Mount Hood

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

Baseball splits six games

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

After splitting their games over the break, Wolves baseball sits atop the GNAC standings. Games in Ravendale and Nampa saw Western Oregon go 3-3 to maintain a 11-5 conference record.

The Wolves played a doubleheader against Saint Martin’s on March 25, winning the first game, 8-1, before falling 1-2 in extra innings.

Junior right handed pitcher Brady Miller started the first of the two games and pitched seven shutout innings.

While Miller locked down Saint Martin’s batters, striking out five, Wolves batters opened up scoring in a big way; third baseman Nyles Nygaard and shortstop Garrett Anderson both scored two runs, while catcher Boog Leach picked up three RBIs.

The second game of the day was much more defensive, as the teams were able to only pick up one run a piece before sending the game into extra innings. First-year pitcher Connor McCord struck out four, giving up only one unearned run in what was declared a no-decision start.

Second baseman Jay Leverett put up an RBI single to bat in first baseman Koty Fallon for the tying run in the fourth inning.

The Wolves traveled to Nampa, Idaho for a pair of doubleheaders the following weekend against Northwest Nazarene.

The first day of play saw the Wolves drop both games, losing 10-13 and 3-4, which allowed Northwest Nazarene to take over the top spot on the conference standings. They held this position only briefly, and Western was able to reclaim their place at the top with a pair of wins on April 1.

11 runs in the second inning supercharged the Wolves to a 15-1 victory in the first game. The second game again went into extra innings, but the Wolves fared better this time to win 9-7.

In his start on April 1, Miller was able to strike out five in six scoreless innings.

The 11-run second inning saw Boog Leach get batted in by Jay Leverett to open scoring. Northwest Nazarene couldn’t slow down the offensive effort, and Leach was able to score a second run in the same inning.

The second game went to 10 innings before Leverett was hit by a pitch. Designated hitter Joey Crunkilton hit a homerun for his second run and third RBI of the night, sealing the game for the Wolves.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

New teams for veteran players

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

It has been a whirlwind offseason for the NFL.

Teams are radically changing, as some move cities and others move schemes. The free agency opened with a blast and continues to roll. Teams that were nearly in the championship hunt last year look to make good on their “next year” promises.

Alshon Jeffery will change the game in Philadelphia, as Carson Wentz now has a legitimate number one target. Last year Jeffrey picked up 821 yards on 52 receptions. He will also be joined by Torrey Smith, a veteran receiver who reportedly turned down better offers in order to work with Carson Wentz.

Wentz, meanwhile, managed to prove himself both a durable and competitive quarterback last year, breaking the record for most completions by an NFL rookie. His receiving corps last year was a motley crew, which will be beefed up with the arrival of two new star targets.

The team making the most waves in the NFC North so far has been the Detroit Lions, though they haven’t been particularly flashy about it.

Offensive line signings generally don’t make headlines, but the Lions were abysmal at keeping their running backs healthy and keeping their ground game going last year. Rick Wagner was the best right tackle on the market, and he and T.J. Lang are the new additions to keep the Motor City Kitties’ engine running.

For other teams in the NFC North, the news is more about exits than entrances: Eddie Lacy is gone to Seattle, Alshon Jeffery to the Eagles and Cordarrelle Patterson and Jared Cook are becoming Raiders. Meanwhile, free agents Jay Cutler and Adrian Peterson still look to find homes.

Lacy in Seattle will surely help the Seahawks rediscover their hard-rushing roots. But the Packers are now short staffed and head coach Mike McCarthy knows it. At this point they’ll likely look to the draft for a solution. Though, for the right price, Vikings legend Adrian Peterson could become Packers legend Adrian Peterson.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Winning weekend for baseball in Portland

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Wolves baseball busted out the brooms in a series sweep of Concordia, extending their conference record to 6-0 to start the season.

Western Oregon’s trip to Portland saw them win the first game 6-3, then pull off both halves of a double header 2-1 and 9-2.

The wins helped Western Oregon baseball climb back into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers west region poll, now ranked at number eight.

The winning pitchers were first year student Connor McCord, junior Craig Grubbe and senior Trey Smith. First year student Kade Mechals and junior Cam Walker both picked up saves for their late inning efforts.

The first game saw the Wolves go into the eighth inning trailing 2-3. Nine Western runners had been left stranded throughout the first seven innings.

Starting pitcher Brady Miller had been pulled and McCord brought on in relief. Since McCord took the mound at the end of the fourth inning, Concordia was held to their three points. McCord had surrendered no hits and struck out two. But the Wolves offense would need to close on scoring opportunities if the defensive performance was to garner anything.

The eighth inning opened with first year outfielder Torreahno Sweet, who had batted in one of the Wolves’ earlier runs, getting on base with a single. Junior Jay Leverett then slugged a home run over left field to take the lead.

The runs continued to pour in and McCord shut down Concordia, picking up a total of six strikeouts in his four and one-third innings.

“It felt great to help my team win this week,” Sweet said, after getting his first at bats of the season. “We worked hard at practice and the results showed.”

The Wolves never trailed throughout the Sunday double header as they powered their way to the sweep.

The first game of the day was a defensive match, as the Wolves won 2-1.

Craig Grubbe struck out five, allowed only two hits and gave up no runs in his six innings pitched.

The final game of the series was the most explosive for the Wolves as they put up nine runs on Concordia. Sophomore catcher Justin Wakem scored two runs and batted in a third. Junior third baseman Nyles Nygaard had three RBIs on the day.

“Once the game starts, it’s all about picking up your teammates and focusing on the little things to achieve our common goal,” Nygaard said. “Our coach emphasizes a term, ‘This pitch.’ If we focus on the pitch at hand, we will win every game because we are taking care of what’s present. We aren’t looking ahead at the what-ifs and we aren’t looking back.”

The six game win streak to open conference play sees Western Oregon on top of the GNAC standings and the only undefeated team in conference.

The Wolves are in Monmouth this week, hosting Corban on March 15 and Central Washington on March 18 and 19.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

March Madness returns

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

We are now in the ides of March, and madness once again descends upon us; referring of course to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.

The most hyped bracket of each year released its 2017 edition on March 12, the result of a madcap Selection Sunday.

The top seeds in each region were Villanova in the east, Kansas in the midwest, Gonzaga in the west and North Carolina in the south. Duke’s spot as number two in the east could set this bracket up for a Duke-North Carolina final.

In a highlight of the east region, Wisconsin fans were left baffled at how their Badgers were deemed an eight seed. On the other side of the bracket, Minnesota was crowned a five seed, despite not playing in the Big Ten championship.

Wisconsin’s trip to the Big Ten championship and ranking second in the conference didn’t seem to help their rank in this tournament. Even Maryland scored a higher seeding, despite bombing out in the Big Ten’s quarterfinals.

Wisconsin’s spot as an eight seed puts them against ninth-seeded Virginia Tech. This is going to be a game to watch, despite all the salt of Badgers fans for their team being underseeded. Josh Parcell reported an interesting stat on Twitter, in that Wisconsin is 307th in the nation when it comes to defending three pointers. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, ranks ninth in the country in three point offense.

The midwest region looks almost like a Big Twelve tournament, as three of the conference’s schools were all seeded together. Top seeded Kansas is the natural favorite for the region, but with Iowa State and Oklahoma State both in contention, some conference rivalry is certainly possible.

Iowa State shouldn’t overlook their matchup against Nevada though. March Madness is always full of upsets, and the twelfth seeded Wolfpack just won the Mountain West championship.

It’s Nevada’s first trip to the big dance since 2007, but they have some tricks for their first round matchup. Guard Hallice Cooke played for Iowa State just last year before transferring to Nevada, bringing their scouts and coaches an inside view of Iowa State’s operations.

One stat that will help Nevada regardless of insider info is the fact that Iowa State is one of the worst teams in the nation at rebounding, ranked 295th. All around they’re a smaller team filled with good shooters but lack the power of the Wolfpack. Nevada big men Jordan Caroline and Cameron Oliver have a combined rebound average of 17.9.

The south region is perhaps the most wide open of the four, as top seed North Carolina has underperformed on the road this year.

Tenth seeded Wichita State is also considered to have gotten the Wisconsin treatment. The Missouri Valley champions were largely pegged for around a six seed, but somehow fell to double digits. Make no mistake, they have the potential to go far in this bracket. They are one of only ten teams in the nation to be ranked in the top 25 for efficiency on both defense and offense.

The three-peated SEC kings Kentucky come into the south region with a number two seed. In 2014, Kentucky and Wichita State played one of the instant classics of March Madness history, and the selection committee is likely chomping at the bit for a rematch.

Making a notable appearance in the west region is Northwestern, who have received a tournament bid for the first time in school history. Northwestern are the only Power Five school to have never played a tournament game, a legacy that comes to an end when they face Vanderbilt in Salt Lake City.

The Wildcats were sure to make the tournament after beating Michigan on March 1, the result of a full-court Hail Mary pass from Nate Taphorn to Derek Pardon in the dying seconds of the game. Pardon put the lobbed ball through the basket as time expired in one of the incredible highlights of the regular season.

March Madness is a time for stories, and this year’s selections prove to have many. No one has ever gotten the bracket challenge right, at least those placed by online bets. So pick your favorite teams and spite all your rivals. We’re all going to be wrong. Have fun.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Distance medley relay sets national record

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Western Oregon runners won a national championship and set a national record at the Division II Indoor National Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.

The men’s distance medley relay team had a photo finish victory, beating Adams State across the finish line by .001 second. The team, composed of juniors David Ribich, AJ Holmberg and Josh Dempsey and sophomore Dustin Nading, set another school record in a record-setting indoor track season for the Wolves.

Their final time of 9:40.144 set the new benchmark for NCAA Division II.

The championship final came after a Thursday qualifier that saw Western Oregon advance in all five competitions. The team then went five for five again, earning All-American marks across the board.

Ribich and Nading both ran the men’s mile qualifier, coming in first and ninth, respectively. They went on to both garner points for Western Oregon on title day. Ribich had a third place finish with a time of 4:06.72. Nading finished right behind Ribich with a time of 4:06.85 for fourth place.

Josh Dempsey qualified for the 800 meter race with a second place finish on Thursday. He completed the Saturday race in 1:51.20 to claim sixth place.

The four finishes brought the Western Oregon men’s team 24 points, bringing them to a tie for sixth place with Azusa Pacific.

Two Western Oregon women were competing in Birmingham, as junior Suzanne Van De Grift and sophomore Olivia Woods both ran the 800 meter.

Woods previously claimed the school record in the 800 meter at the Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier on Feb. 25. Van De Grift then set the new record in the preliminary with a time of 2:09.63.

The championship race saw Van De Grift extend her school record with a fifth place finishing time of 2:09.10. Olivia Woods finished sixth place with a personal best 2:09.26.

With only two runners competing, the women’s team recorded seven points to finish in 29th place.

The championship weekend concludes the 2017 indoor track season. Western Oregon track and field now sets its sights on the outdoor track season, which opened on March 4.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Wolves swat Yellowjackets

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ Editor

After a month of rain delays stalled the start of the season, Wolves baseball opened conference play with a double header demolition job of Montana State Billings.

Wolves won the first game 9-4, with junior pitcher Brady Miller recording the win. They took the second game 3-2, with a win for senior Elias Bodella and junior Cam Walker getting a save.

The games continued on March 6, where the Wolves pulled off an 8-7 win and were in the process of throttling the Yellowjackets a fourth time until snowy weather postponed the game. It will pick back up in April, with the Wolves holding a 7-0 lead in the sixth.

The March 4 meet up was the first time the Wolves got to play a game since the Feb. 16 trip to San Diego. That’s a 16-day bye week. While Montana State Billings had 10 games to warm up their season, the Wolves had only been able to play four, with the rest of their schedule canceled or postponed.

The day opened with junior fielder Jacob Martinez being walked in the first at-bat and soon scoring a run off designated hitter Joey Crunkilton’s RBI double.

Martinez was again walked in the third inning, and ultimately scored his second run on a sacrifice fly from junior third baseman Nyles Nygaard.

Runs continued to pour in throughout the later innings. Junior second baseman Jay Leverett batted in runner Koty Fallon in the sixth, and was shortly batted in for a run of his own.

The seventh inning saw Crunkilton score on a Nygaard single, and again an RBI was repaid when Nygaard was batted in by a Leverett double.

Miller’s efforts on the mound over the first six innings allowed only one run as he struck out nine Yellowjackets.

Nygaard had a run and three RBIs off two hits in the game. Jay Leverett recorded the same statline. Outfielders Martinez and Brock Pradere each scored two runs off of three at-bats.

“It felt a little unusual being out there at first because our season started so awkwardly,” Joey Crunkilton said. “We responded the best way we could’ve anticipated and I think we’re in a good spot going forward.”

The second match of the first day was a more defensive affair.

While the Yellowjackets recorded nine hits, the Wolves’ defense was able to hold them to only two runs.

A Crunkilton triple in the first inning put him in scoring position, and he was batted in by Nygaard. Sophomore first baseman Koty Fallon and sophomore catcher Justin Wakem were both ran in by first year shortstop Hunter Johnson in the sixth to clinch the 3-2 victory.

The high scoring third game saw seven different players score to contribute to the 8-7 victory.

“We prepared for the games the same way we’ve been doing all year,” Crunkilton said. “Our practices are high energy and competitive as we look to improve every day.”

The Wolves visit Concordia this weekend for two days of double headers.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Men’s basketball makes last stand

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Going into the GNAC Championship Playoffs, Western Washington was the only school in the conference to be nationally ranked, taking number 15 on the NCAA’s Division II table.

Though lacking the national recognition, the Western Oregon Wolves held the number three seed, and were ranked tenth overall in the western region.

Junior forward Tanner Omlid’s double double of 22 points and 11 rebounds helped guide the Wolves over Montana State Billings in the first round of play on March 2.

The 72-61 win over the Yellowjackets advanced the Wolves into the next day’s semifinals. The matchup against Alaska Anchorage. The number two seed Seawolves had the opening round bye and were fresh to face the Wolves.

But the Wolves would prove themselves to have the most stamina as they would ultimately seize victory at the end of three overtimes.

Omlid again had a double double, with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the first GNAC tournament game to ever go to overtime.

A 7-0 run from the Wolves in the middle of the third overtime proved decisive, when junior guard Ali Faruq-Bey put up four points and sophomore guard Malik Leaks hit a three. The seven points were the difference in a 91-84 scoreline that sent Western Oregon to the Saturday night final.

The Wolves had met Western Washington twice during the regular season and were destroyed both times.

But the Wolves were also the reigning champions, who had fought their way to a chance to defend their title.

The game was an even balance, the two sides changing leads a total of eight times.

Junior guard Demetrius Trammell scored a career-high 33 points to help keep the game always at hand for the Wolves.

The final minutes saw Western Washington take the advantage, on a run of scoring eight points while the Wolves could only put up two. A missed three-point attempt by Trammel in the final two seconds was the end of the game, and Western Washington pulled off the win, 71-69.

The championship loss spelled the end of the men’s basketball season, as Western Oregon was not voted into the Division II tournament.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

​Dispatches from the sports desk

By: ​Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
​Sports​ ​Editor

On Feb. 12, the Sacramento Kings beat the New Orleans Pelicans.

Pelicans shooting guard Buddy Buckets was ejected in the first half, for the very first time in his career, for elbowing Kings All Star DeMarcus Cousins in the groin.

Eight days later these two players were among the deals of a stunner of a trade between the two teams.

I’ve been a huge fan of Buddy since his Oklahoma days. How could you not be? Oklahoma’s always been a football school but for three years Buddy Hield made it a basketball school, and won every player trophy he could.

Then he got drafted by New Orleans.

A team called the Pelicans, with uniforms that look like a junior college team and were already busy squandering the immense talents of Kentucky legend Anthony Davis?

It’s hard to get excited about New Orleans.

Of course, it’s not like Sacramento was giving their own Kentucky legend the help he deserved. Since 2010, “Boogie” Cousins gave his heart and soul to the Kings without a single playoff appearance to attest to his efforts.

Boogie has boot scooted. His loss, of course, is a blow to the fanbase.

As Western Oregon alum and Sac-area native Declan Hertel said to me, “I haven’t followed Sacramento basketball in years, but even I knew that trade was b——t.”

But now Buddy Hield is a King.

Still breaking into the squad, Buddy hasn’t started a game yet. Six games off the bench have lead to a 13.2 points per game average out of 24.5 average minutes. These are both improvements on his time in New Orleans. His 16 points against the Denver Nuggets were the difference, as the Kings won 116-100.

His field goal percentage is .528, and he’s sinking .480 on his three-pointers.

Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive had his reasons for the trade. Like many before him, Ranadive has compared Hield to a young Steph Curry.

“Steph Curry, he’s a different animal,” Hield told Bleacher Report. “I’m Buddy Fresh. I’m Buddy Love. I’m just me. I’m just Buddy.”

If Buddy Buckets unlocks this potential in the NBA, he will explode. But for now, “just Buddy” is doing work.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Track team dominates Willamette Opener

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer​
Sports​ ​Editor

The Western Oregon track and field team blew out the competition in their first outdoor meet of 2017.

The Willamette Opener was hosted by Willamette University. The Wolves’ men’s team topped their table with 60 points, a 24-point advantage on second place Corban. The women’s team also won their table, totaling 48 points, which was 12 points ahead of second place University of Portland.
The women’s team swept all throwing competitions.

Wolves cleaned house in women’s javelin, taking the top three spots. Junior Amanda Short’s event winning distance of 148’7” was a personal best as well as fifth on the Western Oregon all time list. Junior Sheila Limas De La Cruz came in second with 139’9” and first year Halie Korff took third with 131’2.25”.

Senior Rachael Huffman won the shot put with a distance of 42’1.5”, a new personal best and ninth on the Western Oregon all time list.

Huffman won women’s discus with a throw of 136’3.75”. Korff came in third, her own throw recorded at 122’2”.

Sophomore Alecia Falck’s 147’7.5” hammer throw took top honors. Junior Sylvia Dean came in third and Short placed fourth to add another point to the Western Oregon tally.

“Our throws team opened up the outdoor season just how we anticipated,” Huffman said. “All of our throwers are chasing big marks and we are well on our way to accomplishing that. I’m personally excited for us to keep this ball rolling as we continue to move through the season/”

Men’s throws saw junior Brandon Bowen win shot put with a lifetime best of 49’7’.

Junior Keegan Allen, Bowen and sophomore Logan Baker took second, third and fourth at discus respectively.

Keegan Allen also won the men’s hammer throw, chucking it 139’2”.

Wolves runners were short staffed, as many headlining runners are competing in this weekend’s NCAA Indoor Track Championship in Alabama. But the runners available worked to prove how deep the talent goes on the team, consistently taking top three places.

Junior Codi Blodgett won the men’s 100 meter with a time of 11.04, while first year Devon Fortier finished at 11.20 for second place.

Senior Sara Madden won both women’s hurdling events, completing the 100 meter in 16.14 seconds and the 400 meter in 1:06.41.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Six more Wolves qualify in last chance meet

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Western Oregon runners took advantage of Seattle Pacific’s final NCAA indoor qualifier by posting six provisional times and recording a new school record.

Three of these were recorded in the women’s 800 meter. Sophomore Olivia Woods crossed the finish line first, at 2:10.14. Her event-winning time set a new school record. She was soon followed by junior Suzanne Van De Grift, with a time of 2:10.57 and junior Megan Rose with a time of 2:13.18.

Junior Kennedy Rufener then ran the women’s mile in 4:57.01 to be the fourth Western Oregon woman with a provisional time. The time places her third in the school’s record books.

Sophomore Dustin Nading won the men’s mile race, recording a provisional time of 4:05.22.

Senior Josh Dempsey, who won the GNAC title for the men’s 800 meter on Feb. 17, shaved two seconds off his time to bring Western Oregon its sixth provisional finish. He ran the 800 in 1:50.94.

The NCAA Division II Track & Field Championship will be in Birmingham, Alabama, March 10 and 11.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Dispatches from the sports desk

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

It looks like we’ll be getting a massive crossover fight as Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. signal they’ll be meeting one another.

Both camps have confirmed that a deal is in the works, and Mayweather told ESPN that they are getting “very, very close.”

But would the 40-year-old retired boxer with an unblemished 49-0 fight record have his first ever mixed martial arts bout against the UFC’s biggest draw and current lightweight champion? Read that sentence again and you tell me.

Given McGregor’s strike-heavy style, a boxing match is the obvious answer, and that’s what the two have been ca
mpaigning for. This leads many to forecast a beatdown of the Irishman. I’m not inclined to agree. McGregor’s long history as a brawler is what earned him a reputation in the first place.

If Conor McGregor does lose, then he loses to one of the most notable boxers in history. All he has to do is put up a good fight and it will be a victory for the McGregor brand.

Even failing this, McGregor will be winning at the bank. His disclosed UFC earnings, disregarding any bonuses or sponsorships, are $9,542,000. The guaranteed salaries being floated for this fight? 100 million for Mayweather and 15 million for McGregor.

Amidst its world-touring spectacle, it can be easy to forget that the UFC promotion is actually small potatoes in the context of professional sports. Perhaps McGregor feels he’s outgrown the promotion. In fact, he’s already launched his own, following the Mayweather model. But UFC are ready to fight tooth and nail to keep their star on their side, and without their permission, the idea of this fight is going nowhere.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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