Asaro and Shields Receive First Team All-Northwest Conference Honors

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University softball players Mallory Asaro (Sr., SS, Rocklin, CA/Rocklin HS) and Alex Shields (Sr., C, Lake Forest, CA/El Toro HS) have been chosen First Team All-Northwest Conference for the 2017 season as selected by the NWC head coaches. Jocelyn Glasgo (Fr., P/OF, Rochester, WA/Tumwater HS) and Darian Gibson (So., OF, Newport Beach, CA/Calvary HS) of the Bearcats were named Second Team All-NWC, while Taiana Creekmur (Fr., C, Honolulu, HI/St. Francis HS) was chosen Honorable Mention All-NWC.

"I'm excited for them," Willamette Head Coach Damian Williams said. "They all worked hard and are deserving of the honors."

Overall, 39 athletes were named to the 2017 All-Northwest Conference Softball Team. Fourteen players were named to the First Team, with 14 players on the Second Team and 11 athletes receiving Honorable Mention.

Linfield College outfielder Cheyenne Fletcher was chosen NWC Player of the Year. Madi Perez from Whitworth University was named NWC Pitcher of the Year. Outfielder Kinsey McNaught of Whitworth was selected as the NWC Freshman of the Year. Whitworth Head Coach Cristal Brown was chosen NWC Coach of the Year.

The Bearcats earned a 14-20 overall record this season and went 12-16 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette finished fifth in the NWC standings. The Bearcats pounded out 72 extra-base hits with 43 doubles, six triples and 23 home runs. WU players were successful on 76 of 90 stolen base attempts.

First Team All-Northwest Conference

Mallory Asaro (Sr., SS) received First Team All-NWC honors for the first time after being named Honorable Mention All-NWC in 2016. She led Willamette with a .384 batting average and was the only Bearcat to start all 34 games.

She also ranked first on the team with 43 hits, 112 at bats, 26 RBIs, 11 doubles, two triples and a.652 slugging percentage. She was second on the team with five home runs and a .444 on-base percentage. She scored 18 runs. Asaro's slugging percentage ranks seventh all-time for the Bearcats.

Asaro topped the Willamette defensive chart with 62 assists. She also earned 59 putouts and contributed to five of the team's 14 double plays.

She completed her four years at Willamette with a .321 career batting average, 94 hits and 293 at bats, while playing in 106 games (99 starts). She scored 42 runs and recorded 52 RBIs. She ranks ninth all-time at WU with 25 doubles. Asaro earned 33 extra-base hits in her career, including six home runs. She registered 251 putouts and 171 assists on defense. Her combined batting average as a junior and a senior was .369.

Alex Shields (Sr., C) was chosen First Team All-NWC for the first time this year as an at-large selection. She was named Second Team All-NWC as a junior in 2016. This spring, she hit .365 and ranked third in the NWC with a .460 on-base percentage.

Shields crossed the plate 17 times and drove in 15 runs, while hitting six doubles, one triple and two home runs. She led the NWC and was 88th in NCAA Division III with 18 stolen bases and was caught stealing just two times. She registered 85 putouts and 22 assists on defense with just one error and a strong .991 fielding percentage.

In her career, Shields saw action in 120 games and made 94 starts. She achieved a .316 career batting average to go with a .396 career on-base percentage. She smacked 23 doubles, drove in 51 runs and scored 42 times. She was 24 of 27 on stolen bases. Her defensive totals included 237 putouts, 43 assists with a .976 fielding percentage.

Second Team All-Northwest Conference

Darian Gibson (So., LF) earned All-NWC honors for the first time as an at-large selection to the Second Team. She provided the Bearcats with a .374 batting average, and belted five doubles, one triple and four home runs. She was second on the team with 20 run scored and recorded 14 RBis. She registered a .566 slugging percentage and a .417 on-base percentage.

She saw action in 32 games with 31 starts this season. She earned 50 putouts on defense. In a doubleheader against Whitworth on March 12, she went 5 for 8 with three home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs.

Gibson's two-year totals with the Bearcats feature a .351 batting average, 23 runs and 16 RBIs. She has played in a total of 43 games, including 34 starts.

Jocelyn Glasgo (Fr., RHP/OF) earned Second Team All-NWC recognition as a utility player. She contributed to Willamette by competing as a pitcher and a designated player. She finished second on the team with a .380 batting average and was 6 for 6 on stolen bases.

While playing in 21 games with 17 starts, she drove in 11 runs and scored eight times. She hit three doubles and two home runs. She had a .560 slugging percentage and a .436 on-base percentage.

Glasgo made 19 appearances as a relief pitcher. She registered a 3-2 record and tied for 17th in NCAA Division III with three saves. She struck out 25 batters in 24 innings, and allowed only five walks.

Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference

Taiana Creekmur (Fr., DP) was chosen Honorable Mention All-Conference as a designated player. She played in 31 games and made 16 starts. She provided a .246 batting average with 10 runs scored and 15 RBIs.  She hit two doubles and two home runs.

Creekmur supplied the game-winning hit with a walk-off, two-run double to left center with two outs in the seventh inning for a 5-4 victory over George Fox University on April 9. She went 2 for 2 with a homer, a run and four RBIs against Lewis & Clark College on April 2.