WEEKLY RELEASE: Western kicks off 10-game home stand against Western Oregon, Saint Martin's :: Six straight losses put Vikings third in the GNAC, 11th in Region.

April 9, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- The Western Washington University softball team looks to snap its six-game losing streak this weekend with Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheaders versus Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. The Vikings have won just two of their last 10 games since opening the season 14-5. Western is 5-3 in conference play and sits alone in third place, just one game behind first-place Seattle U.

The Vikings meet Western Oregon (15-13, 4-4 GNAC) in a twinbill beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday at Viking Field. The series marks the first of 10 straight home games for Western. The Vikings are 3-1 at home this year.

The Saint Martin's (15-20, 3-5 GNAC) series is set to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday. The two teams have split a pair of meetings this season, with the Saints taking the most recent match up, 3-2, in the Bronze Bracket semi-finals at the Tournament of Champions on March 30.

Neither the Saints nor Wolves have played since the TOC. The two teams were scheduled to meet in a conference double header at Monmouth, Ore., but were postponed due to wet groudns.

SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON

The Wolves (15-13, 4-4 GNAC) have lost eight of their last 12 games and have not seen the field since dropping a 2-0 decision to UC San Diego at the Tournament of Champions on March 30. Western Oregon is hitting .257 as a team, managing just 23 runs in its last 12 contests, an average of 1.92 runs per game, getting shut out on four occasions.

Trina Dorn leads the club with a .341 average and ranks second on the team with a pair of homers and eight RBI. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Sutherland, the 2007 GNAC Freshman of the Year, is hitting . 327 with six stolen bases in seven attempts and just two errors in 90 chances (.978 fielding percentage). The Wolves have hit 18 home runs in 2008, paced by Amanda Fleer and Jessica Hallmark's three. Catcher Jamie Becker has a team-high 13 RBI.

Western Oregon boasts the league's best ERA at 2.08. Junior Katie Fleer (8-4) leads the GNAC with a 1.59 ERA and a .179 opponents batting average. Fleer has struck out 92 hitters in 79 innings pitched. Jessica Wood and Christina Cooke each own 2.31 ERAs and rank third and fourth in the league, respectively, with opposing batting averages of .230 and .236.

The Vikings hold a 38-15 advantage in 53 all-time meetings with Western Oregon, including a 4-2 win on March 1 at the Central Washington Invitational.

Viking Career Leaders vs. Western Oregon... Player AB AVG HR RBI Morgan Parkerson 10 .500 1 2 Meghan Flem 22 .409 2 6 Katie Barker 29 .379 1 6 Michelle Wrigley 3 .333 0 0 Kelsey Anderson 3 .333 0 2

Pitcher IP H W-L ERA Sarah McEnroe 13.1 12 0-1 1.05 Jessica Rosencrants 7.0 2 1-0 2.00

SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S

The Saints (15-20, 3-5 GNAC) have won three of their last five games, including a 3-2 win over Western in the Bronze Bracket semifinals at the Tournament of Champions on March 30. The win evened the season series at one game a piece. The Vikings lead the all-time series 54-12, including a 5-0 mark during the 2007 season.

First baseman Holly Morris and freshman Kristine Kaneshiro lead a rejuvenated Saint Martin's offense. The Saints' 15 wins represent a dramatic improvement from a 2007 season in which they were 4-37. Morris is hitting .380 with a league-high 11 home runs and 32 RBI. Kaneshiro is a .363 hitter, just three points behind Viking Michelle Wrigley in the race for the freshmen batting title, with a pair of homers and 16 runs batted in. As a team the Saints are hitting .256, with an on-base percentage of only .319.

Brandi Klemm and Alicia Fuchs lead a pitching staff that has allowed opposing hitters to hit for a .308 average. Klemm is 5-4 with a 3.09 ERA and two shutouts. She was the pitcher of record in Saint Martin's 3-2 win at the TOC, tossing seven innings and scattering nine hits. Fuchs has made 13 appearances and six starts, sporting a 1.74 ERA and a team-best .243 opponents batting average.

Viking Career Leaders vs. Saint Martin's... Player AB AVG HR RBI Caitlin Dotlich 6 .500 1 1 Michelle Wrigley 6 .500 0 1 Morgan Parkerson 11 .455 2 6 Katie Barker 33 .424 0 5 Liza Teichler 52 .307 0 10

Pitcher IP H W-L ERA Sarah McEnroe 25.0 17 3-1 0.84 Jen Jorgensen 8.2 6 1-0 1.84

GOING LONG

Sophomore Meghan Flem belted a game-tying grandslam in the seventh inning versus San Francisco State, matching Carlena Herd's Western career record of 12. Carlena Herd played for the Vikings from 1999-2002. Flem set the single-season mark in 2007 with nine home runs as a freshman. Flem has homered against every GNAC team except for this week's opponent Seattle U.

VIKING CAREER HOME RUN LEADERS
Player             Years        Total
Meghan Flem        2007-Pres.      12
Carlena Herd       1999-2002       12
Adrienne Moore     2002-2005       11
Courtney Walton    2004-2006        9

RECORD WATCH

Senior catcher and designated hitter Liza Teichler is closing in on the Viking career record for doubles and is also approaching the top five for hits and runs batted in. In 2007, Teichler hit .368 (64-for-174) with 15 doubles, four home runs, 40 RBI and 33 runs scored, earning GNAC Player of the Year accolades. Here is a look at how she stacks up against the top-5 in the Western record books:

Name		Hits	Name		2Bs	Name 		RBI
Jen Brandolini	 194	Cathy Johnson	 38	Cathy Johnson	104
Jessi Williams	 174	Liza Teichler	 28	Carlena Herd	103
Andi Greenen	 166	Andie Greenen	 25	Adrienne Moore	 90
Mandy Harvey	 153	Carlena Herd	 25	Carlena Herd 	 84
Cathy Johnson	 151 	Adrienne Moore	 24  	Megan McPhee  	 77
#12 L. Teichler	 138				#6 L. Teichler	 73

HOME STAND

Western's plays its next 10 games at Viking Field, after opening the season with just four home games in its first 29. The Vikings are 3-1 at home in 2008, sweeping a GNAC doubleheader with Montana State Billings on March 6, before splitting a non-conference twinbill the following day. The Vikings are 13-3 in their last sixteen home games and finished the 2007 season with a 10-4 record in Bellingham. Western is 115-73-1 all-time at Viking Field, a .611 winning percentage.

LETTING IT SLIDE

The Vikings enter the weekend on a a six-game slide. Western lost its final four games at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, Calif., before dropping both ends of a doubleheader at Seattle U. The current losing streak is the team's longest since a seven-game stretch in 2005. The Vikings have not lost more than seven straight games since the program's inaugural season in 1993.

Morgan Parkerson

BRITISH HOOLIGAN

Morgan Parkerson is hitting .476 in 21 career at bats against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's pitching. She is 5-for-11 (.455) against Saint Martin's, including a seventh-inning single in Western's 3-2 loss to the Saints at the TOC. Parkerson is the team's top career hitter against Western Oregon with a .500 average, one home run and a pair of RBI. The junior designated hitter ranks fifth on the team with a .276 average this season and five RBI in just 29 at bats.

NO FREE PASSES

Despite walking five Redhawks in a 3-1 loss last Sunday, Jessica Rosencrants ranks second in the GNAC and 11th in the nation with 0.85 walks per seven innings. Rosencrants has allowed less than one base runner per inning, limiting opponents to just 91 hits and 14 walks in her 115 innings pitched. She leads a staff that ranks second in the GNAC and fourth in the West Region in walks allowed per game (1.59).

BAT ON THE BALL

Senior catcher Liza Teichler has struck out just four times in 88 at bats in 2008. Teichler leads the team and ranks second in the GNAC and 61st nationally striking out just once every 22 at bats. An atypical power hitter, Teichler is slugging .414 in her career with four home runs and 32 extra-base hits with just 23 strikeouts in 465 plate appearances over the last four seasons. The Vikings are the toughest team in the GNAC to strike out, whiffing just 3.59 times per game. Western puts that mark to the test this weekend against Western Oregon. The Wolves pitching staff is second in the league with 165 strikeouts in 28 games, paced individually by GNAC leader Katie Fleer (92 Ks in 79 innings pitched).

WRIGLEY FIELD

Leftfielder Michelle Wrigley leads the team and all GNAC freshmen with a .366 batting average and 21 runs scored. She also tops Western in hits (34), doubles (8), total bases (42) and on-base percentage (.398). Wrigley, who saw a 10-game hitting streak snapped versus Humboldt State, has at least one hit in 22 of her 26 starts and has yet to play in consecutive hitless games. In the field, Wrigley leads all Viking outfielders with a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Lisa Pendergrast

CONFERENCE CUTS

Three Vikings are among the top seven in GNAC batting average. Liza Teichler leads the conference with a .480 average (12-for-25) in eight conference games, while Michelle Wrigley (.444, 12-for-27) and Lisa Pendergrast (.417, 10-for-24) rank third and seventh, respectively. Freshman centerfielder Jenna Mohrweis has also excelled versus GNAC pitching, posting a .350 average with seven of her 14 hits this season coming in the team's eight league contests.

REGIONAL ROUND UP

Following a sweep at the hands of Seattle U., the Vikings fell to 11th in the April 9 West Regional ratings, one spot behind Friday's opponent Western Oregon. Humboldt State remained atop the ratings and is now 34-13 in regional play. Six California Collegiate Athletic Conference teams currently reside in the top eight, with Seattle U. and Pacific West Conference leader Hawaii Pacific crashing the party at No. 3 and No. 8, respectively.

A GRANDE OLD TIME

Meghan Flem's grand slam was the ninth in school history and the first since Ashley Osman hit a bases-full home run on March 30, 2007 against Cal State Bakersfield. The Vikings hit three grand slams in 2007, including slams by Liza Teichler (03/02/07) and Osman (03/03/07) on consecutive days. The school record for individual grand slams in a career is two, shared by Osman (2004-07) and Adrienne Moore (2002-05).

WALKING OFF WITH A WIN

Senior Lisa Pendergrast sparked a pair of Viking victories with walk-off base hits in a series Montana State Billings. Pendergrast's double to right center scored Caitlin Dotlich from first base to give Western a 2-1 win in eight innings on March 6. The following day, the right fielder singled to center, plating the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Pendergrast was named co-player of the week in the GNAC for the week of March 2-9.

COMING UP ROSES

Junior transfer Jessica Rosencrants pitched 28 of a possible 39 innings in six games at the Lead-Off Classic. Rosencrants finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, a 2.00 ERA and a .229 opponents' batting average. Rosencrants pitched the final 16-2/3 innings of the tournament for the Vikings, retiring 50 of 56 batters and allowing just three runs. She set a school record by retiring 21 straight during one stretch in which she cut down eight Western New Mexico Mustangs and 13 MSU-Billings Yellowjackets in order. Rosencrants finished the week with 25 strikeouts and just two walks en route to being named GNAC Pitcher of the Week for February 10-16.

STARTING WITH A BANG

Freshman Caitlin Dotlich's first hit was a memorable one. Dotlich struck for a three-run homer during a four-run Viking first inning in a 7-1 win over Eastern New Mexico. In doing so, Dotlich became the first Western player to homer for her first career base hit since teammate Morgan Parkerson. Parkerson collected her first career hit with a two-run shot against Western Oregon on April 7, 2006.

NATIONAL WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY

Western catcher Liza Teichler and former pitcher Jackie Quint were among those honored on the floor of the Washington State Senate on Feb. 6 for National Women and Girls in Sports Day. The annual resolution is passed by the senate each year in an effort to recognize the commitment and courage of female athletes.

30 ROCK

Western won a school record 34 games during the 2007 season, turning in the fifth 30-win season in program history. With 30 wins in 2008, Viking head coach Lonnie Hicks would match former bench boss Art Phinney with a school record 186 career wins. Hicks is currently 165-134, good for a .552 winning percentage, in six seasons at Western.

TRIPLE THREAT

Three Viking newcomers were teammates at Inglemoor High School. Pitcher Emily Hardin and catchers Samantha Rutherford and Michelle Wrigley all started and lettered for the Inglemoor Vikings the past three seasons. As seniors, the trio led the team to a 24-5 mark and a third-place finish in the Class 4A state tournament.

REST FOR THE WEARY

Viking sophomores Hannah Becker and Megan Fowler will redshirt the 2008 season while recovering from injuries. Both players were projected starters. Becker hit .264 with four home runs and 19 RBI as a catcher during her freshman year, while Fowler started 39 games in a utility role.

CONFERENCE CHAMPS

The Vikings captured the program's first Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship in 2007. Western finished with a 15-5 league mark, edging Western Oregon with a double-header sweep on the final weekend of the regular season.

REGIONAL WRAP

Western qualified for the NCAA West Regional for the second time in program history last season, winning a school record 34 games in the process. The Vikings suffered a pair of agonizingly close losses to Cal State Stanislaus (2-0) and Sonoma State (3-1) in regional action at Turlock, Calif.

Sarah McEnroe

2007 ACCOLADES

Western swept all three major Great Northwest Athletic Conference awards in 2007. Departed senior Jackie Quint was named Pitcher of the Year, while battery mate Liza Teichler was honored as the league's Player of the Year. Head Coach Lonnie Hicks capped the trifecta when he took home Coach of the Year accolades. Quint, Teichler and center fielder Misty Britt were named first-team GNAC All-Stars, while infielders Nicole Walker and Meghan Flem were second-team picks.

Three Vikings earned regional honors. Teichler and pitcher Sarah McEnroe were named second-team All-NFCA West Region all-stars. Teichler was also named to the Daktronics West Region first-team, while Quint earned second-team honors.

ON THE WEB

For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the Western Athletic web page at www.wwuvikings.com. Live statistics for home games will be available on the Western GameDay page, beginning April 4, versus Seattle U. Live stats will also be posted for away games when available. Up-to-date league standings and statistics can be found on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web page at www.gnacsports.com.