Thursday, May 15, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington first baseman Alexie Levin was the lone Great Northwest Athletic Conference player selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division II West Region first team all-region softball team.

Three GNAC players - pitchers Kelli Demianew of Western Oregon and Sam Munger of Saint Martin's and outfielder Amanda Evola of Western Oregon - were second team selections.

Levin, Munger and Evola were all previously selected to the Daktronics second team all-region team selected by the region's sports information directors.  

Levin (5-7, So., Everett, WA) was one of the top hitters in the GNAC this spring finishing second in the conference in all three Triple Crown categories, batting .424, hitting 10 home runs and driving in 47 runs.  She was the conference leader in slugging with a .741 average.

Demianew led the conference in earned run average in leading Western Oregon to the GNAC regular-season and conference tournament championships.  Demianew finished the season with a 17-12 record and a 2.09 earned run average.

Demianew also tied Munger for the conference lead in shutouts with four.

Munger (5-6, Jr., Everett, WA - Cascade), who now has been selected to the NFCA second team three times (2012-14) and the Daktronics second team twice (2013-14), posted a 20-16 record in the circle. She tied Central Washington's Maria Gau (20-10) for most wins and ranked second in the conference in earned run average (2.28). She also batted .349 on the season.

With one season of eligibility remaining, Munger ranks third in GNAC history in victories with 60 and ranks sixth all-time in career batting average (.396).

Evola (5-7, Jr., Beaverton, OR - Westview), who was a first team Daktronics pick a year ago, batted .403 this spring.  She finished third in the GNAC in batting and was the conference leader in RBI with 55.  She hit eight home runs to tie for third in that category.

Evola also had the most base hits (81) and tied for the league-lead in doubles with 16.  She ranked second in runs scored with 53.

NFCA: First Team - Alexie Levin, WWU (UT-Non Pitcher, 5-7, So., Everett, WA).  Second Team - Kelli Demianew, WOU (P, 5-10, Jr., Pendleton, OR); Sam Munger, SMU (UT-Pitcher, 5-6, Jr., Everet, WA); Amanda Evola, WOU (OF, 5-7, Jr., Beaverton, OR).

Daktronics: Second Team - Alexie Levin, WWU (UT-Non Pitcher, 5-7, So., Everett, WA); Sam Munger, SMU (UT-Pitcher, 5-6, Jr., Everett, WA); Amanda Evola, WOU (OF, 5-7, Jr., Beaverton, OR).