Thursday, February 12, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – All seven Great Northwest Athletic softball teams head to Las Vegas this weekend to compete in the sixth annual Desert Stinger collegiate softball tournament.

The tournament is hosted by GNAC member Montana State University Billings.

The GNAC schools are among 31 teams from seven different conferences which begin play Friday at Majestic Park.

In addition to the seven GNAC teams the tournament will also feature six teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and five from the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

Also entered are four teams from the PacWest and Northern Sun conferences, three teams from the Heartland Conference and one from the Lone Star Conference.

Five nationally-ranked schools are entered including the PacWest’s Dixie State which reached the national championship game last season and are ranked third in the NFCA pre-season poll.

For Central Washington and Montana State Billings the games will be their season openers. 

The other five GNAC teams all made their season debuts last week and earlier this week in California and Arizona.

Western Oregon began its season at the Tucson Lead-Off Classic winning two of six games.  Two of the losses were in extra innings. 

Saint Martin’s opened its campaign last weekend with a four-game series at UC-San Diego.  The Saints, who split two home games Wednesday with Concordia (Ore.), lost all four, but allowed just 11 runs to the CCAA team.

Western Washington and Simon Fraser began their seasons in Hawaii. 

The Clan won four of six games sweeping doubleheaders with Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii after being swept Saturday 3-1 and 6-2 by Hawaii Pacific.

The Vikings split its six games, sweeping BYU-Hawaii, dividing two games with Chaminade before losing twice to Hawaii Pacific.

Northwest Nazarene made its debut at Rocklin, Calif., losing twice to William Jessup 4-0 and 6-4.  The former game was scoreless after seven innings before the NAIA school won it with an eighth-inning grand slam home run.

Team Notes

Central Washington:  The Wildcats, who are the GNAC pre-season favorites along with Western Oregon, begin their 2015 campaign Friday with games against New Mexico Highlands and 19th ranked Humboldt State, which has qualified for the NCAA regionals in 21 of the past 25 seasons.

Montana State Billings:  MSUB, which began the annual Las Vegas tournament in 2010 with just 16 teams participating, makes its debut against Humboldt State and Sonoma State.  Coach Lisa Allen is beginning her fifth season as head coach and has an 86-76 career record.

Northwest Nazarene: The Crusaders gave up runs in just two innings Wednesday as William Jessup scored four in the eighth inning to win the extra-inning opener 4-0 and six in the fifth inning of the nightcap to rally from a 4-0 deficit for a 6-4 win.  Ashley Pesek led NNU with three hits in six at bats.

Saint Martin’s:  The Saints displayed an ability to pitch from the circle losing four low-scoring games at the UC San Diego, allowing just  11 runs.  Three pitchers threw four complete games – Kim Nelson (2), Sam Munger (1) and Lindsey Miller (1) – allowing 5, 3 and 3 runs, respectively.  But the Saints batted just .155 scoring four runs.  Tavia Jenkins (4-of-12) and Alyssa Slate (4-of-13) led the offense.  Both Jenkins and Slate had three hits in Wednesday’s home twinbill and take .350 averages (7-of-20) to Vegas.

Simon Fraser:  Alex Baylak and Rachel Proctor had great trips to Hawaii batting .476.  Baylak had 10 hits in 21 at bats, scored five runs and drove in five.  Proctor was also 10-of-21 and had four RBI.  Danielle Raison and Stefanie Sheard each drove in two runs.  SFU, which has already matched its 2014 win total, returns to the mainland with a 1.58 team ERA led by Jessica Goulet, who split two decisions and allowed just six runs (three earned) in 19 1/3 innings.

Western Oregon: Brandy Knowles had a solid debut with the Wolves in Tucson.  The former NWAACC East Region all-star at Walla Walla CC banged out two home runs and drove in eight at Tucson.  She also had a double and a single and walked twice.  Lexi Jennings and Jourdan Williams each had seven hits for the defending conference champions.

Western Washington: Freshman Makinlee Sellevold won two games, pitching a one-hitter in a 3-0 win at Chaminade as the Vikings split their six contests.  Another freshman Emily Benson led WWU in batting with a .438 average (7-of-16).  Alexie Levin, the 2014 GNAC MVP, had six hits including one double and two home runs in 17 at bats and also walked six times.  She scored seven runs and drove in six accounting for nearly half (11 of 24) of WWU’s runs.

GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:  Player – Amanda Evola, Western Oregon (OF, 5-7, Sr., Beaverton, OR) had 10 hits in 23 at bats as the Wolves won two of six games in the NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic at Tucson, Ariz.  Evola also scored six runs and stole a pair of bases.  Two of WOU’s losses were in extra innings.   Pitcher -  Makinlee Sellevold, Western Washington (Fr., Everett, WA - Cascade), making her collegiate debut, allowed just one hit – a one-out infield single in the first inning – in a 3-0 shutout of Chaminade.  Sellevold walked one batter, hit one and fanned four.