MONMOUTH, Ore.— The Western Oregon softball team will be making its final regular season road trip of the season by facing Western Washington and Simon Fraser this week.
Western Oregon Softball (24-13, 12-8 GNAC)
April 19, 2019 • at Western Washington • 1 p.m. • Bellingham, Wash.
April 20, 2019 • at Simon Fraser • 12 p.m. • Burnaby, B.C.
Live Stats/Video: gnac.tv
ABOUT WWU (24-13, 13-7 GNAC): Despite dropping four of its last five games, the Vikings hold a slim lead for the No. 2 position in the GNAC standings... WWU split a home doubleheader against Simon Fraser last Tuesday... WWU holds the GNAC's No. 3-ranked offense with a .311 batting average but lead the league with a 2.96 ERA... Emily Benson has provided the biggest spark at the plate with a .462 batting average... Benson leads the GNAC with 13 home runs, 43 RBI, and a .942 slugging percentage... The Vikings rely on a pitching combination of Makinlee Sellevold and Shearyna Labasan... Sellevold is ranked No. 2 in the GNAC with a 2.28 ERA while Labasan is No. 5 with a 3.09 ERA... With 153 2/3 innings of work this season, Sellevold has pitched more than 60 percent of the team's 250 1/3 total innings... Sellevold has started 24 of the team's 37 games while Labasan has been called on for 10 starts.
WOU vs. WWU: Western Washington holds a 57-41 advantage over the Wolves since 2001... WOU is 19-24 in Bellingham over that span... The teams split a series in Monmouth on March 10.
ABOUT SFU (9-22, 4-16 GNAC): The Clan are tied for seventh place in the GNAC standings entering the week and are one loss away from being eliminated from the conference tournament... SFU has managed a split in each of its last three series, including a pair of 2-1 decisions at Western Washington on April 9... SFU is hitting at a .296 clip this season for fifth out of eight teams in the GNAC while its pitching staff is last in the league with a 6.25 ERA... Alex Ogg is one of the best hitters in the country this season with a .485 batting average... Teammate Amanda Janes has slugged six of the team's nine home runs... Jessica Fasolino has made 16 of the team's 22 starts and holds a 5.97 ERA and a 5-12 record.
WOU vs. SFU: The Wolves swept SFU in Monmouth on March 9... WOU defeated the Clan 6-3 in the opener and returned with a 9-3 win in the nightcap... Overall, WOU holds a slight edge, 24-20, in the series since 2001... WOU is 11-7 while playing in Burnaby.
WOU IN DII STATS: The Wolves are ranked No. 19 in NCAA DII with a .332 batting average... Ayanna Arceneaux is ranked No. 12 nationally with a .490 batting average and No. 30 in NCAA DII with a .532 on-base percentage.
WOU IN GNAC STATS: The Wolves hold the GNAC's No. 2 batting average at .335 for the season... The Wolves' pitching staff is also second in the league with a 3.13 ERA... Three Wolves are in the GNAC's top 10 for batting average with Ayanna Arceneaux (1st, .490), Ryanne Whitaker (7th, .413), and Cheyanne Rimer (10th, .365) among the conference leaders... Maddie Mayer and Haley Fabian are ranked No. 3-4 on the conference leaderboard in ERA... Mayer holds a 2.66 ERA to Fabian's 2.93 ERA this season.
10+ HIT STREAKS: Four Wolves have registered 10-game hitting streaks this season... Jenna Kelly provided the longest streak at 13 games while Ayanna Arceneaux hit safely in 12 straight contests... Ryanne Whitaker and Cheyanne Rimer each posted 11-game streaks earlier this season... Arceneaux has reached base in a team-best 20 consecutive games.
MIGHTY MAYER: In a stretch that included three straight shutouts, freshman pitcher Maddie Mayer has won six consecutive starts from the circle since March 25... Mayer held her opponents scoreless for 27 straight innings before Concordia broke the string with a single run in the top of the 2nd on April 14... For her efforts, Mayer was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week on April 15 after going 3-0 in the week with a 1.84 ERA.
ARCENEAUX AMONG ALL-TIMERS: Now qualified for several of the school's all-time career leaders after crossing more than 200 at bats during her career, sophomore Ayanna Arceneaux is now listed in the school's all-time rankings in a trio of offensive categories... For her career, Arceneaux holds the school's No. 2 all-time batting average (.413) and No. 2 on-base percentage (.448)... In addition, her current career slugging percentage (.574) is the No. 4 mark in school history... Her 2019 averages in both batting average and on-base percentage currently represent the school's single-season records.
SARGENT HITS 400: With a 7-5 win in the opener over Concordia on April 14, WOU head coach Lonny Sargent notched his 400th career win as a collegiate skipper... In his 7th season in Monmouth, Sargent holds a 194-163 record with the Wolves... Before arriving at Western Oregon, Sargent tallied 175 wins while at Mt. Hood CC and 31 victories at Utah State... Sargent is ranked No. 2 in school history in career wins behind Pam Knox... Knox tallied 226 wins from 2003-12 and is also the GNAC all-time record holder.
STEADY STARTERS: Ayanna Arceneaux (LF) and Cheyanne Rimer (3B) are the lone Wolves to start all 37 games at the same position this season... Ryanne Whitaker has also logged 37 starts with 35 starts at second base, one at shortstop and was as the designated hitter... Sydney Bowers (SS) and Tyler Creach (CF) have started the same position in 36 of the team's 37 games.
WOU WINS RECORD: Pitching a 5-inning complete game on March 13 against Northwest Christian, WOU senior Haley Fabian collected her 33rd career win in the red and white to set the all-time school record (NCAA DII era)… Christina Cooke held the previous record with 32 wins from 2005-2008… Fabian now has a 38-23 overall record for WOU and also holds the school's save record at five.
FABIAN RANKS: In addition to the WOU wins records, Haley Fabian is ranked in WOU's all-time top 5 in several other pitching totals, including: complete games (No. 2, 40), appearances (No. 3, 83), starts (No. 3, 61), innings (No. 3, 396.2) and strikeouts (No. 3, 274).
RIMER POWER: Senior Cheyanne Rimer is represented in several of WOU's all-time career top-10 offensive categories… Rimer holds the school's No. 7 slugging percentage (.518), No. 7 mark for home runs (16) and No. 9 mark in career doubles (28).
WHITAKER WHEELS: With two stolen bases against San Francisco State on March 30, senior Ryanne Whitaker set WOU's all-time career record… Whitaker surpassed previous co-record holders Val King (48, 2001-03) and Tyler Sutherland (48, 2007-10) and now has 56 total stolen bases in her career… Whitaker's .875 success rate (56-of-64) on the base paths is good for No. 2 all-time… Marissa Card holds the school record at .939 (46-of-49) set from 2002-04... Whitaker's 19 stolen bases this season is a career high for a single season and is the fifth highest total in school history... Kelsie Gardner holds the single-season school record with 24 thefts in 2017.
TIDWELL TOSSES SHUTOUT: Freshman
Reilly Tidwell hurled WOU's first shutout of the season with a 2-hitter against Northwest Christian on March 13… Tidwell struck out four and walked three in the 8-0 win.
WOU SOFTBALL FIELD UPGRADES: The WOU 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.
GNAC OPENER: The Wolves recorded a 3-1 record in the opening week of GNAC play on March 9-10...The Wolves posted a sweep against Simon Fraser on March 9 with 6-3 and 9-3 scores... WOU went on to win the opening game against Western Washington on the following day before falling 10-2 in the final game of the weekend.
RECORD RBI DAY FOR CREACH: WOU centerfielder
Tyler Creach went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a career-best seven RBI in the second game against Simon Fraser on March 9... Creach belted a solo homer to lead off the 1st for the Wolves and returned with a grand slam in the 2nd inning... Batting again with the bases loaded in the 3rd inning, Creach sliced a single to plate two more runners... One RBI away from tying the WOU and GNAC record, the Wolves loaded the bases for Creach yet again in the 4th inning but SFU forced an infield pop-up to retire Creach for the only time in the game.
BACK-TO-BACK(S): The Wolves connected on back-to-back home runs in both games against Western Washington on March 10... In the first game against the Vikings,
Cheyanne Rimer and
Jenna Kelly opened the 2nd inning with solo shots while
Sydney Bowers and Rimer went yard to begin the 4th inning of the nightcap.
PITCHING OPTIONS: Five different WOU pitchers recorded a win during the team's first 10 wins of the season...
Haley Fabian leads the club with 86 innings of work and has a 10-3 record this season...
Maddie Mayer is next up with 73 2/3 innings from the circle and has a 9-2 mark.
TAKING THREE: Five different players have recorded a triple so far this season for WOU while the Wolves did not allow a triple until the team's 18th game of the season... WOU has an 15-4 edge over its opponents in three-baggers....
Ayanna Arceneaux and
Ryanne Whitaker share the GNAC with four triples this season and is three shy of Lydia Foster's school record of seven set in 2005.
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 BREAK INTO TOP 25: Picking up 35 points, Western Oregon broke into the NFCA Coaches' Poll with a No. 24 ranking on March 20… Ranked No. 9 in NCAA DII, UC San Diego (26-7) is the top team from the West Region... In all, the West Region landed three teams in the top 25 with Concordia Irvine (No. 15) and Sonoma State (No. 2) also receiving national recognition.
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... Senior
Ryanne Whitaker led the team with two triples, both of which took place on opening day of the Desert Stinger. .
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 out-hit Chico State 8-4 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 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.
