Tuesday, March 7, 2023

While inclement weather wreaked havoc on schedules for all seven GNAC teams, Saint Martin’s succeeded in making the most of it.

The Saints saw shifts in their weekend doubleheaders but it did little to stop the offense. They opened their home schedule with 5-4 and 9-6 wins over Simon Fraser on Sunday before scoring 4-3 and 7-3 wins over Western Washington on Monday.

Saint Martin’s finished with a .352 batting average in the four games, outscoring the Red Leafs and Vikings 25-16. Sophomore Kekai Schultz led the offense with a .533 batting average, going 8 for 15 with three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs.

The biggest difference for the Saints, though, came in the circle. Junior Tia Ridings picked up three wins in the four games, including starting performances in the opener against Simon Fraser and the finale against Western Washington. Sophomore Chloe Leverington had three saves and now ranks second in the GNAC with five saves on the season.

The conference’s weekly awards, however, went to Central Washington players after the Wildcats took two wins from Northwest Nazarene and three of four games from Montana State Billings. Senior Ashlee Laver earned Pitcher of the Week honors after she picked up two wins and a save in 15 innings. She allowed just two hits, one each in complete-game victories over MSUB on Friday and Saturday.

Senior Harlee Carpenter received the Player of the Week award after she batted .545 in the six games, going 12 for 22 with eight runs, a double, a triple, seven RBIs and three stolen bases.

Six of the conference’s teams focus on games this week that count in the GNAC standings. Northwest Nazarene will host Montana State Billings, Saint Martin’s hosts Western Oregon and Western Washington hosts Simon Fraser for four-game series. Central Washington will travel to Arcata, California, for a four-game series at Cal Poly Humboldt.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Harlee Carpenter, Central Washington
IF • 5-2 • Senior • Snohomish, Wash.

Carpenter batted .545 in six games as the Wildcats went 5-1 on the week. She went 12 for 22 with eight runs, a double, a triple, seven RBIs and three stolen bases. Carpenter went 2 for 3 with an RBI triple that opened scoring in Monday’s 14-8 victory over Northwest Nazarene. She had multiple hits in three of four games with Montana State Billings, going 2 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs in Friday’s 7-0 victory and 4 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored in Saturday’s 12-7 win.

Also Nominated: Clarissa Moreno (Northwest Nazarene), Britney Patrick (Saint Martin’s), Abby McGlynn (Simon Fraser), Maddie Doig (Western Oregon), Amaya Davis (Western Washington).

PITCHER
Ashlee Laver, Central Washington
P • 5-7 • Senior • Irvine, Calif.

Laver picked up two wins and a save in three appearances, allowing just two hits and two walks in 15 innings of work. The save came on Monday where Laver worked the seventh inning of the 5-4 win at Northwest Nazarene. Carpenter then threw a pair of one-hit shutouts against Montana State Billings. On Friday, she allowed one hit and struck out six in the 7-0 shutout. She then allowed one hit and two walks and struck out seven in Saturday’s 3-0 shutout.

Also Nominated: Alyssa Etheridge (Montana State Billings), Sidney Booth (Northwest Nazarene), Chloe Leverington (Saint Martin’s), Julia Hansen (Simon Fraser), Mareena Ramirez (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington went 5-1 in non-conference games against GNAC teams last week. The Wildcats opened the week with 14-6 and 5-4 wins at Northwest Nazarene last Monday. They opened a four-game series with Montana State Billings with an 8-0, six-inning loss on Friday before winning the final three games, 7-0 on Friday and 12-7 and 3-0 on Saturday.

• Senior Harlee Carpenter was named the GNAC Player of the Week after she hit .545 in the six games. She went 12 for 22 with eight runs, a double, a triple, seven RBIs and three stolen bases. Carpenter went 2 for 3 with an RBI triple that opened scoring in Monday’s 14-8 victory over NNU. She had multiple hits in three of four games with Montana State Billings, going 2 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs in Friday’s 7-0 victory and 4 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored in Saturday’s 12-7 win. Carpenter enters the week with a .340 batting average.

• Senior Ashlee Laver earned GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors with two wins and a save in three appearances, allowing just two hits and two walks in 15 innings of work. The save came on Monday as Laver worked the seventh inning of the 5-4 win at NNU. Carpenter then threw a pair of one-hit shutouts against MSUB. On Friday, she allowed one hit and struck out six in the 7-0 shutout. She then allowed one hit and two walks and struck out seven in Saturday’s 3-0 shutout. Laver is second in the GNAC with a 1.89 ERA.

• Central Washington enters the week with a .285 batting average and 3.95 ERA. The Wildcats rank 30th in Division II with four shutouts.

• Central Washington plays one more non-conference series before GNAC play, traveling to Arcata, California for a four-game series with Cal Poly Humboldt on Friday and Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings dropped three of four games at Central Washington last week. The Yellowjackets won the opener, 8-0 (six innings), on Friday before dropping a 7-0 decision on Friday and 12-7 and 3-0 games on Saturday.

• Senior Shelby Martin batted .273 in the four games to lead MSUB, going 3 for 11 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. Martin closed scoring in Friday’s opener with a two-run single in the sixth inning and went 2 for 3 with a solo home run in Saturday’s opener. Martin enters the week batting .156 in 13 games.

• Freshman Teagan Seeton also batted .273 in the series and scored two runs. Seeton went 2 for 3 and scored two runs in Friday’s opener and finished 1 for 4 with an RBI in Saturday’s opener. Seeton has a .341 season batting average.

• Senior Alyssa Etheridge went 1-1 in the series. She was the pitching winner in Friday’s opener, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out seven in the five-inning win. She took the loss in Saturday’s finale, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Etheridge is seventh in the GNAC with a 2.73 ERA. She ranks 11th in Division II with eight complete games.

• The Yellowjackets enter the week with a .241 batting average and a 5.32 ERA. They share the conference lead with nine home runs.

• Montana State Billings opens conference play this week with a four-game series at Northwest Nazarene on Friday and Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene went 4-2 in a string of six home games last week. The Nighthawks dropped both games to Central Washington last Monday, 14-6 and 5-4. They rebounded to take four games from Western Oregon, 1-0 (10 innings) and 5-4 on Friday and 9-1 (six innings) and 12-1 (five innings) on Saturday.

• Junior Madison Felter led the NNU offense with a .421 batting average in the six games, going 8 for 19 with five runs, a double and three RBIs. Felter had a hit in all six games, going 2 for 3 with an RBI single in Monday’s opener against CWU and 2 for 3 with another RBI single and two runs in Saturday’s opener against WOU. Felter is batting .275 on the season.

• Sophomore Clarissa Moreno batted .364 in the six games, going 8 for 22 with two doubles, seven runs and seven RBIs. Moreno went 2 for 3 with an RBI double in Monday’s second game against CWU.  She then posted a 3 for 4 performance in Friday’s second game against WOU with two RBIs and a double. Moreno is batting .242 on the season.

• Junior Sidney Booth went 2-1 and amassed a 2.33 ERA in three appearances in the circle. Booth took the loss in Monday’s opener against CWU, allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits with two strikeouts in two innings. She threw all 10 innings on Friday for the win, allowing three hits and striking out nine. Booth needed just six innings for the opening-game win on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits with a walk and six strikeouts.

• Northwest Nazarene owns a .236 team batting average and is second in the GNAC with a 2.71 ERA.

• The Nighthawks close a 12-game homestand and open GNAC play this week, hosting Montana State Billings for four games on Friday and Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s opened its home schedule with four wins. The Saints earned a sweep of Simon Fraser on Sunday, 5-4 and 9-6 and two wins over Western Washington on Monday, 4-3 and 7-3.

• Sophomore Kekai Schultz led SMU with a .533 batting average in the four games, going 8 for 15 with two runs, three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs. Schultz had two hits in each game. In the opener against SFU, Schultz went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer in the first inning. In the final game against WWU, Schultz went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI doubles. Schultz is eighth in the GNAC with a .371 batting average.

• Junior Destiny Conerly batted .500 in the four games, going 5 for 10 with two runs, a triple and three RBIs. Her week included a 2 for 3 performance in the first game against SFU and 2 for 3, both RBI singles, in the final against WWU. Conerly ranks fifth in the GNAC with a .394 batting average.

• Junior Tia Ridings went 3-0 in the circle. She was the starter in the first-game win on Sunday against SFU, allowing four runs, three earned, on three hits with six strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Ridings went four innings in the second game against WWU, allowing three hits and striking out two. Ridings ranks third in the GNAC with a 2.31 ERA.

• Sophomore Chloe Leverington earned three saves in the four games, She allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out eight in 10 innings pitched and is second in Division II with five saves on the season.

• Saint Martin’s is second in the GNAC with a .296 batting average and owns a 3.43 ERA. The Saints lead the GNAC with a .969 fielding percentage and rank 10th in Division II with 0.54 double plays per game.

• Saint Martin’s continues a 12-game homestand by hosting Western Oregon for both teams’ GNAC openers on Saturday and Sunday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser has lost seven in a row after dropping a 10-2, six-inning game at Western Washington on Saturday and two games at Saint Martin’s on Sunday, 5-4 and 9-6.

• Sophomore Abby McGlynn led SFU by batting .400 in the three games, going 4 for 10 with three runs, two RBIs and three stolen bases. Her best performance came in the second game at SMU on Sunday, going 2 for 3 with an RBI single. McGlynn leads the GNAC with a .463 batting average. She ranks 17th in Division II with eight doubles and is tied for 20th with 13 stolen bases.

• Freshman Anika Janzen batted .500 in the two Saint Martin’s games. She went 1 for 3 with a two-RBI double in the opener and then went 2 for 3 in the nightcap with a run scored. Janzen enters the week with a .316 batting average in 15 games, including three starts.

• Junior Megan Duclos picked up two more stolen bases in the three games and how has 23 stolen bases in 23 attempts this season. The mark is a Simon Fraser single-season record and is third in Division II this season. Duclos is 10 short of the GNAC single-season record of 33 set by Western Washington’s Autumn Isaacson in 2015.

• Simon Fraser leads the GNAC with a .316 batting average and owns a 5.86 ERA. The Red Leafs rank fourth in Division II with 65 stolen bases and 3.61 stolen bases per game and rank sixth with 80 walks.

• Simon Fraser crosses the border to open GNAC play with a four-game series at Western Washington on Saturday and Sunday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon dropped all four of its non-conference games at Northwest Nazarene last week, falling 1-0 (10 innings) and 5-4 on Friday and 9-1 (six innings) and 12-1 (five innings) on Saturday.

• Sophomore Maddie Doig batted .625 in the four games to lead the WOU offense, going 5 for 8 with three doubles and two RBIs. Doig had her best effort in Friday’s second game, going 3 for 3 with an RBI double in the fourth inning. She added an RBI double in Saturday’s finale. Doig enters the week with a .341 batting average in 17 games.

• Junior Katelyn McGough finished the week with a .308 batting average, going 4 for 13 with two runs and a double. McGough had hits in three of the four games, topped by a 2 for 4 effort with a run scored in Friday’s second game. McGough enters the week with a .276 batting average.

• Senior Maddie Mayer started two of the four games in the circle, amassing a 2.10 ERA. Mayer took the loss in Friday’s 1-0, 10-inning game, allowing one run on nine hits with five walks and seven strikeouts. She was also the losing pitcher in the series finale on Saturday. Mayer is eighth in the GNAC with a 3.03 ERA and is fifth in the GNAC with 39 strikeouts.

• Western Oregon enters the week with a .224 batting average and is third in the GNAC with a 3.12 ERA. The Wolves rank 27th in Division II with 16 batters hit by pitch.

• Western Oregon opens conference play this weekend with a four-game series at Saint Martin’s on Saturday and Sunday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington opened the weekend with a 10-2, six-inning win at home over Simon Fraser on Saturday before taking two losses at Saint Martin’s on Monday, 4-3 and 7-3.

• Sophomore Kinilehua Pitoy had a .400 batting average in the four games to lead the Vikings, going 4 for 10 with two runs, a double and an RBI. Pitoy did her most damage in the first game at Saint Martin’s, going 3 for 4 with a run scored. Pitoy enters the week with a .290 batting average.

• Freshman Hailey Rath batted .375 in the three games, going 3 for 8 with a double, two home runs and a 1.250 slugging percentage. Rath finished with three RBIs, including one on a double, against SFU. She had a solo home run and scored two runs in Monday’s opener at SMU and added another solo homer in the nightcap. Rath enters the week with a .309 batting average.

• Junior Mareena Ramirez was the pitching winner against SFU, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with six walks and 10 strikeouts. She took the loss in Monday’s opener, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits with seven walks and eight strikeouts. Ramirez leads the GNAC with a 1.41 ERA, six wins and 66 strikeouts.

• Western Washington leads in the GNAC with a 2.29 ERA and ranks third with a .289 batting average.

• The Vikings will open conference play at home as Simon Fraser returns for a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday.