BURNABY, B.C. – While the official start to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule begins this week, the Western Oregon University softball team has already had the chance to play six games against conference opponents over the past few weeks. The Wolves will travel to Canada this weekend to play Simon Fraser in a pair of GNAC doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, starting at noon each day.
WOU (13-8) has faced Montana State Billings, Western Washington and Saint Martin's over the past six games with each game counting as a non-conference game. The Wolves rolled to a sweep of the Yellowjackets by outscoring MSUB, 18-2. After falling just short in a doubleheader against the Vikings, WOU came back to take the second game from the Saints in dominating fashion by a score of 10-0.
Logan Carlos is off to a great start this season hitting .408 with 31 hits, 17 runs, five doubles, four triples, three home runs and 19 RBI. She leads the team in average, hits, runs, triples and is tied for the team lead in doubles. Maddie Doig is hitting .379 with 22 hits, 12 runs, five doubles, a triple, two home runs and five RBI. She is also tied for the team lead in doubles. Zoie Recolan is hitting .377 with 20 hits, six runs, five doubles, a triple and eight RBI. Recolan is tied for the team lead with Carlos and Doig with five doubles apiece. Natalie Willoughby leads the team in the power numbers blasting nine home runs and 22 RBI, all while hitting .375 with 21 hits, 21 runs and three doubles. Sophie Franklin is hitting .297 with 11 hits, 10 runs, two doubles, a triple and eight RBI. She also adds two stolen bases. Kirah McGlothan holds a .283 average with 17 hits, 14 runs, four doubles, a home run and 13 RBI. McGlothan adds a pair of stolen bases. Kate Ronning is hitting .281 with 16 hits, 13 runs and nine RBI. Erica Soliz is hitting .500 in 16 at-bats this season, driving in six runs. McKenzie Westphal has six RBI and is hitting .278. As a team, WOU is hitting .308 with 167 hits, 120 runs, 29 doubles, eight triples, 15 home runs and 108 RBI. They have gone 10-14 in stolen base attempts. Opponents have a .259 average with 134 hits, 80 runs, 21 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 69 RBI, while going 27-31 in stolen base attempts.
In the circle, Chelsea Smith is 7-1 in 45.2 innings of work this season, holding a 3.07 ERA collecting 45 strikeouts. Maddie Mayer has the lowest ERA on the team at 2.91 in 33.2 innings, going 4-2 with 24 strikeouts. She also has a save on the season. Reilly Tidwell has a 3.06 ERA in 32 innings, going 2-2 with 21 strikeouts. Nicki Derrick and Soliz each have saves on the season. Jada young has also pitched in eight innings this year. As a staff, WOU has a 3.82 ERA in 132 innings, coming away with 101 strikeouts to 70 walks. Opponents have a 5.17 ERA in 131.1 innings, tallying 81 strikeouts to 71 walks.
In terms of GNAC rankings, Carlos leads the conference in hits, triples, total bases and is fourth in runs scored, tied for fifth in home runs and second in RBI. Willoughby leads the GNAC in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and tied for the lead in runs scored. She also ranks second in total bases, fourth in walks and fifth in on-base percentage. Doig is fourth in the GNAC in hits, with Recolan coming in sixth. In runs scored, McGlothan is sixth and Ronning is seventh. Doig ranks fifth in total bases. Bella Valdes is tied for sixth in walks. Smith is tied for the GNAC lead in wins, while Mayer is tied for third. Smith is fourth in the conference in innings pitched, with Mayer tied for eighth and Tidwell in 10th. Smith is second in strikeouts and both Mayer and Smith are tied for seventh in appearances. Smith is tied for second in complete games. Smith, Tidwell and Mayer are in the top-10 in opponents batting average against with Smith fourth, Tidwell fifth and Mayer eighth.
Simon Fraser is 5-6 overall on the season and have played all 11 games away from home this year. SFU wasn't able to play their GNAC games this past weekend at Montana State Billings as the games were canceled due to weather. They last played on Feb. 27 against Saint Martin's in games that were played in Ellensburg. Saint Martin's won the first game, 12-10, in nine innings and then the second game was suspended due to darkness. SFU played two games before that against Central Washington sweeping the doubleheader.
Janique Balcaen leads SFU with a .441 average, coming away with 15 hits, eight runs, five doubles, a home run and nine RBI. Alex Ogg is hitting .429 with 18 hits, 11 runs, two doubles and four RBI. Chelsea Hotner is hitting .425 with 17 hits, 13 runs, six doubles and 10 RBI. Rebecca Kirkpatrick is hitting right at .400 on the season with 10 hits, five runs, two doubles and eight RBI. As a team, SFU is hitting .377 with 125 hits, 85 runs, 35 doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 77 RBI. They have gone 11-12 on stolen base attempts. Opponents are hitting .343 with 113 hits, 88 runs, 18 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 75 RBI. Opponents are 16-18 in stolen base attempts.
In the circle, Makayla Benz leads the team with a 5.60 ERA in just 10 innings pitched. Anissa Zacharczuk is 4-3 with a 6.45 ERA in 38 innings and Julia Hansen adds the other win, going 1-2 with a 6.76 ERA in 19.2 innings. As a staff, Simon Fraser holds a 7.34 ERA in 68.2 innings, posting 39 strikeouts to 24 walks. Opponents have a 6.52 ERA in 67.2 innings, coming away with 36 strikeouts to 34 walks.
WOU is 26-17 against Simon Fraser since 2002, posting a 13-7 record in Canada during that time. The Wolves are 6-4 over the past 10 meetings and have won the past four. During the 2019 season, WOU won both games in Monmouth by scores of 6-3 and 9-3 and then won a pair of close games in Burnaby by scores of 2-1 and 3-2.
Live video and stats will be available for the games at Simon Fraser. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here.
