NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Oregon University softball team and Northwest Nazarene will see a lot of each other over the next two weeks as the teams will play eight straight games against each other starting this week in Idaho. The Wolves and Nighthawks will play four non-conference games this Friday and Saturday in Nampa and then return to Monmouth on Apr. 2-3 to play four GNAC games.
WOU enters the week at 4-4 overall and 1-3 in GNAC play having opened conference play this past weekend against Western Washington. This will be the second time this season the Wolves have played a GNAC team, but count the games as non-conference, having played Central Washington on Mar. 13-14.
This will be the first road games of the season for the Wolves having played the first eight games in Monmouth. Zoie Recolan holds the top average on the team at .350 with seven hits, two doubles and two RBI. Kirah McGlothan and Hannah Stewart are right behind hitting .286 with each tallying six hits. McGlothan has three doubles, a home run and three RBI, while Stewart has a double and an RBI, along with no strikeouts and one walk. Sydney Bowers adds a .250 average with five hits, a triple, a home run and two RBI. Other top averages in the early part of the season include Karly Tiedeman who is 1-1 with a double so far. Aleya Turner adds a .333 average with five hits, a double and an RBI. Bella Valdes is hitting .286 with two hits, a double and an RBI. Kiley Lynn started all four games at third base this past week and is off to a .273 average at the plate with three hits. As a team, WOU is hitting .231 with 45 hits, 10 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 12 RBI.
In the circle, Nicki Derrick leads the way with a 3.00 ERA in 9.1 innings of work. She is already 2-0 on the season in six appearances and has walked just five batters to go with seven strikeouts. Reilly Tidwell pitched in three of the four games against Western Washington and has a 3.20 ERA in 15.1 innings. She has appeared in four games that includes two starts. Chandler Bishop started the opener of the series vs. WWU and has a 3.71 ERA in 17 innings. She has pitched in three games (all starts). Jada Young has tossed 8.2 innings and is 2-0 on the season in three appearances (two starts). She has tallied seven strikeouts to just four walks. Maddie Mayer has thrown 3.2 innings in three appearances and has a save to go along with six strikeouts to five walks. As a staff, WOU has a 4.02 ERA in 54 innings, recording 33 strikeouts.
WOU ranks third in the GNAC and 52nd nationally in double plays turned per game (0.38). Third in the GNAC in triples per game (0.12) and third in the GNAC in win-loss percentage (.500).
Individually, McGlothan ranks third in the GNAC in doubles per game (0.38). Mayer and Tidwell are tied for the GNAC lead and tied for 49th nationally in saves (1). Stewart is tied for first nationally and in the GNAC in toughest to strikeouts (0.0). Bowers is third in the GNAC and 76th nationally in triples per game (0.12) and ranks fourth in the GNAC and 97th nationally in overall triples (1). Young is fifth in the GNAC in WHIP (1.38).
Northwest Nazarene is receiving votes in the NFCA National Poll this week as they've started the season 14-2 overall and 4-0 in GNAC play. The Nighthawks have won eight straight sweeping Saint Martin's this past weekend to open GNAC play and then defeated MSU Billings in four straight the week before in non-conference play. The only losses NNU has so far are to Eastern Oregon and Whitworth, winning both of those series by 3-1 marks.
Brittany Genuardi leads the team with a .537 average, collecting seven doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI. Sidney Booth has a .500 average with three doubles, two triples, three home runs and 14 RBI. Abigail Gagnon is also hitting over .500 as she is right at .500 with three doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. Three other regulars in the lineup are currently hitting over .400. As a team, NNU is hitting .408 with 175 hits, 31 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 119 RBI.
In the circle, Booth leads the way with a 1.15 ERA in 48.2 innings, going 7-0. She has 64 strikeouts to just eight walks. Hensley is 4-1 with a 2.97 ERA in 30.2 innings, posting 25 strikeouts to just three walks. Jackie Vargas also has seen a few starts going 3-0 in 18 innings. She has 18 strikeouts to 11 walks. As a staff, NNU has a 2.79 ERA in 103 innings, tallying 108 strikeouts to just 25 walks.
Since 2002, WOU holds a 65-25 series record as the teams didn't play in 2020. The last meeting came in the GNAC Championships in 2019 with NNU taking the 3-0 victory. Over the last 10 meetings, NNU is 7-3 during that time. WOU is 37-13 on the road and 24-9 at home in the series.
WOU and NNU will play doubleheaders on Friday starting at 1 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. Both starts times are Pacific. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here.
