Wednesday, May 19, 2021

ROLLA, Mo. – After leading their respective teams to the GNAC Softball Championships final and berths in the NCAA West Regional, Northwest Nazarene senior catcher Brittany Genuardi and Western Washington senior pitcher Anna Kasner share top honors on the 2021 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-West Region Team.

Genaurdi was named the West Region Player of the Year while Kasner was selected as the West Region Pitcher of the Year.

The two are among six GNAC players elected to the first team. Joining Genuardi from Northwest Nazarene is sophomore outfielder Maia McNicoll and freshman Sidney Booth, who was selected as the pitching utility player. Booth also earned a second-team selection as a pitcher.

Joining Kasner from Western Washington is junior shortstop Tatum Dow. Rounding the six from the GNAC is Central Washington senior outfielder Theresa Moyle. All six players were also named First Team All-West Region by the NFCA last week.

Earning second-team selections are Northwest Nazarene junior shortstop Ivy Hommel and junior pitcher Tori Hensley, Western Washington junior outfielder Lauren Lo and Saint Martin’s freshman third baseman Britney Patrick.

Genuardi, the GNAC Player of the Year, was the GNAC leader for much of the year in batting average and currently ranks second with a .397 batting average. She is second in the conference with 12 doubles, tied for fourth with 46 hits and 73 total bases. Her .541 on-base percentage ranks in the top-15 in Division II. With 181 chances defensively, Genuardi has not committed an error.

Kasner leads the conference with a 1.62 earned run average and owns a 13-3 record. In 112.1 innings, Kasner has allowed 31 runs, 26 earned, on 62 hits with 153 strikeouts. She had two no-hitters on the season, topped by her six-inning perfect game against Saint Martin’s on March 12, and is the GNAC career leader with 551 strikeouts. Kasner was named GNAC Championships MVP after allowing one run and striking out 38 while winning all three of the Vikings’ games.

Booth, the GNAC Pitcher of the Year, leads the conference with 15 wins and 163 strikeouts while ranking second with a 1.62 earned run average. 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 is fourth in the GNAC with a .385 batting average and leads the conference with 41 RBI.

McNicoll is seventh in the GNAC with a .374 batting average and leads the conference with 12 home runs and a .732 slugging percentage. She is second among GNAC players with 36 RBI, tied for fourth 46 hits and is tied for eighth with eight doubles.

Dow leads the GNAC with a .449 batting average and is second with 48 hits. She leads the Vikings with a .682 slugging percentage, .512 on-base percentage, 48 hits and 26 RBI. Dow started for the Vikings in all 35 games at shortstop and owned a 12-game hitting streak entering the final week of the regular season.

Moyle finished the regular season ranked fifth in the GNAC with a .385 batting average, .429 on-base percentage and .670 slugging percentage. She is one of the Division II leaders with five triples while ranking fifth in the GNAC with 31 RBI and sixth with 28 runs scored.