Softball | 2/17/2009 11:25:07 PM
What's happening…
The Western Oregon University softball team will open its 2009 season Saturday, Feb. 21, with a doubleheader against Montana State Billings, with the first pitch scheduled for noon. The two teams will also play a doubleheader on Sunday (Feb. 22) to cap off its four-game series.
A look at Western Oregon…
Western Oregon begins the year ranked 28th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association pre-season poll. WOU was also picked to finish second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches poll with 32 points and three first-place votes.
The Wolves will return six starters, eight letterwinners and not a single senior to a team which tied for the GNAC championship last season with an 18-6 conference record and finished runner-up at the NCAA Division II west region championships.
Returning to anchor the offense for Western Oregon will be All-GNAC first team selections
Tyler Sutherland (SS, 5-3, Jr., Gold Hill, Ore. - Crater) and
Jessica Hallmark (OF, 5-5, So., Salem, Ore. - Sprague). Sutherland led the GNAC in hits last season with 67 while placing in the top 10 in the conference in runs (fourth), total bases (fifth), average (sixth), steals (tied for sixth) and on-base percentage (seventh). Hallmark was the league's ninth-leading hitter with a .372 average while finishing fifth in runs batted in and tied for ninth in total bases.
Amanda Fleer (5-11, Jr., Salem, Ore. - McKay) returns for her junior season and will shift from first base to second. Last season, she was a GNAC honorable mention selection after finishing the season eighth in the conference in doubles (11) while leading Western Oregon with a .988 fielding percentage.
Jessica Wood (5-7, So., The Dalles, Ore. - The Dalles-Wahtonka) will be Western Oregon's only returning pitcher. Last season in just 15 appearances, she finished ninth in the GNAC with eight wins (8-2) while placing third in opponent batting average (.240) and tying for third with five shutouts. The Wolves will fill out the rest of its rotation with junior college transfers
Jessie Lessard (5-4, Jr., Elizabeth, Colo. - Elizabeth/Otero JC) and
Stephanie Albrecht (5-6, Jr., Dallas, Ore. - Dallas/Chemeketa CC).
WOU will also return part-time starters
Miranda Little (C, 5-5, Jr., Florence, Ore. - Siuslaw) and Krysta Pennington (3B, 5-6, Jr., Kent, Wash. - Kentwood) along with letterwinners
Tierra-Lyn Cuba (1B, 5-7, So., Mililani, Hawaii - Mililani),
Sasha Koki (3B, 5-3, So., Kaneohe, Hawaii - St. Francis), to provide depth and experience on a team which added eight newcomers in the offseason, including the two pitchers.
The 2009 freshmen class includes
Chelsey Grigsby (OF, 5-5, Fr., Bend, Ore. - Mountain View),
Kylee Hancock (UT, 5-6, Fr., Albany. Ore. - West Albany),
Kendra George (OF, 5-6, Fr., Roseburg, Ore. - Roseburg),
Bailey Rueck (UT, 5-8, Fr., Portland, Ore. - Grant) and
Rocky Knuth (UT, 5-6, Fr., Salem, Ore. - North Salem) while
Emily Kenagy (OF, 5-8, So., Canby, Ore. -Canby/Clackamas) transferred in to join the Wolves.
"We are ready to play," said Western Oregon head coach
Pam Knox. "We have practice every situation possible and our pitchers are ready to go. We are prepared as we can be, now we just want to play.
A look at Montana State Billings…
Montana State Billings was selected as the conference favorite in the 2009 GNAC coaches poll with 33 points (three first-place votes), edging Western Oregon by one point (33-32). Last season, Montana State Billings finished third in the conference standings with a 16-8 record and a 28-21 mark overall. The Yellowjackets have already played 12 games this season and accumulated a 7-5 record. MSUB is hitting .263 on the season and holding its opponents to a .215 batting average.
Stephanie Gosselin leads the Yellowjackets' offense. This season she is hitting .350 with a .675 slugging percentage and a .372 on-base percentage. In 12 games, she has racked up four home runs, 12 RBIs and 27 total bases.
Kasie Conder leads the MSUB pitching staff with three wins (3-1). She has fanned 26 batters in 29.1 innings and is holding opponents to a .206 batting average.
Last season, Western Oregon won the series 3-2 after it captured each of the last two games, however, Montana State Billings still leads the all-time series 9-5.
"Montana State Billings can hit the ball but they are very solid all-around," Knox noted.
'This should be a fun series because (WOU) and Montana State Billings are both similar teams."
