MONMOUTH, Ore.—After playing in three separate tournaments in three different states, the Western Oregon softball team will enjoy playing in its home park for the first time this season by welcoming Simon Fraser and Western Washington to town on March 9-10.

Western Oregon (7-3) will open its GNAC slate against Simon Fraser (5-1) on Saturday and will turn around to play Western Washington (10-4, 3-0 GNAC) on Sunday at the WOU Softball Field. Start times for both conference doubleheaders is set for 12 p.m.

ABOUT SFU: Simon Fraser won its first five games of the season before dropping a 10-3 decision to St. Mary's on Feb. 17… SFU's game at Western Oregon will be its first action since that loss for a span of 20 days… The Clan has outscored its opponents 42-to-26 this season… Alex Ogg has provided the bulk of the offense for SFU by hitting .556 this season… Teammate Kate Fergusson has hit for a .435 clip and has scored a team-leading nine runs.  

WOU vs. SFU: Simon Fraser posted a 4-1 record against WOU last season, including a 6-3 win to eliminate WOU from the GNAC Tournament… The team split the doubleheader in Monmouth with Haley Fabian recording a 1-hit shutout in an 8-0 win for the Wolves.

ABOUT WWU: The Vikings will enter the week with a five-game winning streak that includes a four-game sweep at home against MSU Billings… WWU outscored the Yellowjackets, 39-to-10 in the series… The Vikings mercy-ruled MSUB by 10-0 and 8-0 scores in the first day of action between the clubs… Emily Benson is the team's leading hitter through the first 15 games with a .441 batting average that includes a team-leading four homers… Carrying a 2.37 earned-run average, Makinee Sellevold has accounted for the majority of the inning slogged in the circle with 71 of the team's 94 1/3-inning total.

WOU vs. WWU: The Wolves went 4-0 against WWU last season and scored 11 runs in both games of the regular-season finale played in Monmouth on April 29.

WOU SOFTBALL FIELD UPGRADES: The WO Softball Field received dramatic upgrades in the summer of 2018… In addition to new netting and a completely new backstop the entire playing surface received treatment… A Bernhardt Golf Drainage system was installed in the outfield to improve playability in the natural grass area while a Hellas Matrix® Turf was installed in the infield.

FLORIDA RECAP: Playing in Florida for the first time since 2001, WOU went 4-3 while competing at the PFX Athletics Tournament March 1-4… WOU played teams from four different NCAA Division II conferences, including four games 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.