Western Washington and Simon Fraser began their
seasons in Hawaii.
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.
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.
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 i n 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.
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
GNAC Players of the Week
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.
Player
Feb. 2-8
Pitcher
Feb. 2-8
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.
Amanda Evola, Western Oregon
Makinlee Sellevold, Western Washington
Week of Feb. 2-8l: 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.
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.
GNAC Miscellany
GNAC Championships: The GNAC will determine its
automatic berth for the NCAA National Championships
with a four-team double elimination tournament Apr. 30 –
May 2 at Yakima.
NCAA West Regional: Eight teams advance to the NCAA
Division II West Regional tournament that will be held at
two four-team sites May 7-10. The two sub-regional
winners will then play a best-of-three series May 15-16
with the winner advancing to the NCAA Elite 8 May 21-25
at Oklahoma City, Okla.
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.
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