Softball Weekly Report

April 22, 2015 www.gnacsports.com (503-305-8756) Contact: Bob Guptill ([email protected]) GNAC Softball: Playoff Pairings Decisions Go Down To Final Weekend GNAC Standings W L *Saint Martin’s 16 4 *Western Washington 13 7 *Montana State Billings 13 7 Western Oregon 12 8 Central Washington 9 11 Simon Fraser 5 15 Northwest Nazarene 2 18 *Clinched post-season berth W 36 24 23 20 18 17 9 L 16 16 18 25 21 26 33 H A N 16-4 8-8 12-4 7-3 9-7 8-6 6-2 9-8 8-8 10-4 5-5 5-16 6-2 6-15 6-4 5-11 6-10 5-6 5-13 2-13 2-7 Those are the same positions those teams occupied in the inaugural poll last week. The poll will eventually determine which five at-large teams join the GNAC, PacWest and CCAA champions in the eight-team regional tournament in May. If the three conference champions all wind up in the top eight in the final poll, the top eight teams will advance to the regional tournament, which will be divided into two four-team sub-regionals. LAST WEEK: Friday – Saint Martin’s 9-12 at Western Oregon 7-8; Walla Walla 1-4 at Northwest Nazarene 9-20. Saturday – Central Washington 1-3 at Saint Martin’s 2-4; Great Falls 2-15 at MSU Billings 3-2. Sunday – Central Washington 1-3 at Western Oregon 2-3; Great Falls 11-7 at MSU Billings 12-3; Simon Fraser 9 at British Columbia 2. Dixie State, which is the defending West Regional champion, is the No. 1 ranked team in the poll for the second week in a row. The GNAC will determine its champion next week in a four-team tournament at Yakima. THIS WEEK: Friday – Western Washington at Central Washington, 1 p.m.; Western Oregon at MSU Billings, 1 p.m.; Saint Martin’s at Northwest Nazarene, 2 p.m. Saturday – Western Oregon at MSU Billings, noon; Saint Martin’s at Northwest Nazarene, noon; Simon Fraser at Western Washington, noon. Sunday – Simon Fraser at Central Washington, 1 p.m. Three teams – Saint Martin’s, Western Washington and Montana State Billings – have secured spots in the tournament. Western Oregon currently has a three-game lead over Central Washington for the fourth and final berth. GNAC Tournament (April 30, May 1-2 at Yakima, Wash.): Thursday - #2 vs. #3, 4:30 p.m.; #1 vs. #4, 7 p.m. Friday – Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 2 p.m.; Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 4:30 p.m.; Loser 3 vs. Winner 4, 7 p.m. Saturday – Winner 5 vs. Winner 3, noon; Winner 5 vs. Winner 3, 2:30 p.m. (if necessary). The Wolves, who hold the tiebreaker advantage, need just one win in a four-game series this Friday and Saturday at MSUB or one loss by CWU, to secure that berth. The Wildcats need to sweep home doubleheaders Friday against Western Washington and Sunday against Simon Fraser to keep alive their hopes. HITTING STREAKS (10 or more): 21 – *Sam Munger, Saint Martin’s. 14 - *Sammy Morris, CWU; Amanda Evola, WOU. 11 - Sam Munger, SMU; Amanda Evola, WOU. 10 – *Bella Rovens, MSUB; Austin Wilkerson, CWU; Lindsay Miller, SMU; Kailyn Campbell, CWU; Sammy Morris, CWU; Kali Patterson, WWU. *Current. Saint Martin’s currently has a three-game lead over MSUB and WWU for the top seed and plays a four-game series Friday and Saturday at Northwest Nazarene to close its regular-season. ALL-TOURNAMENT: MSUB Stinger (Feb. 13-15) – Taylor Hoke, MSUB. CSUS (March 27-29) – Sam Munger, SMU; Makinlee Sellevold, WWU; Kailyn Campbell, CWU. West Region – 1. Dixie State (38-6); 2. Cal State Monterey Bay (41-9); 3. Cal Baptist (37-9); 4. Humboldt State (38-12); 5. Sonoma State (35-16); 6. Saint Martin’s (28-13); 7. Chico State (22-18); 8. Hawaii Hilo (30-16); 9. Cal State East Bay (25-22); 10. Western Washington (24-16). Saints, Vikings Regionally Ranked PORTLAND, Ore. – Saint Martin’s is ranked sixth and Western Washington is ranked 10th in the second NCAA Division II West Regional softball poll of the 2015 season. 1