Wednesday, February 15, 2023

After a frantic opening weekend of the season that saw five of the conference’s season teams play in the Concordia Kickoff Classic, Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene took the opportunity to extend their Southern California road trips.

The Nighthawks added six games onto the SoCal slate, going 2-4 in those contests. The wins included a 9-3 victory over Azusa Pacific last Monday, followed by an 8-1 victory over No. 17 Concordia on Wednesday.

Two of the losses went extra innings. Wednesday’s opener with Concordia went into the ninth inning before the Eagles broke through for the 2-1 victory. Thursday’s second game against Colorado Christian went into the eighth before the Cougars parlayed two walks and an error into the winning run in another 2-1 decision.

The six-game run yielded both GNAC Softball Player of the Week selections. Senior Maia McNicoll was named the Player of the Week after she batted .375, going 6 for 16 with one double, three home runs, five runs scored and seven RBIs. Senior Tori Hensley picked up the Pitcher of the Week award after she compiled a 1.26 ERA in three starts, which included the victory over Concordia.

Montana State Billings extended its trip by two games, dropping 10-2 and 9-3 decisions to Concordia on Tuesday.

Western Oregon, meanwhile, hopped on a plane and headed to the Lone Star State for five games. The Wolves lost a pair of tight contests at Texas Woman’s on Friday, 3-1 and 1-0. On Saturday, WOU took an 8-0, six-inning loss to No. 2 Texas Tyler before concluding the series with two competitive games, both 6-4 losses on Saturday and Sunday.

Western Washington went north of the border for a two-game series with British Columbia on Saturday, falling 5-1 in the opener before taking the nightcap 8-2. Junior Mareena Ramirez picked up her third win of the season in the second game, allowing two runs, one earned on five hits with seven strikeouts.

This weekend finds six of the conference’s seven teams in action. Montana State Billings heads east to Minot, North Dakota for five games at the Minot State Bubble Invite.

Simon Fraser and Western Oregon will be in Tucson for the Cactus Classic. Both teams will face Franklin Pierce, Georgian Court, Mercyhurst and Minnesota-Crookston.

Saint Martin’s and Western Washington head west to Oahu, where the teams will take on Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Central Washington is the only conference team to play within the GNAC footprint this week, hosting Corban for a doubleheader on Saturday.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Maia McNicoll, Northwest Nazarene
OF • 5-5 • Senior • Kaneohe, Hawaii

McNicoll led the Nighthawks in six games in Southern California last week with a .375 batting average, finishing with six hits, five runs, a double, three home runs and five RBIs. She has a .524 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage in the games. McNicoll went 2 for 4 with an RBI double in Monday’s 9-3 win over Azusa Pacific. Two home runs came in Wednesday’s 8-1 win at Concordia, both solo shots in the first and third as she went 2 for 3 with two runs. McNicoll’s last home run was a three-run homer that accounted for all of the runs in Thursday’s 6-3 first-game loss to Colorado Christian.

Also Nominated: Marin Penney (Montana State Billings), Kanilehua Pitoy (Western Washington).

PITCHER
Tori Hensley, Northwest Nazarene
P • 5-0 • Senior • Kirkland, Wash.

Hensley amassed a 1.26 ERA in three starts last week. She earned the complete-game win in Wednesday’s 8-1 victory at Concordia, allowing one unearned run on four hits with a walk and six strikeouts. She took a no-decision Thursday’s 2-1, eight-inning loss to Colorado Christian. She went 5.1 innings in the start, allowing one unearned run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Also Nominated: Mareena Ramirez (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington did not play last week. The Wildcats will play their first games of the season on Saturday, hosting Corban for a doubleheader.

• 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 Feb. 3, then took an 8-3 loss to Cal St. East Bay and a 19-0 loss to Azusa Pacific on Feb. 5. The win came on Feb. 6, 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.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings continued its Southern California road trip with a doubleheader at Concordia on Feb. 7, taking 10-2 (five innings) and 9-3 losses to the No. 17 team in Division II.

• Junior Marin Penney batted .429 in the doubleheader for the Yellowjackets, going 3 for 7 with two RBIs, a double and a home run. Penney hit a solo home run and scored a runner on a fielder’s choice in the opener. She then went 2 for 4 in the nightcap with a double. Penney ranks 10th in the GNAC with a .333 batting average.

• Senior Shelby Marquardt also batted .429 against Concordia, going 3 for 7 with a double and a run scored. All three hits came in the second game as she went 3 for 4 with a double in the seventh. Marquardt enters the week with a .278 batting average.

• Sophomore Lauren Blaschak hit a two-run homer in the third inning of the second game to open scoring. She currently ranks eighth in the GNAC with a .391 batting average, leads the conference with four doubles and ranks second with eight runs scored.

• The Yellowjackets enter the week with a .240 batting average and a 5.58 ERA. The team ranks 21st in Division II with 11.48 hits allowed per seven innings, 28th with 13 doubles and 29th with 1.86 doubles per game.

• Montana State Billings plays at the Minot State Bubble Invite this weekend with games against Minot State and Carroll (Mont.) on Saturday and games against Providence (Mont.) and Bemidji State on Sunday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene extended its season-opening Southern California road trip with six games last week. The Nighthawks split at Azusa Pacific on Feb. 6, winning the opener 9-3 and dropping the nightcap 7-1. They dropped the opener at Concordia on Feb. 8, 2-1 in nine innings, before winning the second game 8-1. The road trip ended with two neutral site losses to Colorado Christian on Feb. 9, 6-3 and 2-1 (eight innings).

• Senior Maia McNicoll was named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week after she batted .375 in the six games, going 6 for 16 with a double, three home runs, five runs scored and seven RBIs. McNicoll went 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the first game against Azusa Pacific. She went 2 for 3 in the win over Concordia with a pair of solo homers and had hits in each game against Colorado Christian, including a three-run homer in the first game. McNicoll owns a .300 batting average. She shares the GNAC lead with three home runs and is second in the conference with nine RBIs

• Senior Tori Hensley earned GNAC Softball Pitcher of the Week honors after she amassed a 1.26 ERA in three starts. Hensley earned the complete-game win over Concordia, allowing one unearned run on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts. She took a no-decision in the extra-inning loss to Colorado Christian, allowing one unearned run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Hensley is sixth in the GNAC with a 2.27 ERA. She ranks eighth in Division II with five games started.

• Northwest Nazarene is batting .178 and owns a 2.89 ERA. The Nighthawks rank 15th in Division II with 35 walks drawn while ranking third in the GNAC with 30 runs scored.

• The Nighthawks do not play this week. They take to the road again on Feb. 24 and 25 when they travel to Western Washington for a four-game non-conference series.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s did not play last week. The Saints head to Hawaii this week for doubleheaders at Hawaii Hilo on Saturday, Chaminade on Sunday and Hawaii Pacific on Monday.

• The Saints opened the season by going 3-2 at the Seawolves Round Robin in Rohnert Park, California. The Saints split on Feb. 3, losing to Sonoma State 9-6 and beating Academy of Art 3-2. After a 3-2 loss to the Seawolves on Feb. 4, the Saints took both games of a Feb. 5 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 third 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 fourth 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 Feb. 3 against Sonoma State with a double, a run and an RBI.

• Saint Martin’s is third in the GNAC with a .257 batting average and a 2.70 ERA. The Saints rank 21st in Division II with a .978 fielding percentage and 22nd with two shutouts.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser did not play last week. The Red Leafs will play five games this week at the Cactus Classic in Tucson, facing Mercyhurst and Georgian Count on Friday, Minnesota Crookston on Saturday and Franklin Pierce on both Saturday and Sunday.

• 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 Feb. 3, both in extra innings. Feb. 4 opened with a 10-9 extra-innings win over Adams State and closed with a 7-5 loss to New Mexico Highlands. On Feb. 5, SFU took a 9-8 loss to CSU Pueblo before beating Fort Lewis 6-3.

• Junior Megan Duclos 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 ranks ninth in Division II in stolen bases and 26th in batting average.

• 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 fourth in RBIs and ranks fifth in Division II with 0.60 home runs per game.

• 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 18th in Division II with a .362 batting average. The Red Leafs rank 23rd in Division II with a .426 on base percentage, 24th with one home run per game and 30th with a .515 slugging percentage.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon dropped all five games on its Texas road trip last week. The Wolves took 3-1 and 1-0 losses to Texas Woman’s on Feb. 10, followed by 8-0 (six innings) and 6-0 losses to Texas Tyler on Feb. 11 and a 6-4 loss to Texas Tyler on Feb. 12.

• Junior Natalie Willoughby batted .417 on the road trip, going 5 for 12 with a home run and three RBIs. She did her most damage against Texas Tyler, going 2 for 4 with a two-RBI single in the first inning of Saturday’s game and going 2 for 4 with a solo homer on Sunday. Willoughby enters the week with a .230 batting average and a .440 slugging percentage.

• Junior Chelby Smalley batted .308 for the Wolves, going 4 for 13 in four games. She had a hit in the Feb. 10 second game against Texas Woman’s and in the opening game at Texas Tyler. She closed the week with a 2 for 4 performance in Sunday’s game at Texas Tyler. Smalley is batting .286 in nine games.

• Senior Maddie Mayer started three of the five games in the circle for the Wolves. She threw five innings in the opener against Texas Woman’s, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with two walks and a strikeout. She went six innings in the final game against Texas Tyler, allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Mayer is eighth in the GNAC with a 2.76 ERA, is tied for third in Division II with six games started and is tied for 23rd with three victories.

• Western Oregon enters the week with a .215 batting average and is second in the GNAC with a 2.30 ERA. The Wolves rank 18th in Division II with 34 walks and 25th with a .976 fielding percentage.

• Western Oregon will play this weekend at the Cactus Classic in Tucson with games against Franklin Pierce and Minnesota Crookston on Friday, Mercyhurst and Georgian Court on Saturday and Minnesota Crookston on Sunday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington split a doubleheader at British Columbia on Saturday, dropping the opener 5-1 before winning the nightcap 8-2.

• Sophomore Kanilehua Pitoy led the Vikings offensively by going 4 for 8 in the two games with two runs and two RBIs. Pitoy went 2 for 4 in both games. She had an RBI single in the fifth in the opener and scored two runs in the nightcap. Pitoy enters the week with a .321 batting average.

• Sophomore Amaya Davis went 3 for 6 in the two games, going 1 for 2 with a walk in the opener and going 2 for 4 with a run scored in the nightcap. She is batting .238 on the season.

• Sophomore Lexi Barcomb only played in the second game but made noise with a 4 for 4 batting performance, singling home the Vikings’ second run of the game and scoring in the sixth. She owns a .500 batting average in five games this season.

• Junior Mareena Ramirez earned her third win of the season in the second game, allowing two runs, one earned on five hits with five walks and seven strikeouts in the complete-game effort. She continues to lead the GNAC with a 0.49 ERA, ranks 18th in Division II with 33 strikeouts and is tied for 23rd with her three victories.

• Western Washington leads the conference and is 14th in Division II with a 1.42 ERA and enters the week with a .269 batting average.

• The Vikings head to Hawaii this week for doubleheaders against Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, Hawaii Hilo on Sunday and Chaminade on Monday.