PACWEST SOFTBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
IRVINE, Calif. -- Concordia won its final 14 regular season games and its final 17 PacWest games to secure at least a share of the PacWest title following a doubleheader sweep of Biola on Saturday.
Concordia won all six games last week by allowing only five runs, including two shutout victories over No. 11 California Baptist.
Callie Nunes recorded the first shutout by allowing just two hits and a walk with 13 strikeouts to secure the key victory. She finished the regular season of her freshman campaign with a 24-3 record and a 0.55 ERA. In the regular season finale,
Ryann Ferguson went 4 for 4 with two runs and an RBI as Concordia beat Biola 7-0 to put finish the PacWest season with a 26-6 record.
Academy of Art got two big wins over Hawai`i Hilo in softball as the two regionally-ranked teams played each other. The Vulcans had the tying run on third base in the seventh inning when
Brooke Larsen escaped with her 20th victory of the season, 4-3 as the Urban Knights boosted their chances of advancing to the NCAA West Regional.
Biola finished its first season in the PacWest with a 16-16 record in conference play to take seventh place after going 33-19 overall. Hawai`i Hilo is now 17-9 going into Saturday’s doubleheader against Chaminade, which will be the Vulcans last chance to make a case for qualification to the NCAA West Regional. California Baptist and Dixie State are both currently in strong position to advance to the postseason.
On Saturday, Academy of Art will play at Dixie State on ESPN3 in a doubleheader between two teams that are looking to secure a spot in the NCAA West Regional.
Academy of Art enters the week with a 13-game winning streak and four games scheduled. The Urban Knights must win all four games to earn a share of the PacWest title with Concordia. However, all four of those games are against nationally-ranked team that are among the top-4 teams in the West Region.
First, the Urban Knights will have to go through California Baptist on Thursday. The first game’s pitching matchup between California Baptist’s
Ciara Stapp and Academy of Art’s
Brooke Larsen features two of the conference’s top-3 pitchers in ERA. The two have combined for 37 wins this season and 19 complete-game shutouts.
The next test for Academy of Art will be in St. George, Utah, as they visit Dixie State for a doubleheader that will be streamed live nationally. Dixie State is looking to bounce back from its first doubleheader sweep of the season. The Trailblazers still have the best overall record in the PacWest going into Saturday’s doubleheader. Academy of Art is currently No. 8 in the regional rankings.
Weekly Awards for the week of April 23-29
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amanda Gjertsen, Concordia
3B, So., 5-10 -- Mission Viejo, Calif.
Gjertsen had three multi-hit games last week to help Concordia earn six big wins to wrap up the regular season on a 14-game winning streak. Concordia is now in great position to host one of the two NCAA sub-regional tournaments. In the Eagles’ doubleheader sweep of California Baptist, Gjertsen went 4 for 6 with an RBI and a run. The sophomore then tallied seven RBIs in two games against Dominican, going 4 for 8 with a home run in each game. Gjertsen added an RBI-single in the Eagles’ doubleheader sweep of Biola to wrap up the regular season and secure at least a share of the conference title. She wrapped up the regular season with a .317 batting average, seven home runs and 37 RBIs.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Callie Nunes, Concordia
RHP, Fr., 5-5 -- Modesto, Calif.
Nunes finished the regular season as the national leader in earned run average at 0.55 on the season as she collected a 24-3 record with eight saves. In the final week, the freshman pitched 17 innings with only one earned run allowed in Concordia’s nine-inning 2-1 win over Biola. On the week, she struck out 22 batters with only two walks and six hits allowed. Against California Baptist, Nunes threw a complete-game two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts for a 7-0 victory. She came back in the next game to retire three of the final four batters to earn a save in a 2-0 victory. She has struck out 280 batters so far this season and led Concordia to its first PacWest title, finishing the regular season on a 14-game winning streak.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Jayda Alaan, Academy of Art
UT, Fr., 5-2 -- Diamond Bar, Calif.
Alaan went 5 for 8 on the week with 11 RBIs to help Academy of Art extend its winning streak to 13 games going into the final week of the regular season for the Urban Knights. Alaan opened the week with a 1 for 3 effort with three RBIs in a crucial game against Hawai`i Hilo. In the second game of the doubleheader, she was walked twice, hit by a pitch and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. On Sunday, she added seven more RBIs as she went 4 for 5 with a home run and two walks. She scored five times in the doubleheader and was hit by a pitch for the 27th time this season. She is now batting .348 on the season with three home runs and 24 RBIs.