Softball | 1/27/2014 12:17:00 AM

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University softball team opens their 2014 campaign with a doubleheader at the University of California-San Diego Saturday.

The 29th season of Wolves' softball begins with a third place selection in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll. WOU had one of its best conference finishes last season under first year Head Coach Lonny Sargent. It completed a conference schedule with a 16-8 record, while it won 27 games overall. Western Oregon advanced to the inaugural conference tournament, before falling in the semifinals.

Western Oregon returns 12 lettermen led by outfielder Amanda Evola, who ranked third in batting (.390) and was a second team Daktronics all-region selection, and pitcher-third baseman Jourdan Williams who batted .321 and led the team in RBIs (45). Six of the team's top eight hitters return this spring including first team GNAC selections Evola and Williams.

Evola led the GNAC in slugging (.677), ranked third in the conference in hitting (.390) and also tied CWU's Jill McDaniel for the home run lead (10) and SMU's Lacey McGladrey for the lead in doubles (22).

She also drove in 44 runs one less than team leader Williams, who batted .321 and hit eight home runs in addition to posting a 9-11 record and 3.78 ERA in the circle.

Catcher-third baseman Melanie Pfeiffer, who hit .263, was also an all-conference selection earning honorable mention honors.

Five other starters return including catcher-designated player Bridjet Box, who ranked third on the team in home runs with five and RBI with 22 and hit .260 and outfielder Danielle Harcourt, who hit .237 and drove in 21 runs.

Also among the returnees are Ashlie Gardner, who started 32 games at first base and 16 at third and hit .230, outfielder Danielle Hannan, who hit .161 and pitcher Stephanie Morgan, who had a 2-4 record in 15 appearances, including nine starts.

Western Oregon will prepare for its once-again tough conference schedule with several challenging non-conference games. The Wolves are participating in a trio of in-season tournaments. WOU travels to five different states and one Canadian province during its 49-game schedule. The Wolves will face five of the final eight ranked teams in the West Region. Western Oregon has seven doubleheaders at home, beginning on March 7, against Montana State Billings.

The Wolves travel to San Diego for their opener at UCSD this week. The Tritons were picked second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association preseason poll. UC-San Diego returns all but three players from a 2013 squad that went 33-25 overall and placed second in the CCAA with a 24-12 mark. The Tritons qualified for their seventh trip to the NCAA postseason, where they were defeated by host Humboldt State (7-1) and Grand Canyon (8-3) in the first round of the West Regional.

Head coach Patti Gerckens, going into her 22nd season leading the Tritons, welcomes back the bulk of last year's starting lineup, including Daktronics All-West Region Second Team selection Caitlin Brown. The senior catcher/first baseman was an All-CCAA First Team member after hitting .327 with nine home runs, 42 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 2013.

The Tritons also return All-CCAA selections Kirsten Willmon (First Team), Emily McQuaid (Second Team), Callie Grant (Second Team), Taylor Sepulveda (Second Team) and Mya Romero (Second Team) in 2014.

Saturday's doubleheader in San Diego starts at noon, with Sunday's first pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. All four games will have live stats on WOUWolves.com.