Softball to Open 2016 Season at ASU's Kajikawa Classic

A New Beginning in a Familiar Venue
Seattle University softball opens the 2016 season at their third straight Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. The Redhawks will also see several firsts in 2016 including a new head coach as well as their first co-hosted tournament with Washington to start the month of March.

WAC Tournament Returns to Seattle
Seattle University will play host to the 2016 Western Athletic Conference tournament in May (12-14) for the second time in three seasons. The Redhawks last hosted the tournament in 2014, a tournament which featured an eight-hour rain delay on day one.

New in Town
Geoff Hirai starts his first season at the helm of the Redhawk team after most recently serving as associate head coach for Oregon State. Hirai also previously has experience on the coaching staffs at Virginia and Washington. See page four for more info on Hirai. After re-joining the Redhawk staff in 2014, assistant coach Brandi Gordon remains on staff, starting her third season back at Seattle U. Mariah Gordon joins the Redhawks as pitching coach.

Scouting Bradley
The Braves finished 22-32 overall but posted a winning record in MVC play (15-12) in 2015. Bradley was picked to finish eighth in the 10-team league in 2016. Sophomore outfielder Erika Hansen represents the team on the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference team.

Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina was picked to finish fifth in the American Athletic Conference in their second year of league membership. The Pirates welcome new head coach Courtney Oliver and return 15 players (13 position/2 starters) from last season’s team. Last season, ECU ended the year in fourth place in AAC standings with a 7-11 league record.

Scouting Fresno State
After Trisha Ford took the help in 2013, the Bulldogs saw their best season under her leadership in 2014, winning the Mountain West conference championship and posting a 40-16 overall record, their highest win total since 2010. Fresno State returns seven postseason award winners and all four members of their pitching staff.

Scouting UC Riverside
The Highlanders finished 39-17 as well as 11-10 in Big West Conference last season, posting their best season since returning to Division I play 15 years ago.  Despite the hot finish a season ago, UC Riverside was picked to finish fifth in the eight-team league poll for 2016.

Scouting Stanford
Stanford posted just a 17-37 overall record, 2-22 in Pac-12 play in 2015. Despite the record, the Cardinal defeated five NCAA Tournament teams in No. 3/4 Alabama, No. 24/23 Arizona State, RV/25 Texas, Utah, and Weber State. This season, Kayla Bonstrom was named to the 2016 USA Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch list after being named a NFCA Second Team All-American last season. The three-time Pac-12 selection finished in the Cardinal’s top 10 in batting average, home runs, and RBI last season.

WAC Poll
Paige Bouska and Izzy Geronimo represent Seattle U on the Preseason All-WAC Team after a vote of the league’s six head coaches. NM State was picked to defend their league title win while Grand Canyon and Bakersfield were picked to round out the top three. UMKC, Seattle U, and Utah Valley were picked fourth through sixth, respectively.

SU/UW Tourney
Seattle U and the University of Washington will co-host a spring tournament for the first time in the first weekend in March (4-6) with seven games (five SU, two neutral site) to be played at Logan Field at SU Park.

NLI’s
In November, Hirai announced his first recruiting class in OF/2B Cherise Silvan (Folsom, Calif.), IF/C Jessica Flanagan (Woodland, Wash.), and pitcher Carley Nance (Maple Valley, Wash.).

2015 Highlights
-Paige Bouska recorded a team-high 15-game hitting streak (Mar. 21-Apr. 17)
-Bubba Morrow left SU as the program’s all-time doubles leader while Lisa Maulden graduated second in the category and Jenny Hurst finished in the top five
-Paige Bouska represented the Redhawks on the WAC All-Tournament Team
-Bubba Morrow was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
-Geronimo was named First Team All-Conference while Morrow and Bouska were named to the Second Team