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May 1, 2012

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University outfielder Jessica Carey (Sr., Everett) and pitcher Stephanie Fox (Sr., Sammamish/Eastlake) were first-team picks to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-star softball team announced today.

The Vikings placed two on the second-team - third baseman Cheyenne Best (Fr., Sedro-Woolley) and outfielder Meghan Carrillo (So., Prunedale, CA/North Monterey County), who was picked for the second straight season.

WWU outfielder/first baseman Rachelle Berry (Jr., Alger/Burlington-Edison) received honorable mention.

Fox, an infielder in each of her first three years at WWU, returned to the circle and posted a team-best 9-9 record, winning six of eight decisions during one stretch and setting a school record with 29 consecutive scoreless innings. She also led the team in earned run average (2.56), complete games (13) and shutouts (5).

Fox, who played shortstop when she wasn't pitching, hit .250 and had a .969 fielding average with a team-high 114 assists.

Carey was the team leader in batting average (.327), hits (56), doubles (9), runs batted in (25) and sacrifice flies (4). She hit four home runs, setting a school record with homers in three straight games.

Best hit .280, scored a team-high 24 runs and had 110 assists.

Carrillo hit .312 with nine doubles, scoring 18 runs and driving in 18.

Berry had a .313 batting average, driving in 17 runs and scoring 14. She had a .987 fielding average, committing just two errors in 159 chances.

The Vikings finished 17-36 overall and 13-23 in league action.

GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Simon Fraser Sweeps Player, Pitcher of the Year Awards

SPOKANE, Wash. - Simon Fraser first baseman Kelsey Haberl and Clan pitcher Cara Lukawesky have been voted the 2012 GNAC Player-of-the-Year and Pitcher-of-the-Year, respectively.

Saint Martin's, meanwhile, won the GNAC's other three major awards as Rick Noren was voted the GNAC Coach-of-the-Year and Taylor Bakos and Sam Munger earned the GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year awards, respectively.

Haberl led the GNAC in batting average (.465), on-base percentage (.596) and walks (38) and ranked second in slugging (.740) and doubles (17). Her on-base percentage broke the GNAC record of .579 set last year by Samantha Petrich of Central Washington and her walk total was three shy of the conference record.

Lukawesky led the GNAC with 21 wins, in saves with four and shutouts with seven. She also ranked second in strikeouts with 117 and third in ERA allowing 2.38 earned runs per seven innings pitched.

Noren orchestrated the biggest turnaround in GNAC history as the Saints, who were picked to finish last in the GNAC Coaches pre-season poll, posted a record of 33-18, including 24-12 in conference games. SMU's overall record was a 18-game improvement over last year's 9-30 mark and its conference record was a 15-game improvement on their 8-26 record of a year ago.

Noren, who is a 1987 graduate of Western Washington University, now has a 42-48 record in two seasons at Lacey and is 449-193 overall. He previously coached 14 seasons at Pacific Lutheran University.

Two players that played a big role in the turnaround were Bakos and Munger. Bakos had a 9-5 record and a ranked second to teammate Joslyn Eugenio in ERA with a 2.32 average. Munger posted a 16-7 record and had a .402 batting average, splitting her time between the circle and shortstop. She finished second in the GNAC in wins and third in hitting.

The composition of the first team all-conference team reflected the closeness of the race as Montana State Billings edged Simon Fraser by one game and Saint Martin's by two for the conference title.

MSUB, SFU and SMU all placed three players on the GNAC first-team all-star team, while Western Washington earned two first team slots. Western Oregon and Central Washington each had one.

Four players were unanimous first team selections though Haberl was not one of them. She was, however, one of three repeaters from last year's first team including second baseman Lacey McGladrey of Saint Martin's and outfielder Meg Harasymczuk of MSU Billings.

Earning unanimous selections this spring were Lukawesky, Harasymczuk, Saint Martin's third baseman Morgan Klemm and Western Oregon outfielder Amanda Evola.

Also earning first team all-conference honors were Munger, pitcher Stephanie Fox of Western Washington, MSUB catcher Nicole Wilkerson, SFU infielder Leah Riske, outfielders Rose Harrington of MSUB and Jessica Carey of WWU and designated player Elena Carter of Central Washington.

Fifteen players, including Eugenio who earned first team honors in both 2010 and 2011, were selected to the second team. An additional 14 other players were named to the honorable mention list.

2012 GNAC SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

FIRST TEAM: Pitchers - +Cara Lukawesky, SFU (5-11, Jr., Coquitlam, BC); Stephanie Fox, WWU (5-4, Sr., Sammamish, WA). Catcher - Nicole Wilkerson, MSUB (5-6, Jr., Lincoln, CA). First Base - *Kelsey Haberl, SFU (5-7, Sr., Burnaby, BC). Second Base - *Lacey McGladrey, SMU (5-6, So., Bothell, WA). Shortstop - Sam Munger, SMU (5-6, Fr., Everett, WA). Third Base - +Morgan Klemm, SMU (5-5, Sr., Everett, WA). Infield - Leah Riske, SFU (5-8, Sr., Cloverdale, BC). Outfield - *+Meg Harasymczuk, MSUB (5-9, Sr., Spring Creek, NV); +Amanda Evola, WOU (5-7, Fr., Beaverton, OR); Rose Harrington, MSUB (5-3, Jr., Missoula, MT); Jessica Carey, WWU (5-7, Sr., Everett, WA). Designated Player - Elena Carter, CWU (5-9, Jr., Olympia, WA). +Unanimous *First team repeater

SECOND TEAM: Pitchers - Amanda Todd, MSUB (5-5, So., Billings, MT); Jessyka MacDonald, MSUB (5-8, Fr., Billings, MT). Catcher - Elizabeth Beaty, NNU (5-10, Sr., Salem, OR). First Base - Joslyn Eugenio, SMU (5-5, Jr., Kapolei, HI); Emily Osborn, MSUB (5-8, Fr., Las Vegas, NV). Shortstop - Arielle Chao, NNU (5-4, Sr., Victorville, CA); Andrea Bailey, WOU (5-3, Jr., Gresham, OR). Third Base - Cheyenne Best, WWU (5-6, Fr., Sedro Woolley, WA); Carly Lepoutre, SFU (5-6, Jr., Pickering, Ont.). Infield - Liz Jusko, CWU (5-8, Sr., Snohomish, WA). Outfield - Bobbie Lee, MSUB (5-7, Sr., Great Falls, MT); Bre Thomas, CWU (5-3, Sr., Vancouver, WA); Megan Antonovich, SMU (5-8, Sr., Kennewick, WA); Meghan Carrillo, WWU (5-3, So., Prunedale, CA). Designated Player - Annaleisha Parsley, MSUB (5-8, Sr., Lacey, WA).

HONORABLE MENTION: Pitchers - Mary Grace Bywater, MSUB (5-8, Fr., Tualatin, OR); Kelsie Hawkins, SFU (5-8, So., Victoria, BC); Cara Duckworth, NNU (5-5, Sr., Melba, ID). Catchers - Kelsie McGladrey, SMU (5-4, Sr., Bothell, WA); Cassi Ellis, CWU (5-1, Jr., East Wenatchee, WA). Infield - Carrina Wagner, CWU (SS, 5-7, Sr., Tacoma, WA); Taylor Hoke, MSUB (3B, 5-2, Fr., Chehalis, WA); Heidy Wells, CWU (3B, 5-6, Fr., Tacoma, WA); Jourdan Williams, WOU (IF, 5-8, Fr., McMinnville, OR). Outfield - Rachelle Berry, WWU (5-7, Jr., Alger, WA); Baylee Jolliffe, NNU ( 5-4, Jr., Missoula, MT); Kristin Refsland, NNU ( 5-6, Sr., Beaverton, OR); Emily Renfrow, NNU ( 5-5, Sr., Nampa, ID). Designated Player - Tiffany Griffiths, SMU ( 5-2, Sr., Lynnwood, WA).

GNAC SPECIAL AWARDS: Player-of-the-Year - Kelsey Haberl, Simon Fraser (5-7, Sr., Burnaby, BC). Pitcher-of-the-Year - Cara Lukawesky, Simon Fraser (5-11, Jr., Coquitlam, BC). Newcomer-of-the-Year - Taylor Bakos, Saint Martin's (5-6, Jr., Kennewick, WA). Freshman-of-the-Year - Sam Munger, Saint Martin's (5-6, Fr., Everett, WA). Coach-of-the-Year - Rick Noren, Saint Martin's.