Loading

SENIOR WEEKEND PREVIEW: SB vs. Grand Canyon

Seattle University softball hosts Grand Canyon on senior weekend at Logan Field.

SENIOR WEEKEND PREVIEW: SB vs. Grand CanyonSENIOR WEEKEND PREVIEW: SB vs. Grand Canyon

2018 SCHEDULE

SEATTLE – (April 19) Seattle University softball welcomes GCU for a three-game WAC series on April 20-21.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

ABOUT THE GAMES

  • Seattle U (30-17, 8-1 WAC) vs. GCU (22-22, 3-5 WAC)
  • All-time series-GCU leads, 9-7
  • Home-GCU leads, 4-2
  • Away-Series is tied, 3-3
  • Neutral-Series is tied, 2-2
  • Last meeting-GCU won, 8-0, at GCU Stadium (April 1, 2017)

NEWS AND NOTES

  • Seattle U swept a three-game series at CSU Bakersfield April 13-14. It beat the `Runners in a doubleheader, 4-3 in 10 innings and 6-0, and then wrapped up the weekend with a 7-2 victory on Saturday.
  • Maddy Kristjanson was chosen WAC Hitter of the Week for the period ending April 15. The senior hit .455 with two home runs, including a go-ahead homer in the 10th inning of the first game of the series. She recorded three RBIs and scored three runs.
  • Andie Larkins earned WAC Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 15. The junior threw a complete game, allowing two hits, in a 7-2 win in the series finale. She tied a career high with eight strikeouts.
  • SU will recognize its seven-member senior class on Saturday. Nicole Bolasky, Molly Campbell, Sara Dominguez, Maddy Kristjanson, Savannah Loomis, Susanne Morris, and Erika Rodgers will be honored at the Logan Field finale.
  • Seattle U enters the weekend tied for first place in the WAC standings with an 8-1 mark in conference. New Mexico State is also 8-1. The Aggies play at Utah Valley this weekend before hosting SU to close the regular season.
  • Madison Cathcart has hit 17 home runs in 2018, tied for third-most in the nation. The sophomore leads Division I in total bases (127) and stands third in RBIs (53). Cathcart is fourth in doubles (18), slugging percentage (.969) and on-base percentage (.590). She paces the WAC in nine statistical categories this season.
  • Among WAC pitchers, Carley Nance tops the league in wins (13), strikeouts (115), and innings pitched (141.1) in 2018. Shianne Smith leads the conference in strikeouts per seven innings (6.6), opponent batting average (.199), ERA (2.01) and saves (2).
  • Grand Canyon lost two out of three meetings with New Mexico State last weekend.
  • The Lopes were voted to win the conference in the WAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
  • Sierra Smith and Shea Smith pace the GCU offense this season. Sierra Smith is batting .378 with four home runs, 32 RBIs, and 10 steals, while Shea Smith is hitting .365 with 17 walks.
  • GCU is in its first season of postseason eligibility after its transition to Division I.
  • Seattle U is in the midst of an historic season. It has already set a Division I program records for wins in a season (30). Madison Cathcart has set all-time single-season school records home runs (17), doubles (18), and walks (42). Nicole Bolasky has claimed SU’s Division I mark for steals in a season (25), while Carley Nance has the Redhawk record for strikeouts (115).
  • On April 7, the Redhawks completed their first WAC series sweep since 2013. They took all three games from Kansas City over the weekend, improving to 5-1 in the WAC. SU swept Utah State in April 2013 in its other WAC sweep.
  • Andie Larkins, Shianne Smith, and Carley Nance each threw complete games against the ‘Roos, as the trio allowed zero earned runs over 19 innings of work.
  • Shianne Smith pitched a one-hitter in a five-inning 13-0 win over April 6. Seattle U tallied 16 hits in the contest, as Alyssia Duarte and Carley Nance each claimed their first career hits at SU.
  • Carley Nance threw a three-hitter in a 1-0 victory over UMKC on April 7. The redshirt freshman won WAC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season.
  • SU held down one of the nation’s top offenses in a 3-1 setback at No. 1 Washington on April 4. It kept UW more than four runs under its season average. Susanne Morris hit an RBI double to lead the Redhawk offense.
  • Seattle U took two out of three games from Utah Valley in the first WAC series of the season. It won, 9-3 and 5-0, on March 30, before UVU claimed the finale, 8-7 in 10 innings, on March 31.
  • In the WAC opener, the Redhawks scored seven runs in the fifth inning, pulling away from UVU for a 9-3 victory at Logan Field.
  • Andie Larkins pitched a five-hitter in SU’s 5-0 win over the Wolverines. It marked the Redhawks’s sixth shutout of the year.
  • The Redhawks put together a 3-2 weekend at the Gaucho Classic II March 24-26. SU swept a pair of meetings with Saint Mary’s before dropping two out of three at UC Santa Barbara.
  • Carley Nance threw a complete-game shutout of Saint Mary’s on March 24, striking out seven and allowing just four hits as SU won, 2-0.
  • Seattle U exploded for a season-high 15 runs in a 15-3 win at UCSB on March 26. With the game even at 3, it scored seven runs in the sixth and added five more in the seventh to pull away from the Gauchos. Nine straight Redhawks reached base in the sixth inning.
  • For the first time since joining the WAC, SU has reached the 20-win barrier before the start of conference action. It leads the league in wins entering this weekend.
  • SU went 5-1 at the Seattle U Invitational from March 16-18. It swept three games with Bryant and took two of three meetings with Portland State at Logan Field. The Redhawks pitched shutouts in their first three outings of the weekend.
  • Carley Nance earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors after throwing 13.1 innings over the weekend. She did not allow an earned run over three performances.
  • Seattle U dropped three of four outings at the CSUN Invitational March 9-11. It beat CSUN, 4-1, on March 11, as Andie Larkins threw a complete game to lift the Redhawks. Madison Cathcart homered to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning.
  • For the period ending March 11, Madison Cathcart was named WAC Hitter of the Week. The first baseman hit .500 in six games, claiming her second weekly conference honors of the season.
  • Madison Cathcart hit a walk-off grand slam to lift Seattle U to a 7-4 win over Toledo on March 6. The sophomore capped a standout day with his national-high 12th home run of the season.
  • In the doubleheader, Cathcart went 4-4 with two home runs, two doubles, and three walks.
  • SU swept the Rockets, 6-4 and 7-4, in the 2018 home opener at Logan Field.
  • The Redhawks won twice at the Red Desert Classic March 2-4, beating Southern Utah and Montana. Madison Cathcart hit three home runs on the weekend, batting .588 with seven RBIs.
  • Shianne Smith won WAC Pitcher of the Week honors after recording a 0.54 ERA in five relief appearances at the Red Desert Classic. Smith threw 13 innings and allowed one earned run, striking out nine batters.
  • For a third straight weekend to open 2018, the Redhawks went 3-2, this time at the Libby Matson Tournament. They defeated Northern Colorado, Nevada, and Pacific in the event, hosted by Pacific from Feb. 22-24.
  • Carley Nance was terrific at the Libby Matson Tournament, winning twice and throwing a pair of complete games. In a 3-1 win at Pacific, the redshirt freshman went seven innings, allowing six hits and one run. She struck five and walked none in the victory.
  • SU won three of its five contests at the Marucci Desert Classic from Feb. 15-17.
  • Madison Cathcart was chosen WAC Hitter of the Week after batting .412 with two home runs and two doubles in Las Vegas. The sophomore ranks second nationally with six homers in 2018.
  • The Redhawks beat Utah State and Hawai’i on the first day of the Marucci Desert Classic. Susanne Morris hit a three-run home run to spark a rally against USU and then Andie Larkins and Carley Nance combined to blank Hawai’i over the final six innings of a 4-2 win.
  • Despite a seven-run rally against San Jose State on Feb. 17, SU fell, 10-8, to the Spartans. Later in the day, the Redhawks beat Nevada, 2-1, as Maddy Kristjanson hit a sacrifice fly to score Kaylee Ree for a walk-off victory. Seattle U won despite claiming just one hit in the contest.
  • Seattle U went 3-2 at the Kajikawa Classic on opening weekend. It marked the best start by the Redhawks since 2013.
  • SU beat Stanford, 13-9, on Feb. 9, as the Redhawks rallied with a nine-run fifth inning. Kaylee Ree hit a grand slam to highlight the action. The victory is SU’s third-ever over a Pac-12 program.
  • On Feb. 10, Seattle U won a pair of marathon extra-inning games. It beat CSUN, 6-4 in eight innings, on Susanne Morris’ two-run walk-off home run. The Redhawks followed with a come-from-behind 11-8 win over Western Michigan. The 10-inning contest took nearly four hours as SU rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the seventh inning. Sara Dominguez hit a tying home run to force extra innings. In the 10th inning, Ally Choate drove in Alyson Matriotti for the go-ahead run and then Madison Cathcart blasted a two-run homer to make it 11-8.
  • SU’s two losses both came by a single run, as Notre Dame (4-3) and Nebraska (3-2) narrowly pulled out wins.
  • Coach Geoff Hirai begins his third season at the Redhawks’ head coach. He took SU to its first-ever WAC Championship Game appearance in 2017.
  • The Redhawks were picked to finish third in the 2018 WAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Grand Canyon and defending champion New Mexico State were voted to take first and second, respectively.
  • Andie Larkins is the WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. The junior earned All-WAC Second Team and WAC All-Tournament honors last season. She is the first Redhawk to win a major WAC preseason award.
  • Sophomores Alyson Matriotti and Madison Cathcart return following All-WAC performances in 2017. Matriotti earned All-WAC First Team after hitting .419 in conference games as a freshman. The third baseman tallied 11 stolen bases in 12 tries on the year. Cathcart was an All-WAC Second Team choice, having led SU in RBIs (40) while starting all 52 games at first base.
  • Andie Larkins and Kaylee Ree were both named All-WAC Preseason in February. Larkins set six Division I program records last season. Ree led the team with a .508 on-base percentage in WAC action. She started all 52 games at second base in 2017.
  • SU features eight newcomers this season, with six true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, and one junior transfer joining the roster.
  • In 2017, SU won 20 games and tied for third in the WAC regular season standings. It then won its first two games at the WAC Championship and advanced to its first-ever WAC Championship Game.