Coming Up – Corabn (February 24, Portland, Oregon, 3:00 p.m.), Eastern Oregon (February 24, Portland, Oregon, 5:00 p.m.), Northwest (February 25, Portland, Oregon, 3:00 p.m.), Corban (February 25, Portland, Oregon, 5:00 p.m.).
COMPLETE MEDIA GUIDE
Live Stats/Live Video – Live Stats of Saint Martin's Softball Games will be available with links found on smusaints.com. Live Video is TBA on a game-to-game basis. Live stats and video will be produced by the Host School.
Social Media – Follow the Saints on Twitter (@smu_softball) and follow SMU Athletics on Facebook (Saint Martin's Saints), Twitter (SMUAthletics), Instagram (saints_athletics) and YouTube (SMU Athletics).
Cavalier Classic - The Saints travel down to Portland, Oregon for four games in two days in the Cavalier Classic, hosted by Concordia University. Tournament information, including a complete schedule and stats can be found on gocugo.com.
Saints Travel To California For Two Doubleheaders - Behind an eight run sixth inning, followed by a shutout pitching gem, Saint Martin's swept Holy Names 13-3, and 5-0, to pick up two road wins on Saturday.
Kim Nelson came through in the clutch, hitting a go-ahead three run home run to give Saint Martin's (3-4) a lead in the first game; followed by an eight run offensive explosion in the sixth led to the 13-3 victory over Holy Names (0-3). Nelson and
Jessica O'Toole combined for the first shutout of the season, with a timely double by
Nicki DeHan to propel SMU to the 5-0 win.
Despite two strong pitching performances, the Saints fell in both games of a doubleheader to Academy of Art, 4-2 and 4-1, to wrap up their road trip to California.
Kim Nelson and
Lauren Maley combined to throw all 14 innings in the doubleheader, allowing only four earned runs all day; the Saints' (3-6) struggled to break through the Academy of Art's (6-4) pitching, which limited SMU to three runs.
Lights Out Pitching Staff – The Saints led the GNAC in earned run average by an impressive amount. SMU has posted a 2.10 team ERA, over one run better than second place Concordia. The Saints ranked 29th best in the NCAA.
Nelson Controls The Plate – In over 30 innings of work,
Kim Nelson has only allowed one walk. Nelson currently is posting a 8.0 K/BB ratio, striking out eight batters this season.
Diuco Picks Up Right Where She Left Off – After being named to the 2017 GNAC first team as an unanimous selection last year, Diuco hit .438 in the Desert Stinger. Collecting seven hits in 16 at-bats, Diuco also caused havoc in the base paths, going 5-for-5 in stolen base opportunities, raising her stolen base percentage to 90 percent in her career.
Lindsay Miller Chasing Record Books – Entering the year, Miller was only 33 hits away from 200 in her career. Only six Saints have reached the 200-hit mark. On the year, Miller has 11 hits and is now 22 hits away from history.
Kim Nelson Closing In On History – Nelson is eyeing two milestones this season, the 500-inning mark and 50-win mark. Only one Saint has reached the 500-innings and 50+ win mark in their career (Sam Munger). Nelson entered the season with 36 wins and 420.1 innings pitched. So far, Nelson has won two games, and has pitched 33.0 innings meaning she is 14 wins and 46.2 innings away from both milestones.
Freshman Devyn Connolly Impresses In Las Vegas – Hitting in the middle of the order, Connolly provided some much need quality at-bats. In the Desert Stinger, Connolly went 5-for-16 (.313 avg) with two doubles and four RBIs, both most on the team.
GNAC Recap – Simon Fraser holds the top spot; however, they have only played three games, winning all three. Concordia is in second with an 8-5 record, followed by Central Washington at 6-4. Montana State Billings and Western Oregon are both at .500 on the season at 8-8 and 7-7 respectively. Northwest Nazarene (7-10), Western Washington (4-7) and Saint Martin's (3-6) round out the standings.
Position Breakdown –
Outfield:
Taylor Wolf,
Regan Byrd,
Alyssa French,
Lindsay Miller,
Courtney Baird,
Emily Baca,
Lauren Diuco,
Emery Norwood
Infield:
Macy Uyehara,
Tessani Dixon,
Nicki DeHan,
Sabrina Hicks,
Paige Miller
Catcher:
Devyn Connolly,
Julia Lucas,
Kylie Lopez
Pitchers:
Jessica O'Toole,
Lauren Maley,
Kim Nelson,
Lindsay Miller
Preseason Coaches' Poll –
| Pos. |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Overall
Record |
GNAC Record
(Place) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Central Washington (6) |
34-15 |
20-8 (1st) |
59 |
| 2. |
Western Washington |
34-19 |
19-9 (2nd) |
51 |
| 3. |
Northwest Nazarene (1) |
23-27 |
13-15 (5th) |
42 |
|
Western Oregon (1) |
29-24 |
14-14 (4th) |
42 |
|
Saint Martin's |
25-19 |
17-11 (3rd) |
42 |
| 6. |
Montana State Billings |
16-33 |
10-18 (7th) |
21 |
| 7. |
Concordia |
19-28 |
11-17 (6th) |
16 |
| 8. |
Simon Fraser |
12-32 |
8-20 (8th) |
15 |
