Mount Hood

A slow start for baseball at 0-4

Simson Garcia | Sports Editor

The Wolves’s baseball action commenced as the team started out their 2018 season with four games. The Wolves were left 0-4 after three days of cross-conference play from Feb. 8-10 in Azusa, California. Having lost 8-1 to the Biola University Eagles to start, they followed that up with a three game slide against the Azusa Pacific University Cougars, 7-1, 4-3 and 7-6.   

The Wolves versus Eagle game on Feb. 8 was slow to begin as both teams were left scoreless after two innings.

But it was the Eagles who finally got things going in the third and kept it going from there. Western found themselves in a bevy of defensive mistakes that cost them three runs in the frame. The Wolves got familiar with Biola’s Colton Worthington, a senior infielder, who run batted in two to score, off a single up the middle, and then ran himself in off of junior outfielder Jerron Largusa’s RBI to make it 4-0.

After two innings, the score was 8-0 following Worthington’s score off a Largusa RBI.

The Wolves got their only score of the game from senior infielder Jay Leverett in the eighth, to avoid a shutout.

Western forwarded to a three game series with the Cougars on Feb. 9 that concluded on Feb. 10.

Azusa kicked things off in game one, home running to put up three in the first and looked to defend the homefield throughout the weekend. The adversarial Wolves fought back by scoring two, but a succession of two more homers from Azusa followed by two more runs tacked on by hit-by-pitches put the game in jeopardy for Western.

Western was serviced by three pitchers but couldn’t get by the Cougars’s offense, who locked in on the strike zone. Sophomore Wolf pitcher Connor McCord was dealt the loss following five innings while allowing two earned runs.

Game two switched gears and was tightly contested until extra innings. Both teams home-runned by the sixth, putting the score at 1-1. Azusa followed up with another homer propelling them up by two at the home-half.

Senior infielder Nyles Nygaard made sure the Wolves didn’t go quietly. He scored the first home-run, RBI singled in the seventh and then tied it up after scoring himself off a single from first-year outfielder Griffey Hall.   

After three more innings, the score was nil and the game went into extras. Going three and out in two extra innings, Western gave up a double to Azusa in the final frame.

Game three finished off the series in what was a game of five lead changes. With a bit of trickery in the first, the Wolves got the first run via an attempted steal from first to second base, which abled senior outfielder Jacob Martinez to score from third. After falling behind 4-2, the Wolves got back in front, 5-4, with back-to-back homers by Nygaard and junior catcher Jared McDonald.

The Cougars got a two run homer of their own to nudge ahead again but the Wolves resiliently fought back to tie it again and 6-6. But it was a home run by Azusa’s outfielder Sean Aspinall to end matters and get the sweep.

Martinez had a batting average of .417 in 16 at-bats in the four games while McDonald hit 6/16 in the contests.

Next up is two games at California State-Monterey Bay from Feb. 16-17. Opening pitch for the first game is set for 2 p.m.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Photo by: wouwolves.com

Wolves accelerate but couldn’t endure opponents

Simson Garcia | Sports Editor

Two early leads were unsustainable as the women’s basketball team lost two games on Feb. 1 against the Western Washington Vikings, 66-46 and Feb. 3 against the Simon Fraser Clan, 74-57.
The last time Western Oregon played Western Washington resulted in a winning effort from which the Wolves ended an 18-game losing streak to the Vikings. Free throws were the barometer that enabled the Wolves to barely edge out the Vikings.
This go-around found the Wolves in free throw struggles. As one of the best teams in the GNAC in that category, they shot 7/13 on the night. But a bigger woe was the 3-point shooting as the box score entailed 3/18 from beyond.
As the Wolves looked like the team from their earlier matchup, it was a tale of two different halves. They traded baskets with the Vikings and ended the first-quarter knotted at 16-16.
The Wolves kept it up in the second-quarter and had their biggest lead of six at 27-21 before the Vikings sailed back for the lead at 28-27.
Western was able to keep the Vikings to a low percentage in shooting; 3-point woes were also a problem for Washington.
But the second half was in high contrast compared to the first. The Wolves scored season-low totals in the back to back quarters including its lowest of nine in the third, as part of another team-low of 46 total points for a game on the season.
Washington meanwhile was starting to hit their marks in shooting, and got above 50 percent in the second half.
Overall the Wolves shot 30 percent on the game. In their last meeting, the team not only prevailed in stopping the previous 18-game losing streak but held senior forward Hannah Stipanovich, the top-10 scorer in the GNAC, to four points. In this second match up, she was able to score 17 points.
The Wolves got another early lead against SFU off a pair of three-pointers from senior guards Shelby Snook and Kennedy Corrigan, to establish a 12-6 lead in the first.
And as they were able to have their largest lead of the game at eight, the Clan soon battled back to retain the lead, 32-28, by halftime.
The last these two teams played, free-throws were a theme in the Wolves’s losing try.
The Clan got to the line plenty in that first meeting and continued to do so in the second game. But poor Wolf shooting from three-point carried on from their game in Washington as this time, they shot 3/19.
The second half also paled in comparison to the first as the Wolves couldn’t help matters with their shooting, going 30 percent in the half compared to the Clan’s 62 percent.
The Wolves continue their season and GNAC campaign on a five-game losing streak and hope to shake it off against a pair of Alaska teams on Feb. 8 and 10. The games are at home and both have a start time of 5:15 p.m.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Photo by: wouwolves.com

The low-down on the Olympic snow-down

Simson Garcia | Sports Editor

Get ready for takeoff when that snowboarder launches from that half-pipe. Brace for impact when that skier hits that gate. Then get your footing as soon as that ice skater gracefully lands that triple axle.
Feast your eyes — the Winter Olympics are back. Every four years, Olympians from a diverse range of sports race, jump, spin, land and cross the finish line in hopes of gold, silver and bronze glory.
Snowboarding, skiing, ice hockey and figure skating will once again be a few of the mainstays during the month of February. American gold medalists in past Olympics such as snowboarder Shaun White and skier Lindsey Vonn make their return. Canada, gold medal winners of the past two games in ice hockey, will once again deploy the puck.

Who to watch:
Two-time gold medalist and 18-time X Games medalist, White, will compete in his fourth Winter Olympics — in one of his signature events, the half-pipe. White didn’t medal in the 2014 Games but has emerged from a few spectacular performances this past year. 2010 Olympic gold medalist Vonn also makes her fourth Olympic appearance and will get a shot at her signature event in the super giant slalom. Vonn, a winner of 81 titles over 135 made podiums also returns after a long rehabilitation from a severe knee injury in 2013 that set her back and is one of the comeback stories to look forward to.
Mikaela Shiffrin, arguably the next Vonn, will race in similar skiing events and at 22 is already rivaling Vonn’s number with 59 total podiums, including her first gold in the slalom at the 2014 Games.

What to watch for:
This year around, 92 nations and their 2,952 athletes will take their talents to Pyeongchang, South Korea to compete in over 102 events in seven different sports. Out of the seven different sports are 15 different disciplines such as freestyle skiing and Alpine skiing or downhill skiing, the latter of which Vonn and Shiffrin compete.

When to watch:
The competitions kick off on Feb. 8 and ends on Feb. 25. While the opening ceremony sets the stage on Feb. 9, the actual events will begin as early as Feb. 7 as Alpine skiing and curling start things off at 8 p.m. pacific.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Photo by: Chicago tribune

Softball opens season at 3-2

Simson Garcia | Sports Editor

Wolves softball is back again on the diamond. The 2017 GNAC championship contenders emerge once again and have another season to look forward to. In January they were picked in the preseason coaches poll to finish third in the conference. From Feb. 2-4, they returned to the turf in the Desert Stinger invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada, to open their first five games of the season.
The Wolves started things off right on their first day of competition on Feb. 2 in two games against Eastern New Mexico, 7-2, and Sonoma State, 4-3. Things flipped and the Wolves fell twice on Feb. 3 versus Concordia-Irvine, 12-0, and Cal-State San Bernardino 11-8. Finally, the Wolves went up against Notre Dame de Namur sealing the weekend off correctly in a win, 13-6.
Batters were surely up against New Mexico and so was the ball. Home runs set the tone for the Wolves in the second and third innings to go up 3-1. If it wasn’t homers, it was hard slugging as first-year outfielder Ayanjmna Arceneaux run batted in junior infielder Jenna Kelly off double to right-center field to a score of 4-1 in the fourth. Then in the fifth, Arceneaux helped again by scoring on a single from first-year utility player Tyler Creach to put the game away.
The offensive momentum transferred onto the defense as junior pitcher Haley Fabian threw a complete game earning a win in the process and striking out nine players.
The later game against Sonoma State saw the Wolves down early 3-0 by the fourth inning. Unable to get things going with a mere two hits, the fifth had the Wolves revive their wounds after an Arceneaux single to left that ran in senior outfielder Zoe Clark. After a single rounded Arceneaux to third, she advanced home on a Sonoma error to further ensure the deficit at 3-2.
Inning six came around and so did the Wolves. The Wolves got their fourth homer of the day from freshman catcher Mariah Deleon to win the game. Senior pitcher Lizzet Dominguez got the start and win by throwing a complete game and allowed only three hits in the comeback.
An opportunity to stay undefeated closed the next day. No openings for a score were present against Concordia as the Wolves went hitless. A pop-up or walk was all the Wolves could conjure up and in all, nine batters struck out. The Eagles, who were just lurking on the outside of the top-25 Division II preseason poll offed the Wolves’s defense scoring 12 unanswered in the last three innings to shutout the Wolves.
In the fourth game against Cal-State San Bernardino, the Wolves continued their struggles giving up five early runs. Three more runs extended the Coyote lead by the top of the fourth. Down 9-3 in the bottom of the sixth, back-to-back singles to center field via the Wolves scored two. But Cal-State outpaced the Wolves stretching the lead to 11-5 in the seventh and final inning. A make-or-break situation for the Wolves in the bottom half had them RBI three but a ground out and strikeout ended hopes. Fabian played her second complete game, with her first loss of the season.
The Wolves faced off against Notre Dame de Namur for their fifth and final game where the Argonauts pushed out to a 3-0 lead early. But the bottom of the second was in the Wolves’s favor as eight batters in total locked in and the resulting home-run by junior infielder Ryann Huffman scored two to grab the lead at 4-3. After scoring two more, the Argonauts knotted the game at 6-6. But a 5-0 Wolf run in the sixth established a comfortable lead and the win. Dominguez completed the game with her second win of the invitational to put her at 2-0.
The 3-2 Wolves will now look ahead as they’ll play six more games from Feb. 9-11 in the West Texas A&M Lady Buff.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Photo by: wouwolves.com

Keeping it going: men’s team extends win streak to 14

Morgan Swaim | Staff Writer

As the regular season winds down, every game becomes more important for the men’s basketball team. Luckily, this past week’s two victories on Jan. 30 versus Concordia, 86-72, and Feb. 1 against Montana State-Billings, 71-60, showed that the Wolves are one of the teams to beat across the nation.

The Wolves grabbed the first victory at home despite Concordia’s best efforts. In that first game, junior guard Riley Hawken, who played at Concordia during his first year of college, was able to get hot against his former team. Scoring 11 points in 16 minutes, Hawken’s offense helped the team jump out to a 45-31 lead at halftime.
Throughout the second half, the Wolves were trying to break the game open even further. At one point the lead was 20, but the Cavaliers were able to keep the game from becoming a blowout due to the effort of senior forward Christopher Edward, who scored 33 points in an attempt to upset the Wolves.
The key to maintaining a large second-half lead was strong bench play. Senior guard Demetrius Trammell had another great game as a reserve, shooting 4/5 from the 3-point line and scoring 14 points in the second half alone.

The second game was on the road where four players reached double figures on the offensive side of the ball in the comeback.The first half provided some adversity for the Wolves, as they found themselves staring at an eight point deficit going into the final 20 minutes. Trailing 42-34, the team came out in the second half on a mission.
The Yellowjackets were only allowed to score 18 points, shooting only 22 percent. The Wolves were locked in with their winning streak on the line, and outscored Montana State Billings 37-18 in the second half to keep the streak alive at 14.

Next week, the Wolves will have back to back home games. On Thursday, Feb. 8, the Seattle Pacific Falcons make a visit. The game will take place at 7:30 p.m. The first matchup of the year was extremely tight, as the Wolves won 83-79, one of their closest games of the year.
On Saturday, Feb. 10, the St. Martin’s University Saints will also make an arrival to Monmouth. The Saints have a winning streak of their own right now currently at seven. With St. Martin’s sitting at third place in the GNAC conference this game will be one to watch, as it is one of the key matchups left in the GNAC conference-regular season.
Contact the author at mswaim16@wou.edu

Photo by: Paul F. Davis

Federer wins his 20th Grand Slam

Simson Garcia | Sports Editor

The tennis world was in for another Roger Federer show at the Australian Open finals this past Saturday. On Jan. 28, the No. 2 world ranked Swiss rallied to defeat the No. 6 ranked Croatian, Marin Čilić, in five closely battled sets: 6-2, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
After weeks of anticipation, the championship was finally here — but for Federer, the tournament up until then looked like smooth sailing, having never lost a set. For part of the finals in particular, he looked to be the Federer of old, and in other parts looked to be old Federer.
The first set was prime Federer, and was a quick and momentous one. To gain advantage, it only took a few rallies for the 36-year-old to score it at 3-0 before finishing off the set comfortably at 6-2.
Viewers who might have switched stations assuming Federer would get the easy victory in another dominant performance had another thing coming.
Čilić made it a game and pushed Federer like only few have. After some intense interchanging of leads, the 29-year old Čilić gained traction in the second set taking Federer to a long tie break and overcoming him, 7-6, to tie the match at 1-apiece.
Then, Federer hit back in fed fashion dominating the third set, 6-3. He struggled, however, serving against Čilić in the fourth set. The tense back and forth action of the match continued including a very long rally of 18 shots before Čilić won three straight games to go up 6-3.
Three games into the final set could have gone either way but Federer found his serve and stride en route to a 6-1 win and 20th Grand Slam title.  

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Photo by: theguardian.com

Records set by wolf track runners

Simson Garcia | Sports Editor

Record setting performances were produced yet again as Western’s track and field teams took to the University of Washington invitational to display such feats on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27. Numerous changes were made in the record books for Western track including three school records, and one change to the national Division II list for the mile run. Five NCAA provisional qualifying marks were also generated throughout the weekend.
Western senior David Ribich finished third overall in the mile run and came to the finish in just under four minutes with a time of 3:58.88. That is second all-time in NCAA Division II history and the fastest time in 32 years for a Division II mile runner. In doing so, he was the 495th runner in U.S. history since 1957 to record a sub-4 minute mile finish.
Right behind him was junior Dustin Nading, who ran in an earlier heat of the men’s mile and accomplished his personal best time of 4:04.5, also a NCAA provisional qualifying mark and second all-time in the GNAC.

Nading and Ribich, along with teammates AJ Holmberg and Aaron Whitaker ran the distance-medley-relay event the day before winning there and earning an automatic qualifying mark finishing just ahead of four Division I schools. Holmberg, Nading and Ribich were part of the historical distance medley relay at the 2017 Indoor Championships where they were crowned national champions.
Adding more provisional qualifying marks were last year’s All-Americans for track in Olivia Woods and Suzanne Van De Grift. In the 800 meters, Woods and Van De Grift ran to 11 and 17th place finishes, respectively, earning times of 2:10.62 and 2:11.80.
Woods and Van De Grift then coupled with Megan Rose and Kennedy Rufener in the DMR to finish in eighth place with a time of 11:48.58 — also a NCAA provisional qualifying mark and school record.
Rufener, who ran individually in the cross country national championships in December, ran the 3,000 meters to a 9:56.05 time, another provisional qualifier mark to round out the multitude of Wolf achievements.
The Wolves return to the University of Washington on February 10-11 to compete in the Husky classic/open.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Photo by: wouwolves.com

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