Thursday, March 30, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Two of the conference’s top pitchers are among the list of players to watch for the Tucci/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Player of the Year.

Northwest Nazarene junior Sidney Booth and Western Washington junior Mareena Ramirez were among 15 West Region players named to the initial watch list for the award. The full list, which includes up to 15 players from each Division II region, includes players from 81 different programs and 20 conferences. The award will be announced on June 1.

Booth, the 2022 GNAC Pitcher of the Year, enters the week tied for first in the GNAC with 10 wins and ranks third with a 2.32 ERA. In 90.2 innings, she has allowed 38 runs, 30 earned, on 70 hits with 12 walks and 79 strikeouts. Booth has nine complete games in 14 starts this season and has won in her last seven appearances. She threw a no-hitter against Cal State San Bernardino, winning 1-0 on Feb. 4 and has a pair of two-hit efforts on the season, the last coming in a 2-0 win over Montana State Billings on Mar. 11.

In addition to her work in the circle, Booth is batting .291 on the season with 23 hits, 17 runs, 19 RBIs, two doubles and three home runs.

Ramirez, who joined Western Washington from Division I Idaho State, is tied with Booth with 10 wins on the season and leads the conference with a 2.01 ERA and 105 strikeouts. In 97.2 innings, Ramirez has allowed 40 runs, 28 earned, on 69 hits and 50 walks. Ramirez won four of her first five starts of the season. She threw a one-hitter in a 3-0 victory at Central Washington on Mar. 19 and allowed just two hits in a 4-0 victory over Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 18. Ramirez opened the season with a nine-inning no-decision at Concordia on Feb. 3, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out 13 in the eventual 1-0 loss.

Both Booth and Ramirez will be in action this weekend at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, California.