Wednesday, May 4, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Simon Fraser junior Alex Ogg led the conference in hitting the 2020 shortened season. Two years later, she did it again, earning selection as the conference Player of the Year to lead the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Softball All-Conference Team.

Ogg paced the GNAC offensively as Simon Fraser returned to the diamond after a nearly two-year COVID absence. She compiled a .420 batting average in 40 games and finished the regular season ranked second in the conference with 60 hits. She led the league 21 stolen bases in 21 attempts and was tied for fourth with 36 runs scored.

Regular-season champion Northwest Nazarene claimed three of the conference’s special awards and led the league with four first-team selections. Nighthawks head coach Rich Wagner was voted Coach of the Year by his peers for the second consecutive season. Sophomore Sidney Booth was selected as the Pitcher of the Year while Charlotte Forniss shared Freshman of the Year honors with Saint Martin’s Chloe Leverington.

Montana State Billings junior Maycen O’Neal rounded out the special awards as the Newcomer of the Year.

Wagner led Northwest Nazarene to its second consecutive regular-season championship and the program’s fourth straight GNAC Championships appearance. The Nighthawks compiled an 18-6 GNAC record and a 30-18 overall mark, the team’s third season of 30-plus win as a GNAC member. Under Wagner, NNU leads the GNAC with a 2.58 earned run average and ranks second with a .296 batting average.

Booth continued to impress in the circle, leading the conference with 15 wins and a 1.91 earned run average. In 164.2 innings, she has allowed 62 runs, 45 of those earned. Her 184 strikeouts leads the GNAC and ranks 25th in Division II. Booth also ranks third in Division II with 23 complete games. A dual threat, Booth also ranks second in the conference with a .390 batting average and is third with 43 RBI.

Forniss has also proved a solid two-way threat for the Nighthawks, splitting time with Booth in the circle and at first base. Forniss has compiled a .314 batting average in 44 games with a .539 slugging percentage. As a pitcher, Forniss has a 3.03 earned run average in 12 appearances and six starts, allowing 22 runs in 39.1 innings. In addition to earning Freshman of the Year, Forniss was named to the first team as a utility player.

Leverington also earned first team honors as a pitcher after becoming the most relied-upon reliever in the conference. Currently ranked third in the GNAC with a 2.32 ERA and 12 wins, Leverington has allowed 48 runs and struck out 102 in 99.2 innings. She has walked just 13 batters and ranks 11th in Division II with a 7.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 20th with 0.91 walks allowed per seven innings.

O’Neal, in her first year with MSUB after transferring from Dawson Community College, appeared in 41 games and made 39 starts, including 34 at catcher. She finished the season with a .240 batting average, 29 hits, 11 runs and 20 RBI.

Booth and Forniss were joined on the first team by Nighthawks senior shortstop Ivy Hommel and junior outfielder Maia McNicoll. Booth and McNicoll are the only repeat first-team selections. Hommel finished the regular season ranked eighth in the GNAC with a .368 batting average and is 25th in Division II with 1.12 runs per game. McNicoll owns a .307 batting average, leads the GNAC with 61 RBI and ranks 11th in Division II with 1.27 RBI per game. She is among three players tied for first in the GNAC with 11 home runs.

Ogg was joined by Simon Fraser junior outfielder Chelsea Hotner, who finished the season with a .331 batting average while starting all 40 games. She finished second for SFU with 136 at bats and 31 RBI.

Representing Saint Martin’s on the first team are Leverington and sophomore outfielder Malia Pinder, who ranks fourth in the conference with a .387 batting average. Pinder leads the Saints with 55 hits and five home runs with a .570 slugging percentage.

Western Washington landed two first-team selections in senior first baseman Dakota Brooks and senior second baseman Chantelle Shimabukuro. Brooks is seventh in the GNAC with a .369 batting average. She leads the conference and ranks 27th in Division II with 16 doubles. Shimabukuro is third in the GNAC with a .389 batting average and finished the regular season ranked third with three triples and fifth with 58 hits.

Central Washington netted a pair of first-team selections in junior catcher Alyssa Benthagen and junior outfielder Allie Thiessen. Benthagen finished the regular season with a .312 batting average and started all 37 of 44 games behind the plate. She shares the conference lead with 11 home runs. Thiessen ranks fifth in the GNAC with a .381 batting average and paces the Wildcats with 53 hits and 33 runs scored.

Rounding out the first team is Western Oregon second baseman Logan Carlos, who finished the year ranked sixth in the GNAC with a .380 batting average. She leads the conference with 65 hits and six triples, which ranks 16th in Division II. She finished ranks third in the conference with 37 runs scored and hit for the cycle against Central Washington on May 1, making her just the fifth GNAC player to accomplish the feat since 2014.

Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s and Western Washington each had six players named to the all-conference team with Saint Martin’s, Simon Fraser and Western Oregon earning four selections.