2007-08 Softball News
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University junior softball player Nikki Franchi (RHP/DP, Los Gatos, CA/Saratoga HS) has been named First Team All-America as a utility player by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The 2008 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America Team for NCAA Division III honored a total of 15 players on the First Team, plus 15 players each on the Second Team and a Third Team.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University right-handed pitcher and designated player Nikki Franchi (Jr., Los Gatos, CA/Saratoga HS) has been named First Team All-West Region for the 2008 season, as selected by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Franchi was chosen as a utility player due to her outstanding hitting and pitching statistics. Katie Peterson (So., Independence, OR/Central HS) of Willamette, who played right field for the Bearcats, was named Second Team All-Region.
SALEM, ORE. -- Nikki Franchi (Jr., RHP/DP, Los Gatos, CA/Saratoga HS) of Willamette University, who led the Northwest Conference with a .518 batting average and earned a 19-4 pitching record, has been selected NWC Softball Player of the Year in voting by the NWC head coaches. Franchi also was named First Team All-NWC, along with fellow Willamette players Liz Gilgan (Sr., SS, Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) and Katie Peterson (So., RF, Independence, OR/Central HS).
FOREST GROVE, ORE. -- Willamette University and Pacific University split a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 29, as the Boxers claimed a 3-1 win in the first game and the Bearcats rallied for a 9-2 victory in the second game, in Northwest Conference action at Sherman/Larkins Stadium. Willamette concluded the regular season at 25-11, 19-9 in the NWC. Pacific moved to 30-8 overall, 19-7 in the Northwest Conference.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University, ranked #24 in NCAA Division III, broke a 5-5 tie on an RBI single by LaShawna Holcomb (Jr., CF, Renton, WA/Hazen HS) with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the Bearcats defeated #3-ranked Linfield College, 6-5, in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday, April 27. The Wildcats won the second game, 7-1, to gain a split at the WU Softball Field.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University's softball doubleheader with arch rival Linfield College at the WU Softball Field on Sunday, April 27 will be broadcast live on the Internet. Full Access Sports will provide the webcast of both games, as the 24th-ranked Bearcats take on the 3rd-ranked Wildcats in Northwest Conference action. Live Stats also will be available for both games.
McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- Linfield College scored three runs in the first inning to take an early lead, as the Wildcats and star pitcher Brittany Miller defeated visiting Willamette University, 3-1, in the first game of a Northwest Conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 26 at the Linfield softball diamond. The Wildcats built a 9-2 lead and held off a late charge by the Bearcats to win the second game, 12-6.
SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University softball team is ranked #24 in the nation in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Poll for NCAA Division III released on April 23. The Bearcats are 23-7 on the season, including 17-5 in the Northwest Conference.
SALEM, ORE. -- Due to heavy rain and windy conditions the doubleheader between Willamette University and Pacific University, originally scheduled to be played in Forest Grove, Ore., on March 1 has been postponed for the second time. The games were initially rescheduled for today (April 23), but the weather has forced an additional postponement.
SALEM, ORE. -- Nicole Wallace (So., C/2B, Roseville, CA/Roseville HS) of Willamette University has been selected as the Northwest Conference Softball Player of the Week for games played April 14-20, 2008. Wallace helped the Bearcats go 4-2 during the week to improve to 23-7 overall, 17-5 in the Northwest Conference.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University, ranked #8 in the West Region of NCAA Division III, put nine runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull away from Whitworth University, 14-4 on the run rule, in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday, April 20 at the WU Softball Field. Whitworth plated five runs in the fifth inning of the second game to take a 9-2 lead on its way to a 10-6 victory.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University swept a Northwest Conference doubleheader from Whitworth University on Saturday, April 19 at the WU Softball Field, winning the first game 17-3 on the run rule in five innings and taking the second game 6-4. The Bearcats upped their record to 22-6, including 16-4 in the NWC. Whitworth ended the day at 13-18 on the season, 10-9 in the NWC.
TACOMA, WASH. -- Willamette University and the University of Puget Sound split a Northwest Conference double-header on Monday, April 14, with each team winning in extra-innings. Willamette won the first game, 4-3, in eight innings. The Loggers won the second game, 9-7, also in eight innings.
The Bearcats hit three home runs during the doubleheader. In the first game, Liz Gilgan (Sr., SS, Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) blasted her fifth homer of the year and LaShawna Holcomb (Jr., CF, Renton, WA/Hazen HS) smacked her sixth homer of the season. In the second game, Franchi hit her team-leading eighth home run of the season, a solo shot in the top of the first inning.
TACOMA, WASH. -- Willamette University trailed in both games, but scored 24 runs on the day, as the Bearcats swept a doubleheader from the University of Puget Sound, 7-2 and 17-7, Saturday, April 12 at the Logger Softball Field. Junior pitcher Nikki Franchi (Los Gatos, CA/Saratoga HS) recorded both wins and also hit for the cycle in the second game.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University's doubleheader at Pacific University, originally scheduled for March 1, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 23 at 5 p.m. (PDT) in Forest Grove, Ore. The doubleheader was initially set to open Pacific's new Sherman/Larkins Stadium, but construction not yet completed, so the teams were going to play on March 1 at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore.