Softball | 2/24/2009 4:58:07 PM

What's happening…
The No. 28 Western Oregon University softball team will have its second series of the 2009 season moved to Nampa, Idaho due to rain. The Wolves will now travel to face the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders for a four-game series beginning Friday, Feb. 27, at 1:30 p.m. (mst). The second doubleheader of the series will take place Saturday, Feb. 28, at 11:00 a.m. (mst).

A look at Western Oregon…
Western Oregon (2-2) opened its 2009 season with a series split against Great Northwest Athletic Conference favorite Montana State Billings.

Krysta Pennington highlighted the Wolves offense as she hit .417 (5-12) with a home run and four RBIs while posting a .750 slugging percentage.

Tyler Sutherland leads Western Oregon with six runs scored. She hit .333 in the series (4-12) but posted a .500 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage. She had the Wolves only other home run in the series.

Freshman Rocky Knuth reached base in seven of her 12 plate appearances to lead the team with a .583 on-base percentage. She drew four walks in the series to go along with three hits and three runs scored.

On the mound, Jessica Wood has a 2.10 earned run average while holding opponents to a .220 batting in 13.1 innings. She went a compete game in the season-opener allowing just two runs to earn the victory.

Jessie Lessard pitched a complete game two-hitter in her first game as a Wolf. Opponents are hitting just .244 off Lessard and she is yet to allow a home run. At the plate, Lessard has gone 3-for-8 with three RBIs.

As a team, Western Oregon has a .410 on-base percentage while holding its opponents to a .323 OBP. WOU is also batting at a .293 clip while its opponents are hitting 30 points lower at .263. The Wolves have also been hit by pitches seven times in the first four games and have seven sacrifices including two sac flies. Sutherland and Pennington are the only Wolves with multiple extra base hits.

A look at Northwest Nazarene…
Northwest Nazarene is 1-3 this season after losing its season-opening series at home against Western Washington. NNU captured the win in extra innings in game one of the series 3-2 but would lose the next three games by a combined score of 30-4.

Arielle Chao and Haley Hevern are tied for the team lead with a .400 batting average as both players went 4-for-10 in their series against WWU. Chao is slugging .600 and is tied for the team lead with two RBIs. Hevern leads NNU with a .500 OBP and two base-on-balls.

Cara Duckworth is 1-1 on the season with a 2.38 ERA to lead Northwest Nazarene in both categories. She has pitched a complete game in both of her starts and is limiting opponents to a .250 batting average.

As a team, NNU has been outhit .385 to .257 and its opponents have been reaching base at a .445 clip compared to just a .272 OBP for the Crusaders.

Western Oregon leads the all-time series 26-7 and has won 11 straight in the series dating back to the 2006 season.

Recap of the previous series…
The Western Oregon softball split its four-game series with GNAC preseason favorite, Montana State Billings. Each team swept a doubleheader as Western Oregon swept the first 3-2 and 3-0 and Montana State Billings responded with 6-5 and 10-8 victories on Sunday (Feb. 22).

Game 1: Jessica Wood got the nod as the opening game starter for the Western Oregon Wolves and she did not disappoint, as she scattered six hits over seven innings while giving up two runs, one earned. The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning, when Rocky Knuth led off with a walk and Tyler Sutherland doubled to center field putting runners on second and third with no out. Montana State University Billings pitcher Rebekah Tsatsa then struck out the next two WOU batters bringing cleanup hitter Krysta Pennington to the plate. Pennington hit a sharp grounder under the diving glove of shortstop Alyssa Frank and into center field scoring two.

Game 2: Jessie Lessard stifled the Yellowjackets in game two of the doubleheader as she tossed a two-hit complete game shutout to lead Western Oregon to a 3-0 win. Lessard did not allow a hit to the first 12 Yellowjacket batters en route to earning her first victory in a Wolves' uniform. The only hits she yielded came to back-to-back hitters in the fourth inning, but after getting out of that jam she would face the minimum the rest of the way and complete the game. Her lone walk was erased on the base paths as the next MSUB hitter grounded into a double play. The Wolves scored runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to account for its three runs.

Game 3: Montana State Billings struck for three runs in the top of the first inning and never relinquished its lead en route to a 6-5 victory. The Yellowjackets got all three of its runs in the first inning off back-to-back home runs. Steph Gosselin launched a two-run homer to left field after Amanda Goings walked, then Bekah Tsatsa took WOU starting pitcher Stephanie Albrecht deep to right center field to give MSU Billings the 3-0 lead.

Game 4: Montana State Billings put up runs in each of the first five innings as went on to take the second game of the doubleheader 10-8. The Yellowjackets scored two runs in the top of the first inning on an Alyssa Frank double down the left field line. It would add another run in the second and put up four more in the third inning to build a 7-1 lead. WOU would make its best comeback effort in the bottom of the sixth as Knuth lead off with a single and was doubled to third base with one out by Emily Kenagy. Tyler Sutherland then cleared the bases with a three-run home run to left to bring the Wolves to within three at 10-7. Fleer followed up the home run with a single forcing MSU Billings' starting pitcher, Josie Grotbo out of the game. WOU would tack on one more run in the inning on a Pennington single to center making it 10-8 heading into the last inning. After the Yellowjackets went one-two-three in their half of the inning, the Wolves made two quick outs before Miranda Little drew a walk and Sutherland reached on an error but this is as close as the WOU comeback effort would get as the next batter grounded out to shortstop to end the game.