Softball | 4/8/2009 11:53:11 AM

This week...
The Western Oregon University softball team will be looking to make up ground in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings as it travels to face conference leader Montana State Billings in a four-game series Apr. 10-11. The two teams will play a doubleheader both days beginning at noon.

A look at the Western Oregon team…
The Western Oregon softball team is 15-15 this season and three-and-a-half games out of first place in the GNAC standings with a 13-8 record. Last week, it went 2-7 as it dropped a doubleheader to Cal State Monterey Bay at Seaside, Calif., before going 2-5 at the Mizuno Tournament of Champions. The highlight of the week came when WOU knocked off Cal State Stanislaus in the first round of gold bracket play (more on the tournament below).

Western Oregon is ranked 13th in NCAA Division II with 1.8 doubles per game and 28th with a .966 fielding percentage. WOU also leads the GNAC with a .302 batting average, a .391 on-base percentage and a .464 slugging percentage. Meanwhile, the WOU pitchers are putting up a 3.81 ERA while holding its opponents to a .351 OBP and a .392 slugging percentage. The Wolves have also collected 80 extra base hits on the year with 21 homers while its opponents have just 57 extra base hits. WOU has stolen 37 bases in 30 games and six student-athletes have three or more steals. This season, the WOU is 11-1 when leading after the first inning but 0-9 when trailing after one.

The Wolves...
Tyler Sutherland is third in the country with .53 doubles per game and 31st with 1.07 runs. She is leading the GNAC in batting average (.434), runs (32), doubles (16), extra base hits (21), stolen bases (13), on-base percentage (.517) and slugging (.737). She also tops in the league with 1.43 hits per game, 2.43 total bases and 1.07 runs. Against CSU Stanislaus, Sutherland accounted for all four of the Wolves' runs as she singled, stole second and scored on a single by Jessica Hallmark in the first. In the second, Sutherland homered for two runs. Then in the fourth she had the game-deciding RBI single to help lift WOU to the 4-3 victory. She was named to the Mizuno all-tournament team.

Jessica Hallmark is 30th in DII with .29 home runs per game. She became Western Oregon's all-time home run leader earlier this season, passing Trina Dorn. Hallmark now has eight homers this season and 16 in her career. Her eight home runs this season tie her for the GNAC lead while her .29 homers per game pace the league. She is also ranked in the conference in RBI per game (second, 1.04), slugging percentage (third, .683), total RBI (fourth, 29), runs (seventh, 21) and batting average (.317).

Freshman Kendra George is sixth in the GNAC with a .375 batting average and is tied for second with seven stolen bases. She is also ranked sixth with a .437 on-base percentage.

Fellow freshman Rocky Knuth is eighth in the league with a .352 batting average but is second with a .485 on-base percentage. She is also one of just four players in the GNAC to record more than one triple this season.

Amanda Fleer is ranked in the GNAC in four categories. She is second in walks (18), fourth in on-base percentage (.462), ninth in slugging percentage (.531) and 19th in batting average.

On the mound, Jessica Wood (6-4) has a 2.95 ERA while holding opponents to a .216 batting average in 85.1 innings. She ranks in the top 10 in the GNAC in strikeouts (second, 85), batting average against (fourth), wins (fourth), ERA (sixth) and innings pitched (fifth). She was selected to the all-tournament team at the Mizuno TOC after she had games of 13 and 14 strikeouts.

Stephanie Albrecht (4-5) is tied for third in the GNAC with two shutouts and is ninth with a 4.11 ERA.

Jessie Lessard (4-5) is 10th in the league with a 4.76 ERA and ninth with a .298 opponent batting average. She is also tied with Albrecht for third in the GNAC with two shutouts.

A look Montana State Billings...
Montana State Billings is 26-10 this season and holds a two-game lead in the GNAC with a 17-5 record. The Yellowjackets' hitters rank second in the conference with a .302 batting average and lead the league with 35 home runs. Its pitchers are also atop the conference in ERA (2.44) and strikeouts per seven innings (6.69). MSUB was the preseason pick to win the GNAC edging WOU 33-32 in the coaches' poll.

Terina Stacks ranks third in the conference with a .395 batting average and 1.36 hits per game. Steph Gosselin is tied with Jessica Hallmark for the conference lead in homers with eight and with two others in RBI with 30. Pitcher Katie Conder paces the GNAC with a 1.56 ERA and a .185 batting average against while striking out 77 batters in 76.1 innings.

Montana State Billings leads in the all-time series 7-11. These teams split a four-game series at Monmouth Feb. 21-22, with WOU taking the doubleheader Saturday and MSUB winning both games on Sunday.

Sutherland named GNAC Player of the Week, again...
Tyler Sutherland has earned the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week, as announced by the conference office Monday, Apr. 6. Sutherland had 11 hits in 29 at bats, including going 9-for-23 in earning all-tournament honors in the Mizuno Tournament of Champions at Turlock, Calif. She had a double and a home run, drove in four runs and also stole three bases. She also handled 20 chances at SS, making just one error in the nine contests. Sutherland accounted for all of the Wolves' runs in a 4-3 victory over Cal State Stanislaus in the first round of the gold bracket as she scored the first run of the game then knocked three runners including the deciding run in the fourth.

Recap of WOU at the Mizuno Tournament of Champions...
Western Oregon went 2-5 at the Mizuno Tournament of Champions, losing four out of five in pool play before bouncing back with a win to get to the semifinals of the gold bracket.

WOU 2, Hawaii Hilo 1: Tyler Sutherland singled to right to knock in Rocky Knuth from second base in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Western Oregon softball team to a 2-1 win over Hawaii Hilo. Jessica Wood pitched the complete game for the Wolves giving up just one run and three hits while striking out 13 as she improved to 6-2 on the season. The Wolves were down 1-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning before pinch runner Chelsey Grigsby scored the tying run on a Kendra George single through the right side of the infield to tie the game at 1-1.

CSUDH 6, WOU 2: Regina Farfan limited Western Oregon to just two hits and two runs in seven innings of works as Cal State Dominguez Hills defeated Western Oregon 6-2. Western Oregon got both its runs in the first inning. With runners at first and third, Jessica Hallmark and Tyler Sutherland executed a double steal with Hallmark taking second base and Sutherland home for the Wolves' first run of the day. Hallmark would score the second run of the inning on an error by the first baseman. Western Oregon would get only one more hit in the game, a bunt single by Rocky Knuth, and Cal State Dominguez Hills put up four runs in the fourth as it when on to the 6-2 win.

SFSU 1, WOU 0: Jessica Wood pitched a complete game giving up just three hits and one unearned run while striking out eight but was on the short end as Western Oregon fell 1-0 to San Francisco State. The only run of the game scored on in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-out single by Kelsey Wood as she drove in Danielle Chapman who had reached earlier in the inning on an error. The Wolves got five hits in the game to the Gators three however it left six runners on in the game.

CSUMB 9, WOU 0: Cal State Monterey Bay scored nine runs as they beat Western Oregon 9-0 in game two of the day. Jessica Boyle limited the Wolves to five hits over five innings while walking two and striking out five. The Otters put up one run in the third and four in both the fourth and fifth to end the game at 9-0.

Chico State 8, WOU 2: Chico State sent 10 runners to the plate in the bottom of the first inning as it got five runs and went on to defeat Western Oregon 8-2 in the Wolves' third game of the day. Lauren Walker pitched seven innings for the Wildcats giving up seven hits and two runs to earn the win.

WOU 4, CSUS 3: Jessica Wood had 14 strike outs and Tyler Sutherland was 3-for-3 and accounted for all four of Western Oregon's runs as the Wolves defeated Cal State Stanislaus 4-3. Wood pitched a complete game for the third straight day as she went seven innings while gave up five hits and three runs (two earned) to go along with three walks and a season-best 14 strikeouts. The Wolves struck first as they put up a run in the first and two more in the second. After Sutherland singled and stole second in the Wolves' half of the first Hallmark singled to drive her in. In the second, Kendra George reached on an error to start the inning then Sutherland homered with two-out to extend WOU's lead to 3-0. Sutherland would knock in one more in the fourth as she singled to drive in George for a second time, which proved to be the deciding run in the game.

Hawaii Pacific 6, WOU 4: Western Oregon fell 6-4 to eventual champions Hawaii Pacific in the semifinals of the gold bracket. The Sea Warrior put up three runs in the first and another two in the second to take 5-0 lead and their pitcher Sherise Musquiz would go the distance allowing just five hits and one earned run for the win. Amanda Fleer was 3-for-3 for Western Oregon with three RBI and two runs scored. Her home run in the fifth brought the Wolves to within two runs at 6-4 but that is as close as they would get.