Mount Hood

End of the road for the Road Warriors

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

On April 7, Wolves softball was bottom of the GNAC, with only one win in conference play. On May 7, they played in the conference championship game.

Because they were the fourth and final seed in the playoffs, the Wolves were slated to face the Central Washington Wildcats in the first round on Thursday, May 4.

The Wildcats were the top ranked team in the conference and the regular season champions. They were also the team that defeated Western Oregon in the 2016 championship game to win the GNAC crown.

But they were also the team that the Wolves swept in a doubleheader on April 30 to claim their playoff spot. And, after not playing a home game all year, the team that call themselves the Road Warriors were undaunted by the trip to Lacey, Washington.

That confidence helped the Wolves pull the 4-3 upset.

The game started on May 4 but wouldn’t be finished until May 5, as severe thunderstorms swept across Lacey force a delay.

After nearly 26 hours, the winning run was scored by sophomore Ryanne Huffman in the sixth inning. Huffman hit a single and was able to advance to second and third on two wild pitches before senior Ashlee Lynch batted her in on a sacrifice fly.

Sophomore pitcher Haley Fabian picked up the win, advancing to 13-8 on the season with five strikeouts.

The double-elimination tournament meant that Central Washington would keep playing, but through the loser’s bracket. Western Oregon advanced to face the Western Washington Vikings.

The Vikings were the number two team in the tournament and, much like the Wolves, were on a hot streak. They had won nine games in a row. Their last loss was on April 22, when the Wolves beat them 1-0.

The tournament meeting turned out to be a pitcher’s duel between Fabian and Vikings ace Anna Kasner. The game went into extra innings before the Wolves fell 1-2. Kasner recorded 13 strikeouts in the game.

The Wolves had one more shot to make the championship game, but they had to take on the Wildcats again to get there. This game was much more explosive, and the Wolves won 8-6.

Senior Destiny Kuehl and first-year student Chandler Bishop each slugged home runs in the fourth inning. Senior Kelsie Gardner scored three runs on the day as the Wolves topped Central Washington for a fourth consecutive game and returned to face Western Washington.

Again Kasner took the mound for the Vikings, while junior Lizzet Dominguez started for the Wolves.

The game began as tight as the first game, with three up and three down for both sides in the first inning.

In the second inning, things fell apart. Western Washington scored two runs on Dominguez, who was pulled for senior Sammi Cadwallader, before the Vikings scored three more.

“Walks were our downfall,” said Ku’ulei Siolo, senior catcher. “I was feeling the pressure and knew we couldn’t let them score more than a few runs to stay in the game because our hitting hadn’t been strong against Kasner.”

Dominguez was pulled after giving up a walk with bases loaded, which gave the Vikings their second run.

Cadwallader inherited the loaded bases with two outs but wasn’t able to shut the Vikings down. Two of the runners had been walked and one hit by a pitch to reach base. All three would cross home plate before Cadwallader forced the final out.

The rest of the day was a pitcher’s affair with little offensive action. The Wolves ultimately lost 0-5.

“Of course I’m sad it’s over,” Siolo said. “I never really thought it would end, but here I am. But I think this season will be a great example for future WOU softball players, that no matter the circumstances, we can overcome the worst situations. I’ll miss this sport, but I think this program will make a name for itself.”

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Alpha Wolves are top dogs once more

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

For the 14th time in the past 17 years, Wolves baseball are the regular season GNAC champions.

The 2017 title was secured over the course of two days of action in Monmouth – the only baseball played on Western Oregon’s campus all year.

In two days of double headers against Northwest Nazarene, the Wolves won one and lost one on each day.

The first split came on May 4. The Wolves lost the home opener 2-5, then came thundering back to win the afternoon game 11-3.

That victory secured at least a share of the conference title.

The Wolves went into the third inning trailing 0-1 when they were able to open up scoring. First-year student Connor McCord hit a single with junior Garrett Anderson on base. A throwing error by the Northwest Nazarene infield brought Anderson across home plate.

The Wolves picked up five total runs in that inning alone, the start of a three-inning burst from the Wolves. They held an 11-2 lead in the fifth when the game was put on pause.

After a season full of games being canceled and relocated due to weather, it was only fitting that a game finally played in Monmouth would get a weather delay. The May 4 thunderstorm that swept across the Northwest sent a few bolts into the Monmouth-Corvallis area. Fans in the aluminum bleachers were encouraged to find shelter as the game was halted for 30 minutes.

When the game continued, the Wolves were able to coast on their huge lead to the victory.

In the second day of action, the Wolves put up an even bigger win, at 20-2. This game made the Wolves the outright regular season champions.

Seniors Joey Crunkilton and Brock Pradere and junior Jacob Martinez each scored three runs. Martinez recorded two doubles and three RBIs.

15 runs came in the first two innings.

“Going into every game we have the mentality of applying pressure first,” said Nyles Nygaard, junior third baseman, who had two runs and three RBIs in the win. “The first two innings were huge for us, we applied a ton of pressure which made us slow the game down and take quality at bats. It was a great team effort.”

Though this was the 14th time the Wolves accomplished this in the past 17 years, it was the first one in two years. After a 13-year streak, the last two seasons were dry ones for Western Oregon baseball.

First-year student Torreahno Sweet joined the team just in time to skip the two-year title gap. “Sweet T,” as his teammates call him, has made a quick impact, posting a batting average of .345 over the season. Only the veteran catchers, redshirt sophomore Justin Wakem and senior Boog Leach, had better averages.

“It was great to play with this group of guys,” Sweet said. “We are one big family and we play the game hard.”

The Wolves are the number one seed and will face Montana State Billings in the first round of the playoffs. In the regular season, Western Oregon went 7-1 in their eight games against the Yellowjackets, where they scored a total of 62 runs to average 7.75 runs a game.

“We are all excited,” Nygaard said. “We have practiced and prepared so much for big situations so we are ready to get after it.”

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Springing into action

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Under blue skies and bright sun, the football team hosted the 2017 spring game.

The May 6 game was held at McArthur Field and gave Wolves fans a look at the work the team has put in over spring practice.

Last year’s two quarterbacks, Philip Fenumiai and Nick Duckworth, are seniors in the fall and competed against one another as Western Oregon players divided into a red team and white team. Underclassmen Ty Currie, Wyatt Hutchinson and Blake Walker were also tested.

“I honestly think it’s a group effort,” said Trey Shimabukuro, quarterback coach for the Wolves. “Offensively we simplified things for our guys which allowed them to play fast and understand the ‘why’ behind the playcall. We still have a long way to go as a position, but I am excited to see the progress we have made.”

Last year’s defensive leader was Bo Highburger, who will be a junior in the fall.

“Took some big steps as a team today,” Highburger said. “Two players that stood out to me, although I’m pretty preoccupied with playing the game myself, were linebackers Andrew Weber and Nate Proctor.”

Highburger also had praise for wide receiver Harrison White, who was redshirted last season.

“It was cool to see our young guys progress and make plays on both sides of the ball,” said wide receiver Zack Suarez, who will be a senior. “As a whole I think it went really well. It was nice to be in that environment after the last few weeks of spring ball.”

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Track and field finds success in two meets

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Western Oregon track and field competed in Eugene and McMinnville, as they took on the Oregon Twilight and the Linfield Open.

Junior David Ribich won the men’s 1,500-meter at the University of Oregon on May 5. His winning time was 3:45.01.

Sophomore Dustin Nading won his event in the 1,500-meter as well. The Oregon Twilight hosted a B Section of the 1,500-meter, giving Nading the opportunity to take the victory with a time of 3:50.24.

Women sprinters also did well for the Wolves, as first-year student Grayson Burke claimed second place in the 400-meter, crossing the finish line in 58.67 seconds. The women’s 4×100 relay team took another second place finish. The team, composed of Burke, senior Laura Patrick, junior Sara Madden and sophomore Madeline Bernard, finished in 49.68 seconds.

Success continued for the Wolves on May 6, when some competed in the Linfield Open.

Two event wins were recorded, as sophomore Olivia Woods took the women’s 400-meter with a time of 57.19. Junior Megan Rose came in right behind her with a second-place time of 57.89.

The other event win was claimed by first-year student Sawyer Heckard in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing in 10:05.24.

Grayson Burke claimed another second-place finish, running the 800-meter in 2:21.21.

The Wolves track and field team now focuses on the GNAC outdoor championships, which will be hosted in Monmouth on May 12 and 13.

Contact the author tat journalsports@wou.edu

Closing in on the conference title

By: Burke De Boer
sports editor


Wolves baseball swept St. Martin’s and then split a pair of doubleheaders with Central Washington, remaining top of the GNAC after the week’s six games.

The April 26 games against St. Martin’s were played on neutral ground in Portland’s Porter Park, where the Wolves won 5-3 and 5-1.

In bottom of the first game’s eighth inning, the game was tied at 3-3. Junior Nyles Nygaard hit a double to score senior Joey Crunkilton, for Crunkilton’s second score of the game. Nygaard was shortly batted in by sophomore Justin Wakem for the two point lead.

St. Martin’s never threatened in the second game, as junior pitcher Brady Miller recorded eight strikeouts and gave up only one run while pitching a complete game.

On April 28, the Wolves faced the Central Washington Wildcats in Ellensburg, Washington. The number two team in the conference, the Wildcats had a lot to gain from defeating the Wolves. On the first day of competition, the Wolves were able to prove why they’re top in the standings, winning 6-4 and 11-7.

Wakem and junior Garrett Anderson each recorded three hits and two RBIs in the first game, and Crunkilton hit his second home run of the season.

The second game featured four lead changes as the offenses went back and forth in the later innings. Junior Cody Dykstra scored on a wild pitch for the lead in the eighth inning. Nygaard then singled to bat in junior Jacob Martinez.

Nygaard went on to steal second and third base before being batted in, along with first-year student Torreahno Sweet, off a Wakem single.

The second day of action in Ellensburg was tougher on the Wolves, who lost 11-13 and 6-8.

The two games were massive scoring affairs. In the last two frames of the first game, a total of 12 runs were scored.

At the start of the eighth inning, the Wolves trailed 5-7, with the game still in reach, when Central Washington put up six runs on first-year pitcher Justin Doleful.

The Wolves answered with six runs of their own, including a three-run homer from junior Jay Leverett. But it wasn’t enough. Justin Wakem, who had previously scored two runs and an RBI, struck out swinging to end the game.

Late-inning drama again unfolded in the day’s second game; the Wolves went up 6-2 only to give up six more runs and fall again.

The Wolves maintain their top spot in the conference, with four games left to play before the playoffs begin on May 10.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Westbrook makes his closing argument

By: Burke De Boer
sports editor


After the first round of the NBA playoffs, Russell Westbrook is now home watching the remaining teams compete.

The frontrunner for the NBA Most Valuable Player award, Westbrook is reduced to a civilian. His only MVP competitor is James Harden.

Unlike Westbrook, Harden has advanced to the second round of the playoffs. His Houston Rockets team took down Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder in four games.

The series put the two teams head-to-head, and was predicted to be the indicator for which player truly is the most valuable.

Harden edged Westbrook out of the playoffs. The question now is if he will take the award as well.

Cameras caught Houston fans taunting Westbrook in the Rockets-Thunder series, by holding a sign reading, “The real MVP is over there.” Westbrook is seen looking at the sign, which has an arrow pointing toward Harden.

It was good-natured, competitive ribbing that we can expect from organized sports and fan bases. It was funny because there was some truth to it. After all, wouldn’t the real MVP be able to get his team to advance in the playoffs?

Though he bowed out of the big dance early, Westbrook still leads the MVP voting by an ever-increasing margin, because the head-to-head matchup of the two teams seemed to have the opposite effect from their outcome.

Westbrook, in his first season without Kevin Durant, averaged a triple-double on the season. Only one other player had ever done that, and that was 55 years ago.

The Thunder finished sixth place this season, which is well below the finish of a typical MVP candidate. First round exits aren’t typical MVP fodder either, but these games against the Rockets served to show how much Westbrook is truly doing.

Harden had the most points and assists on his team in most of the games of the series. The fourth game was a poor showing from Harden, but he still led his team in assists.

Westbrook had the most points, assists and rebounds on the Thunder every game, and was often the overall leader of these numbers.

He outscored Harden in three out of five games, he out-assisted Harden in four out of five games and he outrebounded Harden in every single game.

Westbrook put the Thunder on his back and took them as far as he could. If this translates to an MVP award remains to be seen, but it would be a surprise to see him surpassed.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Road wins take Wolves to the playoffs

By: Burke De Boer
sports editor

The 2017 Wolves softball team call themselves the Road Warriors.

After 49 regular games, with every home game being canceled and relocated due to weather and field conditions, they traveled 14,655 miles to play ball. The Road Warriors will travel again come May 4. This time to Lacey, Washington, to compete in the GNAC championships.

One month earlier, the Wolves were dead last in the conference.

“This whole season has been a string of bad luck, with injuries and ineligibilities,” said Ku’ulei Siolo, senior catcher. “But now that everyone is back together, I think we’re really finding our groove.”

Corvallis is as close as Western Oregon Softball would get to playing on the Western Oregon Softball Field in 2017. They “hosted” two double headers at Oregon State, facing St. Martin’s on April 29 and Central Washington on April 30.

The Wolves split their first day of competition, first beating the Saints 9-5 then losing 4-5.

After the split series, the Wolves needed to win only one game against Central Washington to secure a playoff spot. They came out and took both legs of the doubleheader, 5-1 and 4-0.
The game was tied 1-1 when sophomore pitcher Haley Fabian took the mound in the first game. She threw four shutout innings on the way to the playoff-clinching victory.

“We had nothing to lose,” Fabian said. “We needed to secure our spot in the GNAC. I just had to trust my stuff and my team.”

Even after clinching their playoff berth, the Wolves didn’t slow down.

“It was such a relief to get the first win and a huge confidence booster to win the second game,” Siolo said. “When we first p
layed Central, we played phenomenal and barely lost on a couple ill-timed errors. So being able to shut down Central and show them we won’t be rolling over any time soon was amazing.”

Central Washington are the top seed this year, so the Wolves meet them again in the first round. Last year the Wildcats defeated Western Oregon in the GNAC championship game. But the Road Warriors feel confident heading into the matchup.

“Coming off that sweep is huge for us and really fired us up,” said Hailee Watilo, senior right fielder, who hit a home run in the 4-0 win. “We know it’s going to be a battle and that’s what our team’s always looking for.”

“I think Central will need to rearrange their strategy a lot if they plan on winning on Thursday,” Siolo said. “We’re peaking at the perfect time right now.”

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Track and field shines in Corvallis contest

By: Burke De Boer
sports editor

As they prepared for the GNAC championships, the Western Oregon track and field team traveled to Corvallis to compete in the Oregon State High Performance, a two-day meet on April 28 and 29.

Senior Aaron Whitaker set a new school record in the men’s 400-meter dash. His time of 47.96 was enough for a second place finish at the meet, and places him third in the GNAC this year. He was named the GNAC player of the week for his accomplishment.

Junior David Ribich took first place in the men’s 1500-meter. His time of 3:41.45 was the quickest in a field that featured runners from Division I schools, such as Colorado and Washington. It was also a new personal record for Ribich.

Sophomore Dustin Nading took the 11th spot in the race, with a time of 3:47.17, which was a lifetime personal best for him. Junior Thomas Normandeau took 30th place and first-year student Justin Crosswhite took 36th. Normandeau’s time of 3:56.15 was also a personal best.

Junior Alan Ekanger ran the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase for an 11th place finish. His time of 9:30.90 set his new personal record, improving by 20 seconds.

Another personal best was set by sophomore Tyler Jones in the men’s 5000-meter. His time of 14:54.95 took him to a 24th place finish.

In the women’s 800-meter, sophomore Olivia Woods became the first Division II runner across the finish line, for a 14th place finish overall. She finished the race in 2:08.65. Juniors Megan Rose and Suzanne Van De Grift were close behind, finishing in 2:09.05 for 16th place and 2:09.47 for 18th place, respectively.

The men’s 800-meter saw another Division II-leading finish, as senior Michael Chin came in 12th place with a time of 1:52.76. First-year student Curt Knott won his heat of the 800-meter. His time of 1:56.28 was a personal best, and earned him a 25th place finish overall.
Sara Madden set a lifetime best in the 400-meter hurdles, with an eighth-place time of 1:03.84.

Wolves continued to excel in throwing competitions. Junior Sheila Limas De La Cruz improved on her earlier NCAA provisional distance in the javelin contest. With her throw of 44.14 meters, De La Cruz is now ranked number 11 in the nation.

Junior Kegan Allen set a new personal record in the hammer throw, adding two meters to his previous distance with a throw of 51.30. The throw earned him a third place finish, and saw him finish top among Division II throwers.

Wolves also had strong finishes in jumps. Senior Wesley Gray took second in the men’s triple jump contest, with a distance of 14.69 meters. First-year student Alani Troutman came in fourth among the men’s long jump, with a distance of 7.03 meters.

The Wolves continue to prepare for the GNAC outdoor championships, which will be hosted in Monmouth on May 12 and 13.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Baseball splits series with Concordia

By: Burke De Boer 
Sports Editor

The Wolves went 2-2 across a pair of doubleheaders over the weekend facing Concordia.

The matchup positioned the top of the GNAC Wolves against the conference’s bottom ranked team for a surprisingly even two days of competition. In the first day of games, Concordia cleaned house, as the Wolves lost 2-9 and 3-5 on April 21. They got back on track the second day, winning 5-1 and 6-0.

Concordia opened up scoring early in the first game, putting up two runs in the first inning on the starting pitcher, first-year student Connor McCord.

McCord would give up a total of five runs before being pulled. But even after pitching changed, Concordia runs kept coming in. Sophomore Jacob Fricke, first-year student Justin Dolezal and senior Alex Emerson would all serve time on the mound, giving up four more runs.

On offense, McCord was able to bat in the only two runs for the Wolves.

The second game of the day was much closer, and went into extra innings to reach a decision. Senior Justin Spinner and first-year student Hunter Johnson scored runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. But two runs in the ninth secured the win for Concordia.

The Wolves regrouped and swept Concordia on April 22.

Junior Craig Grubbe pitched the first game, striking out seven on the way to the 5-1 victory.

“Two losses in a day is pretty strong fuel for a team,” said senior Joey Crunkilton. “We took those losses to heart and were able to use it to our advantage.”

Crunkilton had three runs over the two games. He also hit in two RBIs, batting in McCord and junior Jacob Martinez with a fourth inning double in the 6-0 second game victory.

Junior Nyles Nygaard helped lead the way in scoring, and batted in Crunkilton on a triple after Crunkilton’s fourth inning double. He also opened the scoring of the game with a solo home run.

With eight games left to play, the Wolves remain on the top of the GNAC standings. Their remaining games all come against second-place Central Washington and third-place Northwest Nazarene.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Wolves on the cusp

By: Burke De Boer 
Sports Editor

Sophomore pitcher Haley Fabian led Wolves softball to three victories over the weekend. The Wolves traveled north for a long weekend, playing four games against Western Washington and two against Simon Fraser, beginning on April 21.

The Wolves experienced a stop-and-start weekend, going 3-3, with each of their wins coming from complete games pitched by Fabian.

“My catchers and I were able to find the batters’ strengths and weaknesses after their at bats and then adjust to it,” Fabian said.

In the first day of double headers, the Wolves fell to the Western Washington Vikings 1-13 then beat them 6-1.

Western Washington opened the game with immediate scoring. They would not relent, as they put up runs in every inning on first-year pitcher Chandler Bishop.

Game two was another story; Fabian locked the Vikings batters down, allowing only three hits and striking out six.

The Wolves offense scored all six of their runs in the second inning.

Seniors Kelsie Gardner and Hailee Watilo each picked up an RBI while they got on base, and were themselves batted in by a double from sophomore Cheyanne Rimer.

In their second day of battle with the Vikings, the Wolves lost by a narrow 5-6 and won by a narrow 1-0.

Western Oregon picked up the lead in the second inning of the first game, when senior Mercedes Green slugged a two-run home run. They held onto this lead until the bottom of the final inning.

Senior Sammi Cadwallader hit the Vikings batter with a pitch with bases loaded. The floodgates were then opened, and Western Washington put up enough runs to snag the victory.

Fabian pitched the second game for a shutout performance.

Senior Emma Alfonso scored the only run of the day to lead the Wolves to the win.

The Wolves went further north, to Burnaby, Canada, to face Simon Fraser.

An error in game one’s first inning allowed Simon Fraser to score their first two runs, and they would hold onto this lead as the Wolves took the 0-4 loss.

The Wolves regrouped for an 8-7 victory in the afternoon.

Fabian had five strikeouts over the first five innings, while Green, Rimer and sophomore Jenna Kelly all hit home runs. The Wolves took an 8-0 lead going into the sixth, when the Clan came back resurgent.

The Wolves defense was able to stop another comeback victory. With two outs, Simon Fraser hit a grand slam and followed it with a solo home run in the seventh to come within one.

Gardner, playing at shortstop, then snared a grounder to end the game.

“We need to come out and win every game we can,” Gardner said afterwards, looking ahead to this week’s fixtures.

With six games left, the Wolves remain on the cusp of qualifying for the GNAC tournament, two games behind the number four team. It will be a gauntlet just to qualify, as their final six games are against the top two teams in the conference.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Track and field competes in California

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Western Oregon track and field traveled to Southern California, where the team continued to find success in the face of Division I and II competition.

Most Wolves competed in the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, where junior David Ribich broke his own school record and senior Wesley Gray grabbed Western Oregon’s one event win. A smaller group of Wolves attended the Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State.

In Azusa on April 14, Ribich proved the fastest of all Division II competitors in the men’s 1,500-meter. His time of 3:42.21 set a new record for himself. His old time of 3:43.41 was the fastest in both Western Oregon and GNAC history.

The stacked race against Division I schools put Ribich in a 17th place finish, and automatically qualified him for the NCAA championship competition.

Wesley Gray won the men’s triple jump, going a distance of 14.85 meters. The distance was a Division II provisional qualifier, one of five from the meet.

The women’s 800-meter race had three Wolves post NCAA provisional marks, as sophomore Olivia Woods and juniors Suzanne Van De Grift and Megan Rose all finished in the top 10 of Division II runners.

Junior AJ Holmberg posted a provisional time in the men’s 800-meter, finishing in 18th place.

The following day, nearby in Long Beach, two more provisional marks were set.

Olivia Woods grabbed her second of the weekend, as she ran the 800-meter in 2:12.70.

First-year student Alani Troutman made the other provisional qualifier, with a long jump mark of 7.28 meters to a 15th place finish, the best of all Wolves in Long Beach.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Wolves go big on the road

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The baseball team went 6-1 on the week, facing Saint Martin’s and then taking a long road trip to play Montana State Billings.

Western Oregon met the Saint Martin’s Saints on neutral ground in Newberg after the Monmouth home opener was once again postponed due to weather conditions.

The Wolves took both games, with scores of 4-3 and 3-2.

Junior Nyles Nygaard hit a homerun in the fourth inning to open Western scoring. Nygaard dinged five fouls in a row before sending the ball out of the park.

Later in the inning, junior Garrett Anderson hit a single that picked up two RBIs.

The Saints made a comeback in the seventh inning, but the Wolves were able to pull ahead and secure the victory in the bottom half of the inning. After he stole third base, senior Brock Pradere was batted in for the go ahead run by first-year student Connor McCord.

McCord then opened up the scoring in the second game, when he hit a two-RBI double in the third inning.

Saint Martin’s went on to tie the game with a home run, but Western took the lead and the win when junior Jacob Martinez scored on a throwing error in the eighth inning.

With the two wins early in the week, the Wolves traveled to Montana State Billings to face the Yellowjackets. The first order of business on April 14 was finishing the March 6 game that had been halted due to weather.

The Wolves held a 7-0 lead from March. First-year student Torreahno Sweet hit a two RBI double and then was batted in himself by senior Boog Leach to ensure the 10-0 win.

The games against Montana State Billings continued in a similarly high scoring fashion. The Wolves won both halves of the first day of play, with scores of 14-7 and 8-7.

Going into the eighth inning of the first game, the Wolves trailed 6-7. Sweet batted in McCord to tie the game up, and a three-RBI double from Nyles Nygaard took the commanding victory.

“They brought in a new pitcher and I was in the box just trying to get a good pitch to hit,” said Nygaard. “The pitcher threw two straight balls to me to bring the count to 2-0 so I knew he had to come after me. I was looking for a pitch over the plate and he gave it to me so I put my best swing on it.”

Nygaard picked up another RBI in the ninth, when he batted in senior Joey Crunkilton.

The second game didn’t start as planned. The Wolves went into the sixth inning trailing 2-6, but Nygaard and Crunkilton picked up two RBIs a piece in the inning, helping to jump-start the offense and ultimately win the game.

The first game of the second day belonged to the Yellowjackets, who destroyed the Wolves by a score of 2-18. But they seemed to get all their run scoring out of their system in one go and the Wolves were back to winning ways to finish the series.

The final game ended 8-3 in favor of the Wolves, who surged to the lead with two runs in the first inning.

Senior Trey Smith pitched a complete game, striking out four on the way to his third win of the season.

The Wolves advance to 19-9 on the season and 18-6 in conference, and currently sit on top of the GNAC standings.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

The next big step

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Mock drafts are often made into mockeries on draft day, which is now quickly approaching. The NFL draft begins on April 27, and college players from across the nation will look to make impacts on professional teams.

Since 2000, the only defensive players ever taken number one overall have been defensive ends. This year’s draft, according to scouts and projections across the sports media world, will continue this trend.

Conventional wisdom has Texas A&M phenom Myles Garrett being taken first overall. Which some consider a career death sentence, as the first overall pick belongs to the Cleveland Browns.

But Garrett’s not shying away from the challenge. He had an interview with “ESPN The Magazine” when his draft stock started blowing up where he issued a warning to the number one team in the draft.

“If you don’t draft me number one, I will punish your team for the next 10 or 12 years,” said Garrett.

It’s a threat that he can back up. Looking at the numbers, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds at the NFL Combine and he leapt to a 41-inch vertical. All this while weighing 272 pounds and standing 6 feet 4 inches tall.

But some people do have Garrett being passed by on the first pick, in favor of North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky’s stock has skyrocketed, which is interesting considering he only started for one year at North Carolina. He had an explosive year, but played in a spread offense that will require him to adapt if he’s expected to play in Cleveland’s system.

Two running backs are in consideration to be selected highly in the draft, which is something of a rare occurrence in this modern football era. The top of the draft tends to be reserved for the passing game, either getting it going offensively or getting after it on defense.
But Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey are different beasts when it comes to rushers. Which is why some mock drafts have them going in the top 10. Both declared for the draft after only three years at their schools. Not only did they leave their old schools behind, they also left their teams hanging during bowl season and sat out their bowl games, as to not risk injury.

Fournette rushed for over 1000 yards as a first-year student at Louisiana State and turned in an even better sophomore performance. His junior year didn’t cross the thousand-yard threshold, but he’s still projected above McCaffery.

McCaffery led the nation in all-purpose yards in both of his last two years, notably breaking Barry Sanders’ record for most yards in a season. However, the Pac-12 athlete is evidently valued less than the SEC-raised Fournette, and McCaffery is projected lower all across the board.

Both players will prove assets to any team that takes them, but it’s unlikely that either would have breakout seasons like Ezekiel Elliott had with the Cowboys in 2016. The Cowboys had the best offensive lining in the country that they put Elliott behind.

Additionally, Dalvin Cook is being taken in the first round by many mock drafts. Unlike Fournette and McCaffery, Cook topped 1000 rushing yards in every season he played. His 145 rushing yards helped Florida State topple Michigan in last year’s Orange Bowl.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Softball sees success in Portland

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

A trip to Portland saw Wolves softball win three of four games against Concordia to continue their climb up the conference ladder.
After an additional double header in Hillsboro, Western Oregon extended their win streak to the current longest in the GNAC.

The pair of doubleheaders opened on April 13, with a slow start for the Wolves as they lost the first matchup, 1-3. The lowest scoring match of the entire series saw Western take the lead immediately but fail to close the game.

The first run came in the first inning, after sophomore Ryanne Huffman advanced to a scoring position by stealing second base.
First-year student Chandler Bishop batted Huffman in to take the lead.

The Wolves led for five innings. Sophomore pitcher Haley Fabian had four strikeouts over this span, giving up only one walk and one hit.

All three of Concordia’s runs came in the sixth inning, on a back-to-back RBI double and home run.

The Wolves’ offense had plenty of opportunity to open scoring themselves, as eight hits in the game and led to six runners left stranded.

The second of the two Thursday games was more explosive offensively as the Wolves powered their way to a 6-4 victory.

Senior Destiny Kuehl had two hits for four RBIs. Seniors Kelsie Gardner and Ashlee Lynch each had three hits. Gardner had three runs from her hits.

The game was tied 1-1 after the first, when Emma Alfonso hit a single in the second to bat in junior Zoe Clark. Kuehl singled later in the inning to bat in both Alfonso and Gardner.

The Wolves picked up a pair of wins on the second day of competition, where they won the first game 6-1 and the second 10-1.

Kuehl opened scoring in the first game with a three-run home run in the third inning and went on to bat in Gardner in the fifth.

Clark hit a home run of her own in the sixth, also scoring sophomore Courtney Lau Hee.

Bishop served as pitcher, throwing twelve groundouts allowing only one run off of six hits.

“It felt great to get the full seven innings and get the win,” said Bishop. “I am not a strikeout pitcher and rely on my defense greatly, so it’s such a great feeling when I know they have my back before I even pitch the ball. My catcher, Mercedes [Green] also called a great game and I trusted her completely. It also helps when our offense was putting up runs to take a little pressure off of me.”

Kuehl picked up two more home runs in the landslide second victory.

Fabian pitched her eighth complete game of the year, allowing only five hits to improve to an 8-7 record.

After the weekend, on April 17, softball won both sides of a double header against Simon Fraser on neutral ground in Hillsboro. The Wolves found themselves trailing 0-7 in the second game after four innings but had a monster rally over the last three frames to pull off a 9-8 win. Senior Hailee Watilo had two runs, while Zoe Clark, senior Ku’ulei Siolo and first-year student Ashley Doyle each had two RBIs.

With the wins, the Wolves advance to a 8-8 conference record. Since the start of April, softball has improved from the bottom of the conference to being ranked fifth.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Two school records broken

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Coming off an indoor season where the track team broke several indoor school records, Wolves runners have now set two new outdoor school records, and David Ribich also posted a national best time.

The women’s 4x400m relay team set a new record with a run of 3:49.01 at the Willamette Invitational in Salem. Then Olivia Woods came in second in the 800 meter race at San Francisco State with a time of 2:08.46.

The Willamette Invitational saw three Wolves win their events. The meet was held at Willamette University in Salem.

First-year student Grayson Burke, juniors Megan Rose and Suzanne Van De Grift and sophomore Olivia Woods made up the women’s relay team that broke the school record to win the women’s 4x400m relay.

Senior Nicole Maurmann, a Salem native, won the women’s 1500-meter race. Her time of 4:40.60 was a personal best. Western Oregon sophomore runner Grace Knapp finished shortly behind her with a time of 4:45.14 for a fifth place finish.

Junior AJ Holmberg brought the third win for the Wolves as he finished the 800-meter race in 1:53.02. Holmberg was also part of the men’s 4x400m relay team that came in second place, along with juniors Dustin Nading and David Ribich and senior Josh Dempsey. The team that won the national championship in the indoor relay started their outdoor season well, finishing in 3:23.23.

Western Oregon throwers also had a good day in Salem, with junior javelin thrower Amanda Short posting an NCAA provisional distance of 40.84 meters. Junior Keegan Allen also took second in the hammer throw with a distance of 48.27 meters.

The Wolves then traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area at the end of spring break for three days of contest, taking part in the Stanford Invitational and the San Francisco Distance Carnival.

Ribich and Nading competed in the Stanford Invitational, racing in the 1500-meter event. Ribich’s time of 3:43.77 was an automatic NCAA national qualifier, and currently stands as the top time in the nation. Nading’s time of 3:50.45 was also a national qualifier, and is a top 10 in the nation.

At the San Francisco Distance Carnival, first-year student Alani Troutman won the long jump with a distance of 7.26 meters.

Olivia Woods went on to set a school record in the Carnival’s second day of competition, running the women’s 800 meter in 2:08.46, finishing second in the race. Megan Rose finished behind her at 2:09.13 for a fourth place finish and the second place time in the Western Oregon school record books.

David Ribich then ran the 800-meter in 1:49.41 for a second place finish and another NCAA provisional time.

Another group of Western Oregon runners visited Linfield College on April 1 for the Jenn Bowman Memorial Invitational where junior Keegan Allen threw a hammer 49.61 meters and had a discus throw of 43.52 meters, both personal best distances.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Wolves play in Tournament of Champions

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

With only six conference games to account for, Wolves softball is at the bottom of the conference standings.

A trip to California for the Tournament of Champions saw them pick up four wins and suffer two losses in non-conference games.

The first day of competition on March 31 saw Western Oregon defeat both Holy Names and UC San Diego.

Holy Names took the lead first in the opening game of the tournament, before the Wolves rallied and put up runs in each of the final three innings on their way to a 7-2 victory. Sophomore pitcher Haley Fabian earned her fifth win of the season.

Sammi Cadwallader earned her own fifth win of the season in the nightcap game, where the Wolves took a 4-1 victory over UC San Diego. Senior third base Destiny Kuehl hit a home run in the sixth inning to take the lead.

The second day was another pair of wins for Western Oregon, defeating the Academy of Art, as well as California State Dominguez Hills.

In both of the matches, Western took the lead early and never gave it up, working towards a 7-3 win over the Academy of Art and a 9-4 victory over California State.

Junior pitcher Lizzet Dominguez won the first game of the day, her first starting win of the year. Fabian pitched again in the California State game, to advance to a 6-6 record as starter.

The third day of competition saw the tournament end on a sour note for the Wolves, as they dropped their games against San Francisco State and Sonoma State. With the losses, the Wolves slid to 14-13 overall on the season.

They remain only 1-6 in conference play, and now enter a month of conference play for their chance to climb the conference ladder.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Home weekend goes away

By: Burke De Boer 
Sports Editor

In what was slated to be the home opener, the weather chased Wolves softball away to Nampa for four games against Northwest Nazarene.

The Wolves and Crusaders split the series, with two wins apiece.

Sophomore Haley Fabian pitched the first game of the series, a 5-1 win for the Wolves.

Fabian pitched a complete game, striking out three and allowed just the one run off of eight Northwest Nazarene hits. Her effective pitching left a solitary runner stranded in five scoreless innings, as she gave up the one hit then shut down the rest of the side.

The win improved her record to 7-6, her first time having a winning record as a starting pitcher this season.

The game opened up with an explosive first inning. Northwest Nazarene, still playing as the away team despite relocating venues, batted first. The first at-bat of the day resulted in a double, which was soon batted in for the Crusaders’ only run of the game.

The Wolves responded in their half of the inning by putting up three hits and two runs. Senior Kelsie Gardner hit a double in the first at-bat, then advanced to third off a hit by sophomore Ryanne Huffman. Gardner stole home for Western’s first point. Huffman was later batted in by first year student Ashley Doyle.

The bottom of the fourth saw the Wolves batting come alive again, which opened with another hit for Doyle. First year student Gabriella Alonso came on to pinch run for her, and was later batted in by senior Mercedes Green.

Sophomore Chyanne Rimer later hit a double for two RBIs, as sophomore Courtney Lau Hee and junior Zoe Clark both scored runs.

The second game of the day went to eight innings before the Wolves won the decision, 2-1.

Junior Lizzet Dominguez was the starting pitcher, but the win went to Sammi Cadwallader’s closing performance. Cadwallader came onto the mound in the eighth inning with the score knotted up at 1-1 and two runners on base.

Senior Ashlee Lynch scored the first run of the game in the fifth inning, when she was batted in by a Huffman single.

A Crusaders run scored in the seventh inning tied the game but three pop flies by Western batters in the bottom of the inning sent the game into extra innings.

Cadwallader came on in the eighth inning with a runner on first and second. A strikeout and a double play kept the Crusaders scoreless. Alonso then scored the winning run in the Wolves’ half of the inning.

April 8 was the second day of action in the series and the Wolves dropped both games.

The first game saw Northwest Nazarene hit a grand slam in the third inning and never look back as the Wolves went on to a 4-6 loss. Gardner hit two solo home runs herself in the game, while Lynch also hit a homer with one runner on base.

The fourth and final game of the weekend saw the Wolves lose 3-6.

First year student Kaylee Harmon picked up her first two runs of the season in the second day’s games, her second coming in the second inning of the second game off a Gardner RBI.

Senior catcher Ku’ulei Siolo scored a run in the fourth inning, the batted in Ashlee Lynch in the fifth.

But it wasn’t enough for the Wolves to win. The 2-2 weekend saw Western Oregon progress to an overall record of 16-15, with a 3-7 conference record. The Wolves have moved up one spot in the GNAC standings, now ahead of Simon Fraser.

Their next chance at a home opener comes Saturday, April 15, in a double header against Concordia.

The Wolves remain the only team in the conference who have yet to play a home game this year.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Chasing the Stanley Cup

By: Michael Crowder
Freelancer

The 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs have finally arrived. The brackets for the first round of games are looking to be intense.

Notably, Canada has five qualifiers for the playoffs this year. After being completely shut down in 2016, Canada is looking to challenge American teams at every step of the Stanley Cup’s progression.

The playoffs kick off Wednesday, April 12, with the Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens games.

The Rangers and Canadiens find themselves locked to play off in the first round.

Both the Rangers and Canadiens are neck and neck with overall wins in the past season. Their injured players are all expected to be in sufficient condition to play in the first rounds of the playoffs.

The Canadiens won the Atlantic Division with their aggressive presence this season. The Rangers managed to be a 100-point team in the Metro Division. Expect to see good hockey as these two teams compete fiercely.

The Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs are following up on April 13.

The Capitals have been a dominating monster of a team, taking the Metropolitan Division this past season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made it this far this season, but their cadre of rookie players is looking at an intimidating challenge. The first round will see if the Leafs have it in them to survive the Capitals and continue on into the playoffs.

Another first round of games to note has two long-term rivals butting heads; the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators will face off to eliminate one another right at the get-go.

Nashville was expected to have a breakthrough of a season after acquiring key players such as PK Subban to bolster their team.

Coming against the first-in-Central Division in the first round of the playoffs can spell only a hard time for the Predators. Especially given that the Blackhawks will surely not pull any punches to ensure their rival goes home without the Stanley Cup.

In another notable game, the Edmonton Oilers have ended what was the longest playoff drought in hockey, and will face the San Jose Sharks.

Contact the author at mcrowder12@wou.edu

Sergio Garcia wins The Masters

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose entered the back nine tied for the lead at eight under par on the last day of The Masters, April 9.

In his 18-year professional career, the Spaniard Garcia had finished top ten in The Masters three times. His appearances in the four major championships amounted to four second-place finishes in 22 top ten showings.

But never first place.

He had led to varying degrees throughout the four day contest, but Justin Rose was never far behind.

Rose, an English national, previously won the U.S. Open in 2013 and had finished in the top ten in both of the last two Masters.

The Sunday round saw South African golfer and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel surge from eighth place at two under par to third place at six under par.

Rose took the lead in the final day, but Garcia fought back to tie things up again. The two leaders finished the round still tied, at nine under par, and entered into a sudden death playoff.

Garcia sunk a birdie putt from 10 feet to win the playoff and secure his first majors championship.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

John Knight Twilight hosted at Western

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The windstorm that swept through Oregon April 7 and 8 left a lot of trouble in its wake, but nothing Wolves track and field couldn’t handle, and sophomore Olivia Woods was named the Women’s Track GNAC player of the week.

The men’s team took second place and the women’s team took fourth at the home meet.

Woods won the women’s 400-meter race with a time of 57.06.

Wolves runners took the entire top three in this race, as juniors Megan Rose and Suzie Van De Grift finished behind Woods with times of 58.16 and 58.32, respectively. Western secured 28 of its total points from the 400-meter race, first-year student Grayson Burke also finished in the top eight. Her time of 59.30 was good enough for a fifth place finish.

Senior Aaron Whitaker won the men’s 400-meter, crossing the finish line at 49.41.

He was soon followed by junior Cody Warner, who took second place with a time of 50.03.

Wolves runners took the top three spots in the men’s 800-meter as well.

Sophomore AJ Holmberg finished in the pole position with a time of 1:54.52. Sophomore Dustin Nading finished in-step with Holmberg with a second place time of 1:54.60. Senior Michael Chin was the third across the finish line, finishing in 1:55.26.

Two more Wolves finished in the top eight, as sophomore Parker Mason’s time of 1:58.55 was good enough for fifth place and first-year student Curt Knott 1:59.44 finish was able to secure seventh. Knott’s time was the best of the second section.

The event racked up 30 points for the men’s team.

Senior Nicole Maurmann secured Western Oregon’s fourth victory of the meet when she finished the women’s 1500-meter with a tie of 4:43.79
Wolves posted no victories in the field events but put up a strong showing and were still able to pick up points.

Senior Kathryn Pitts took third place in women’s triple jump with a distance of 10.78 meters. Meanwhile sophomore Kolton Koenig-Rohde took fourth in the men’s triple jump at 12.97 meters.

First-year student Mariah Gronbach then put up a personal best distance in the women’s discus throw, sending the discus 40.65 meters for a fifth place finish. In the men’s discus, junior Keegan Allen was able to pick up a point with a tenth place throw of 44.49 meters.

Allen also came in ninth in the hammer throw, heaving it a distance of 47.44 meters.

The women’s hammer throw saw two Wolves round out the top eight to pick up three points; junior Sylvia Dean took seventh with a distance of 46.99 meters while sophomore Alecia Falck secured eighth place with a throw that measured 45 meters even.

First-year student Halie Korff took seventh in the women’s javelin, with a distance of 39.59 meters.

The men’s team finished with 108 total points, second only to the team from Clackamas Community College. The women’s team finished with 73 points.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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