Willamette is Tied for Fourth in NWC Softball Preseason Poll
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University is tied for fourth place in the 2015 Northwest Conference Softball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the NWC head coaches. Linfield College was picked to win its 12th consecutive NWC title.
Bearcats Reached Conference Tournament last Season
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University is tied for fourth place in the 2015 Northwest Conference Softball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the NWC head coaches. Linfield College was picked to win its 12th consecutive NWC title.
The Wildcats received six of eight first place votes and 54 points in the poll. Linfield won the 2014 NWC regular season championship at 25-3 and went on to win the NWC Tournament title. After competing in the NCAA Division III Tournament, the Wildcats finished the year with a 34-9 record.
Pacific University, which ended last season at 26-12 overall and 19-9 in the NWC, was picked second in this year's Preseason Poll. The Boxers earned one first place vote and received 42 points. Third place went to Whitworth University (27-16, 18-10 NWC) with 32 points in the poll.
Willamette and Pacific Lutheran University tied for fourth in the poll with 29 points. Willamette went 18-22 in 2014, including 14-14 in the NWC. The Bearcats reached the NWC Tournament before falling to Linfield and Whitworth. Pacific Lutheran received one first place vote in the poll. The Lutes (16-24, 13-15 NWC) narrowly missed qualifying for the NWC Tournament in 2014.
George Fox University (24-16, 13-15) was sixth in the Preseason Poll with 26 points, while Lewis & Clark College (12-25, 8-20 NWC) was seventh after garnering 12 points. University of Puget Sound (3-31, 2-26 NWC) was eighth with eight points.
Interim Head Coach Kelli Snyder will lead the Bearcats this year. Snyder played four years at Willamette (2010-13) before serving as an assistant coach last season. She is filling in for Damian Williams, who is on a leave of absence this season.
Heather Winslow (Sr., 1B, Oregon City, OR/Oregon City HS) is back for Willamette after earning Second Team All-West Region and First Team All-NWC honors last season. Winslow led the Bearcats with a .420 batting average, .605 slugging percentage and .543 on-base percentage. She also topped WU with 39 runs and tied for the team lead with 12 doubles.
Winslow registered a team-high 302 putouts on defense while achieving a .969 fielding percentage.
Ashley Pender (Jr., 2B, Reno, NV/North Valleys HS), who was named Third Team All-Region and Honorable Mention All-NWC in 2014, also returns. She batted .375 and tied Winslow for the team lead with 12 doubles. Pender earned a team-high 35 RBIs and scored 24 runs. She led the Bearcats with 90 assists on defense.
Other key returning players for Willamette include Erin Norris (Sr., INF, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) and Kayla Rieger (Sr., OF, Anacortes, WA/Anacortes HS). Both were named Second Team All-NWC in 2014. Norris batted .288 with 20 runs and 24 RBIs. She led the Bearcats with 20 walks. Rieger hit .312, scored 16 runs and was 15 for 20 on stolen bases.
In addition to Pender, other returning Honorable Mention All-NWC selections for Willamette are Jenna King (Sr., OF, Camarillo, CA/Adolfo Camarillo HS), Amanda Absher (Sr., C, Elk Grove, CA/Franklin HS) and Jade Smith (So., P, Chico, CA/Chico HS).
King was an impressive 18 for 18 on stolen bases. She achieved a .261 batting average and scored 16 runs for the Bearcats. Absher batted .314 with 18 runs and 18 RBIs. She provided WU with a .967 fielding percentage behind the plate. Smith finished the year with a 2.23 earned run average and a 12-7 record. She struck out 50 batters.
Willamette will open the season with six games in California. The Bearcats will take on Concordia University (Calif.) in a doubleheader in Irvine on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. (PST). WU will then battle Pomona-Pitzer in two games on Friday, Feb. 20 in Claremont at 1 p.m., before taking on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in two games on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 12 p.m.
2015 NWC Softball Preseason Poll
(1st place votes in parentheses)
1. Linfield (6), 54 points, 34-9 overall, 25-3 NWC in 2014
2. Pacific (1), 42 points, 26-12, 19-9 NWC
3. Whitworth, 32 points, 27-16, 18-10 NWC
4. Willamette, 29 points, 18-22, 14-14 NWC
Pacific Lutheran (1), 29 points, 16-24, 13-15 NWC
6. George Fox, 26 points, 24-16, 13-15 NWC
7. Lewis & Clark, 12 points, 12-25, 8-20 NWC
8. Puget Sound, 8 points, 3-31, 2-26
Note: Points were awarded on an 8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. The coaches could not vote for their own teams.
Heather Winslow led Willamette with a .420 batting average and 39 runs scored last season.