After a historic 2013 campaign in which Seattle University softball christened their newly renovated home field, Logan Field at Seattle University Park, holding their first game “under the lights” and competing in a new conference, the Redhawks return for the 2014 campaign looking to build upon successes of last season. Picked to finish second by the league’s head coaches, Seattle U will play host to the 2014 Western Athletic Conference tournament in May. Starting the season at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., SU will face Cal Poly and San Jose State on day two (Feb. 7), Cal State Northridge and San Diego State on day three (Feb. 8), and Penn State and Stanford (Feb. 9) to close out the weekend.
SU Picked to Finish Second in WAC: In a vote of the league’s six head coaches, SU was picked to finish second in the league in 2014, while New Mexico State earned the top spot. Rounding out the list were Utah Valley and Bakersfield in the middle of the pack followed by Kansas City and Grand Canyon. Isabella Geronimo and Bubba Morrow also received Preseason All-WAC honors.
Redhawks Highlighted by College Sports Madness: CSM named Mandie Sugita, Brianna Guerrero, and Bubba Morrow to their First Team All-WAC and named Isabella Geronimo to Second Team All-WAC. Lindsay Davis was named Preseason WAC Freshman of the Year while Dan Powers was named Preseason WAC Coach of the Year.
Upcoming Milestones: With a 247-241 overall record, head coach Dan Powers will coach his 500th career game on Feb. 16 vs. Toledo to close out the Easton Desert Classic. Powers is also just three wins away from his 250th career win.
Seattle U to Host 2014 WAC Tournament: Seattle U will host the 2014 WAC Tournament on May 8-10, with all five eligible teams (Grand Canyon is in DI reclassification and thus not eligible) advancing to the tournament. Stay tuned to GoSeattleU.com for updates and details as the date nears.
Scouting Cal Poly: Cal Poly returns seven position starters and all three All-Big West honorees from 2013, but the Mustangs were picked to finish sixth in the Preseason Big West Conference poll. Last season, Cal Poly finished 19-34-1 and 8-16 in conference play, swept by UC Davis in their final regular season series. Jillian Andersen, the Mustangs’ leader at the plate (.325), returns as a senior while junior Chloe Wurst, recording a team-best 2.64 ERA also returns. This will be the first ever meeting between the Redhawks and Mustangs.
Scouting San Jose State: A familiar opponent for the Redhawks, the Spartans won last season’s WAC tournament before moving to the Mountain West, where they were picked to finish tied for fourth in 2014. They return eight letterwinners, including 2013 All-WAC honorees Michelle Cox (first team), Devin Caldwell (second team), and Jessie Hufstetler (All-Tournament team), with the addition of five true freshmen and three sophomore transfers. In 2013, SU took the first of three games from SJSU, defeating them 2-1 in the first game of the series.
Scouting Cal State Northridge: Last season, Cal State Northridge won 15 more games than the previous season and posted the sixth-best turnaround in all of Division I. They also recorded more home runs than their opponents and raised the team batting average and on-base percentage more than 50 points. Tanna Bindi, Jennifer Tyler, and Leann Lopez return to lead the team as seniors while the Matadors add nine tree freshmen and two transfers to the crop of nine returning letterwinners. Posting a 25-31 overall record and 11-13 conference record in 2013, the Matadors were picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll.
Scouting San Diego State: San Diego State was recently picked to win the Mountain West regular season title for the third consecutive year, receiving seven of nine first place votes from the league’s head coaches. SDSU finished 36-20 in 2013, advancing to the NCAA tournament for a school-record sixth consecutive year, earning its sixth all-time and second straight Mountain West championship. The Aztecs return eight starters from the 2013 campaign, including Easton All-Americans Lorena Bauer and Patrice Jackson. Hayley Miles, an NFCA All-American in 2012, redshirted the 2013 season but is on the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
Scouting Penn State: Penn State finished 16-34 last season, including 5-17 in Big 10 play, topping Illinois, 5-2, in the first round of the conference tournament and ultimately falling to Minnesota, 4-0, to end the season. The Nittany Lions lost NFCA First-Team All-American Cassidy Bell to graduation, PSU’s 2013 leader at the plate (.456), but they return Macy Jones who led the team in the circle with a 3.84 ERA. Amanda Lehotak enters her first season as head coach at Penn State, bringing seven years of head coaching experience, including the last two seasons at SU’s former fellow WAC opponent, UTSA.
Scouting Stanford: Stanford was chosen to finish fifth in the Preseason Pac-12 coaches poll but is ranked 20th and 22nd, respectively, in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and NFCA preseason polls. The Cardinal finished 39-21 and ranked No. 21/22 in the nation in 2013, placing fourth in the Pac-12 with a 13-11 record. Stanford has made 16 straight NCAA Regional Appearances dating back to 1998 with their most recent Super Regional appearance in 2011. Stanford returns three All-America Scholar-Athletes from 2013 (Cassandra Roulund, Jenna Rich, and Tegan Schmidt), while recent graduate Teagan Gerhart joins the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. This is the first all-time meeting between the Cardinal and the Redhawks.
In With the New: The Redhawks added six newcomers to their roster in 2014 including Paige Bouska (Keizer, Ore.), Alyssa Reuble (Lynnwood, Wash.), Lindsay Davis (Palo Cedro, Calif.), Megan Ottino (Torrance, Calif.), Malin Murray (Juneau, Alaska), and Kayla Shuster-Gonzales (Escondido, Calif.).
National Letters of Intent: In November, the Redhawks signed five student-athletes who will attend school and compete at SU starting with the 2014-15 school year: Sara Dominguez (Santa Ynez, Calif.), Breanna Timmons (Santa Maria, Calif.), Julia Bragado (San Diego, Calif.), Madeline Kristjanson (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.), and Savannah Loomis (Roseville, Calif.).
Stars and Stripes: A team of Seattle U coaches and staff hosted the national Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team during Labor Day Weekend 2013 for a friendly battle. SU softball head coach Dan Powers coached the staff team and head men’s basketball coach Cameron Dollar also competed. The WWAST is comprised of young, competitive, athletic veterans and active duty soldiers who have lost limbs post-9/11 while serving their country in combat.
2013 Recap:
•Allegra Wilde was named CoSIDA Capital One District VIII Academic All-District, as voted upon by the district’s sports information directors
•Bubba Morrow and Isabella Geronimo were named First Team All-Conference
•Brianna Guerrero received First Team All-WAC honors from College Sports Madness
•Geronimo led the conference with an 11 game hitting streak from Apr. 12 to Apr. 27
•Richelle Ashburn was named WAC Pitcher of the Week (Apr. 8-14)
•Brittney Lott was named College Sports Madness WAC Player of the Week (Feb. 18-24)
•Rogin Hardy was named to the CollegeSoftball360 Honor Roll (Feb. 7-10)
•The Redhawks earned their first WAC win and series sweep versus Utah State (Apr. 12-13)
•SU hosted Bradley in the school’s first official on-campus outdoor athletic event “under the lights” on Mar. 7
•Seattle U’s newly renovated home, Logan Field at SU Park, was dedicated in fall 2012 with the first competitions taking place during the 2013 season
SU Picked to Finish Second in WAC: In a vote of the league’s six head coaches, SU was picked to finish second in the league in 2014, while New Mexico State earned the top spot. Rounding out the list were Utah Valley and Bakersfield in the middle of the pack followed by Kansas City and Grand Canyon. Isabella Geronimo and Bubba Morrow also received Preseason All-WAC honors.
Redhawks Highlighted by College Sports Madness: CSM named Mandie Sugita, Brianna Guerrero, and Bubba Morrow to their First Team All-WAC and named Isabella Geronimo to Second Team All-WAC. Lindsay Davis was named Preseason WAC Freshman of the Year while Dan Powers was named Preseason WAC Coach of the Year.
Upcoming Milestones: With a 247-241 overall record, head coach Dan Powers will coach his 500th career game on Feb. 16 vs. Toledo to close out the Easton Desert Classic. Powers is also just three wins away from his 250th career win.
Seattle U to Host 2014 WAC Tournament: Seattle U will host the 2014 WAC Tournament on May 8-10, with all five eligible teams (Grand Canyon is in DI reclassification and thus not eligible) advancing to the tournament. Stay tuned to GoSeattleU.com for updates and details as the date nears.
Scouting Cal Poly: Cal Poly returns seven position starters and all three All-Big West honorees from 2013, but the Mustangs were picked to finish sixth in the Preseason Big West Conference poll. Last season, Cal Poly finished 19-34-1 and 8-16 in conference play, swept by UC Davis in their final regular season series. Jillian Andersen, the Mustangs’ leader at the plate (.325), returns as a senior while junior Chloe Wurst, recording a team-best 2.64 ERA also returns. This will be the first ever meeting between the Redhawks and Mustangs.
Scouting San Jose State: A familiar opponent for the Redhawks, the Spartans won last season’s WAC tournament before moving to the Mountain West, where they were picked to finish tied for fourth in 2014. They return eight letterwinners, including 2013 All-WAC honorees Michelle Cox (first team), Devin Caldwell (second team), and Jessie Hufstetler (All-Tournament team), with the addition of five true freshmen and three sophomore transfers. In 2013, SU took the first of three games from SJSU, defeating them 2-1 in the first game of the series.
Scouting Cal State Northridge: Last season, Cal State Northridge won 15 more games than the previous season and posted the sixth-best turnaround in all of Division I. They also recorded more home runs than their opponents and raised the team batting average and on-base percentage more than 50 points. Tanna Bindi, Jennifer Tyler, and Leann Lopez return to lead the team as seniors while the Matadors add nine tree freshmen and two transfers to the crop of nine returning letterwinners. Posting a 25-31 overall record and 11-13 conference record in 2013, the Matadors were picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll.
Scouting San Diego State: San Diego State was recently picked to win the Mountain West regular season title for the third consecutive year, receiving seven of nine first place votes from the league’s head coaches. SDSU finished 36-20 in 2013, advancing to the NCAA tournament for a school-record sixth consecutive year, earning its sixth all-time and second straight Mountain West championship. The Aztecs return eight starters from the 2013 campaign, including Easton All-Americans Lorena Bauer and Patrice Jackson. Hayley Miles, an NFCA All-American in 2012, redshirted the 2013 season but is on the 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
Scouting Penn State: Penn State finished 16-34 last season, including 5-17 in Big 10 play, topping Illinois, 5-2, in the first round of the conference tournament and ultimately falling to Minnesota, 4-0, to end the season. The Nittany Lions lost NFCA First-Team All-American Cassidy Bell to graduation, PSU’s 2013 leader at the plate (.456), but they return Macy Jones who led the team in the circle with a 3.84 ERA. Amanda Lehotak enters her first season as head coach at Penn State, bringing seven years of head coaching experience, including the last two seasons at SU’s former fellow WAC opponent, UTSA.
Scouting Stanford: Stanford was chosen to finish fifth in the Preseason Pac-12 coaches poll but is ranked 20th and 22nd, respectively, in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and NFCA preseason polls. The Cardinal finished 39-21 and ranked No. 21/22 in the nation in 2013, placing fourth in the Pac-12 with a 13-11 record. Stanford has made 16 straight NCAA Regional Appearances dating back to 1998 with their most recent Super Regional appearance in 2011. Stanford returns three All-America Scholar-Athletes from 2013 (Cassandra Roulund, Jenna Rich, and Tegan Schmidt), while recent graduate Teagan Gerhart joins the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. This is the first all-time meeting between the Cardinal and the Redhawks.
In With the New: The Redhawks added six newcomers to their roster in 2014 including Paige Bouska (Keizer, Ore.), Alyssa Reuble (Lynnwood, Wash.), Lindsay Davis (Palo Cedro, Calif.), Megan Ottino (Torrance, Calif.), Malin Murray (Juneau, Alaska), and Kayla Shuster-Gonzales (Escondido, Calif.).
National Letters of Intent: In November, the Redhawks signed five student-athletes who will attend school and compete at SU starting with the 2014-15 school year: Sara Dominguez (Santa Ynez, Calif.), Breanna Timmons (Santa Maria, Calif.), Julia Bragado (San Diego, Calif.), Madeline Kristjanson (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.), and Savannah Loomis (Roseville, Calif.).
Stars and Stripes: A team of Seattle U coaches and staff hosted the national Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team during Labor Day Weekend 2013 for a friendly battle. SU softball head coach Dan Powers coached the staff team and head men’s basketball coach Cameron Dollar also competed. The WWAST is comprised of young, competitive, athletic veterans and active duty soldiers who have lost limbs post-9/11 while serving their country in combat.
2013 Recap:
•Allegra Wilde was named CoSIDA Capital One District VIII Academic All-District, as voted upon by the district’s sports information directors
•Bubba Morrow and Isabella Geronimo were named First Team All-Conference
•Brianna Guerrero received First Team All-WAC honors from College Sports Madness
•Geronimo led the conference with an 11 game hitting streak from Apr. 12 to Apr. 27
•Richelle Ashburn was named WAC Pitcher of the Week (Apr. 8-14)
•Brittney Lott was named College Sports Madness WAC Player of the Week (Feb. 18-24)
•Rogin Hardy was named to the CollegeSoftball360 Honor Roll (Feb. 7-10)
•The Redhawks earned their first WAC win and series sweep versus Utah State (Apr. 12-13)
•SU hosted Bradley in the school’s first official on-campus outdoor athletic event “under the lights” on Mar. 7
•Seattle U’s newly renovated home, Logan Field at SU Park, was dedicated in fall 2012 with the first competitions taking place during the 2013 season