PACWEST SOFTBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK

IRVINE, Calif. -- Academy of Art won all seven games it played in last week, including a perfect 5-0 record at the Tournament of Champions to tie for first place at the largest West Region Tournament of the softball season.
 
The Urban Knights opened the week with two wins over defending West Region Champion Humboldt State. They went on to defeat No. 13 Sonoma State, 3-0 to start the Tournament of Champions. Academy of Art also had shutout wins over Cal State San Bernardino and defending GNAC Champion Western Washington.
 
Freshman Brooke Larsen tossed 21.2 innings with no earned runs allowed for four wins and two shutouts. Against No. 13 Sonoma State, Larsen threw a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts. She is now 14-2 on the season with a 1.00 ERA.
 
Over the last eight days, Chaminade has more than doubled its win total on the season thanks to a breakout performance by freshman Jackie Najera. She had 19 hits last week as the Silverswords went 4-5 on the week, including a 9-2 win over No. 13 Sonoma State.
 
Concordia went 2-3 on the weekend at the Tournament of Champions, beating perennial powers Central Washington and Humboldt State. Freshman Callie Nunes threw one-hit shutouts in both of those games to bring her ERA on the season down to 0.33. Concordia is now 17-9 on the season with Nunes earning 11 of those wins. The Eagles are four games back in the standings as they resume conference play.
 
The top three teams in the PacWest standings did not participate in the Tournament of Champions, but play resumes for them this week with some important conference series.
 
Dixie State is ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 22-2 record going into this week’s four-game series with Azusa Pacific. Since joining the PacWest, the Cougars are 2-12 when playing at St. George, Utah. Dixie State won three of four games during last year’s series.
 
Biola returns to PacWest action with a doubleheader on Saturday at Dixie State. Both teams are currently three games behind California Baptist in the standings. It will be the first meeting between the two programs as conference opponents.
 
California Baptist will play a doubleheader against Concordia at home on Saturday. The Lancers are looking to improve on their 13-1 start to conference play, while Concordia’s Callie Nunes will be looking to build on her streak of six-consecutive outings with no earned runs allowed.
 
Last week, Dominican won three of five games at the Tournament of Champions. This week the Penguins will look to build on that with home doubleheaders against Hawai`i Pacific and Hawai`i Hilo.
 
Chaminade will pay four games at Academy of Art, which enters the series on an eight-game winning streak. The Urban Knights are among the six teams that are above the .500 mark in the conference standings as they enter the homestand.
 
In non-conference action, Concordia will play a Monday doubleheader at No. 22 UC San Diego. The Tritons didn’t participate in the Tournament of Champions. The Tritons are 20-7 on the season and undefeated in non-conference play.
 
Notre Dame de Namur will host a four-game series against Hawai`i Pacific. The two teams are a game apart in the standings heading into the ninth week of the 2018 season.

Weekly Awards for the week of March 19-25
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brooke Larsen, Academy of Art
RHP, Fr., 5-6 -- Sacramento, Calif.
Larsen helped Academy of Art go 5-0 at the Tournament of Champions as one of only two teams in the West Region to finish the tournament undefeated, giving the Urban Knights a 5-game winning streak. Larsen pitched in five games throughout the week and earned four wins and a save. She threw 21.2 innings with 31 strikeouts and no runs allowed. The freshman dropped her ERA on the season down to 1.00 as she improved to 14-2 to go along with her first career save. At the plate, Larsen went 8 for 20 with two doubles for seven runs and three RBIs.
 
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Callie Nunes, Concordia
P, So., 5-6 -- Yorba Linda, Calif.
Nunes threw three complete games at the Tournament of Champions without allowing an earned run in 21.1 innings of work. The freshman struck out 33 batters on the week as she threw two complete-game shutouts. She brought her ERA down nine more points to an incredible 0.31 over 91.1 innings of work. Both of the freshman’s wins were one-hit shutouts, while the lone loss came on an unearned run in extra innings for a 1-0 loss. Against Central Washington, she recorded 13 strikeouts, which was one shy of her career high.
 
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Jackie Najera, Chaminade
INF, Fr., 5-3 -- Santa Ana, Calif.
Najera helped Chaminade to a 4-5 record during the team’s trip the Northern California, starting the week with two wins against Dominican. In those two games, Najera went 7 for 9 with six runs, five RBIs and for doubles. The freshman had 19 hits in nine games to improve her hitting streak to 13 games. She finished the week 19 for 35 with 13 runs and eight RBIs. Her slugging percentage was .857 and she was named to the all-tournament team at the Tournament of Champions. Najera helped the Silverswords nearly double their win total on the season last week.