Team Previews
(By Order of Seed)
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| Â Â Â #1 Concordia University Irvine |
ConcBall At Its Finest
The CUI softball team enters the regional tournament on a nine-game winning streak after going 4-0 in the Automatic Qualifier Pod Series against Dominican and Hawai'i Hilo. Ranked No. 11 nationally in the NFCA poll for the past two weeks, the Eagles are led by All-American pitcher Callie Nunes who was recently named PacWest Pitcher of the Year for the third time in her career. Nunes is 11-3 and leads the Eagles in wins, strikeouts, complete games and saves this season. She also owns the school records for career strikeouts (over 700 and counting) and career saves, while ranking second all-time in career wins. Second baseman McKinsey Thorpe was named PacWest Player of the Year, and enters the tourney leading her team in many categories including batting average (.364), hits and steals (14). In the heart of the order, Missy Nemeth and Sydney Sprinkle have each crushed seven home runs, while freshman shortstop Rylie Rohr has sent six over the fence. The Eagles are a combined 8-8 against teams in the regional tournament (5-7 vs Biola; 2-0 vs Hawai'i Hilo and 1-1 vs NNU).
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| Â Â Â Â #2 Biola University |
Reaching New Heights
The Biola Eagles posted an impressive 19-13 campaign in 2021, landing in second place in the PacWest Southern California pod. In her third season at the helm, Biola head coach Nikki Udria was recognized as the PacWest Coach of the Year. BU pitcher Paige Austin led the way on the field for Biola with 10 wins and 131 strikeouts to earn an All-PacWest First-Team selection. At the plate, Ruth Munoz ended the season with a splash, hitting her first collegiate home run with a three-run walkoff long ball. Biola also went 7-5 vs. CUI this season, which was the only other regional tournament team the Eagles have faced so far this year.
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| Â Â Â Â #3 Northwest Nazarene University |
One if by Day and Two if by Nighthawks
The Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks have enjoyed arguably the best season in program history in 2021, entering the regional with an overall record of 30-12 and an 11-5 mark in conference play, good enough to claim the GNAC regular season title for the second time in school history. NNU has been in and out of the NFCA Top 25 all season, either No. 25 or receiving votes in every poll for the last two months. The Nighthawks rank in the top 20 nationally in batting average, hits, doubles, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and shutouts. Senior catcher Brittany Genuardi was named the GNAC Player of the Year and First Team All-Region. One of the best players in NNU history, Genuardi owns the program career records for homers, RBI, and walks, and is currently second in runs scored, hits, and doubles. Freshman pitcher/utility Sidney Booth was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Region, leading the region in wins, strikeouts, and strikeout-to-walk ratio, and also is first in RBI while batting in the cleanup spot. Sophomore outfielder Maia McNicoll leads the region in homers and was named to both the GNAC and West Region First Teams. Rich Wagner was also named the GNAC Coach of the Year for the second time during his tenure. The Nighthawks are 4-4 against the other teams in this year's tournament (3-3 vs WWU; 1-1 vs CUI).
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| Â Â Â Â #4 Western Washington University |
The Viking Way
The Western Washington University softball team is making its fifth NCAA Division II West Regional appearance receiving the automatic bid from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after winning the league tournament. WWU enters the regional with a 23-12 record and is led by a pitching staff that has recorded a 2.31 team ERA. Senior Anna Kasner is an All-West Region selection in the circle going 13-3, 1.62 ERA with 153 strikeouts and junior shortstop Tatum Dow also earned All-Region First Team honors with a .449 batting average, seven doubles, six home runs and 26 RBI. The Vikings are led by third-year head coach Sheryl Gilmore. WWU was also the 1998 NAIA National Champions in their final season before moving to the NCAA level. WWU enters the tournament a combined 8-6 against other teams in this year's regional field (5-3 vs CWU; 3-3 vs NNU).
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| Â Â Â Â #5 University of Hawai'i at Hilo |
Live Long and Prosper
The Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans (17-11) head to the NCAA Division II West Region tournament for the first time since 2013 - after just missing qualifying in 2018 and 2019. The Vulcans have seven seniors on this veteran roster, led by three-time All-PacWest shortstop Kiarra Lincoln (.367, 12 doubles). Second Team All-West Region selection Leah Gonzales had the best ERA in the PacWest during the regular season (1.27) and is 7-2 on the year. Under the direction of head coach Callen Perreria, who is in his 25th season, the Vulcans have a long storied history of softball success, having produced 32 winning seasons in 34 years of existence. The Vulcans are 0-2 this season against CUI, which is the only tournament team they have faced thus far. Both those contests were decided by just one run during the PacWest Automatic Qualifier round-robin tournament, which was hosted by Dominican last week.
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| Â Â Â Â #6 Central Washington University |
'Cats On The Prowl
Led by Theresa Moyle and Samantha Stanfield, the Central Washington Wildcats finished second in the GNAC this season. The Crimson and Black finished their regular season campaign with a 17-14 record, which included a 9-7 mark in conference play. Moyle's .380 batting average leads an offense which posted a .326 average as a unit. The Wildcats have clubbed 77 extra base hits, including a Division II-leading 24 triples, with Harlee Carpenter finishing second in DII with seven triples. In the circle, Stanfield led the 'Cats with a 3.05 ERA over 65 innings. The right-hander struck out 49 hitters and held the opposition to a .254 batting average. The 'Cats are 3-5 against Western Washington this season, which is the only regional tournament team they have faced already in 2021.
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