WOU PFX Tournament Schedule (all times EST) Friday, March 1 9:30 a.m. – Kentucky Wesleyan 11:45 a.m. – Missouri-St. Louis Saturday, March 2 9 a.m. – Findley (Ohio) 11:15 a.m. – Minnesota State – Mankato Sunday, March 3 9 a.m. – Tiffin (Ohio) 11:15 a.m. Malone (Ohio) Monday, March 4 6:15 p.m. – The College of Saint Rose (N.Y.)

MONMOUTH, Ore.—Traveling to the eastern time zone for the first time since 2001, the Western Oregon softball team is scheduled to play seven games over a four-day span while competing at the PFX Tournament in Clermont, Florida this week.

Western Oregon (3-0) will play teams from four different NCAA Division II conference, including four contests against members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

WOLVES PERFECT IN VEGAS: Overcoming deficits in all three games, WOU went 3-0 in games at the Las Vegas Desert Stinger on Feb. 1-3. The Wolves opened play with an 8-3 win over Colorado Christian and followed the performance up with a 6-5 win in a 9-inning battle against Cal State Monterey Bay. WOU closed out the weekend with a 7-2 win over No. 7-ranked Chico State.

TOP-10 UPSET: Down 2-0 heading to the 6th, WOU scored seven runs over the final two stanzas to stun No. 7-ranked Chico State in the final game of the Desert Stinger. The Wolves outhit Chico State 8-to-4 with Maddie Mayer tossing four innings of no-hit ball to close out the game and collect the win.

MAYER NAMED GNAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Picking up two wins in the opening week, freshman pitcher Maddie Mayer was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 4. In her collegiate debut, Mayer tossed a 9-inning complete game to help the Wolves to a 6-5 win over Cal State Monterey Bay. Mayer returned by holding the No. 7-ranked Chico State hitless for four innings in a 7-2 WOU win.

WHITAKER ON WATCH LIST: An All-West Region selection last season, senior infielder Ryanne Whitaker was among 50 players tabbed to the NFCA DII National Player of the Year Watch List. Whitaker was the lone player on the list from the GNAC,

PRESEASON GNAC COACHES' POLL: Western Oregon was picked to finish in third place out of eight teams according to the 2019 GNAC Preseason Poll. WOU notched 41 points to trail preseason favorite Northwest Nazarene (61 points) and runner-up Central Washington (59 points). NNU picked up five first-place votes with CWU nabbing the final three first-place picks.

2019 RETURNERS: The Wolves return eight position starters and three pitchers from their 2018 squad. Senior infielder Ryanne Whitaker (Huffman) earned First Team All-GNAC and NFCA All-West Region honors after she finished with a .397 batting average with 37 runs, 26 RBI, and a .517 slugging percentage. Sophomore outfielder Tyler Creach led WOU as a freshman with a .409 batting average and finished with 72 hits to earn First Team All-GNAC and Second Team NFCA All-West Region awards. The lineup also includes returners in senior infielder Cheyanne Rimer, sophomore infielder Sydney Bowers, sophomore outfielder Ayanna Arceneaux and senior pitcher Haley Fabian.

2018 RECAP: Western Oregon went 28-25 overall last season with a 15-13 mark in GNAC play. The Wolves notched a pair of walk-off wins on the final day of the regular season to clinch the No. 4 seed in the GNAC Tournament. The Wolves fell 3-0 to NNU in the opening game of the GNAC Tournament and returned with a 4-2 win to eliminate Central Washington. WOU's season ended with a 6-3 defeat against Simon Fraser.