Harlee Carpenter and senior outfielder Theresa Moyle.

Montana State Billings landed two first-team selections in junior first baseman Brittanee Fisher and junior outfielder Allie Hughes while Western Oregon is represented by senior utility player Chandler Bishop.

Kasner is second in the GNAC with a 1.88 earned run average with 10 wins and 115 strikeouts. She ranks 30th in Division II with 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings. Kasner set the GNAC career record for strikeouts on Sunday, recording her 513th strikeout in a win over Central Washington, and threw a perfect game against Saint Martin’s on March 12.

Doan is fifth in the GNAC with a 2.46 earned run average with 10 wins. She threw five complete games this season, which included a three-hit shutout of Central Washington on May 1. Lo ranks eighth in the GNAC with a .372 batting average and leads the Vikings with 25 runs scored.

McNicoll is sixth in the GNAC with a .377 batting average. She shares the conference lead with 11 home runs and ranks second with 34 RBI. Her regular-season included 15 multi-hit games and a two-home run day against Saint Martin’s on March 19.

Moyle leads Central Washington and is fifth in the GNAC with a .381 batting average. She ranks 12th in Division II with five triples and is fourth among GNAC players with 31 RBI. Carpenter is ninth in the GNAC with a .356 batting average and is the Division II leader with seven triples. She also ranks second in the GNAC with 32 runs scored.

Fisher led Montana State Billings with a .337 batting average and shared conference top honors with 11 home runs while compiling a .705 slugging percentage. Hughes batted .263 but provided for a lot of pop, hitting eight home runs and leading the Yellowjackets with 24 RBI.

Bishop finished the regular season with a .373 batting average and led Western Oregon with 21 RBI, six home runs and a .745 slugging percentage.

Northwest Nazarene led all GNAC teams with eight total All-GNAC selections. Western Washington and Montana State Billings each finished with seven selections.

2021 GNAC SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Player of the Year: Brittany Genuardi, Northwest Nazarene
Coach of the Year: Rich Wagner, Northwest Nazarene
Pitcher of the Year: Sidney Booth, Northwest Nazarene
Freshman of the Year: Britney Patrick, Saint Martin’s
Newcomer of the Year: Tatum Dow, Western Washington