2012-13 Baseball News
SALEM, ORE. -- After a successful baseball season in which the Bearcats finished third in the Northwest Conference, their best finish since 2003, several players are taking to summer leagues in order to maintain and improve upon their overall skill sets. In total, 17 players from the 2013 team, which won nine of its last 11 games, are competing in various summer leagues throughout the country.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University starting pitcher Peter Hoffman (So., RHP, Hayden, ID/Lake City HS) has been named Second Team All-Northwest Conference in baseball for the 2013 season in voting by the NWC head coaches. In addition, eight other Bearcats were chosen for Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University third baseman Hunter Gallant (So., 3B, Rescue, CA/Ponderosa HS) has been named Northwest Conference Baseball Hitter Student-Athlete of the Week for his efforts during the week of April 22 through April 28.
SALEM, ORE. -- Senior pitcher Brandon Simon (RHP, Los Angeles, CA/Pacific Hills School) threw a complete game with four strikeouts and no walks, and the Willamette University offense pounded out 12 hits, as the Bearcats defeated the University of Puget Sound, 6-4, in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday, April 28. Puget Sound won the second game, 15-3.
SALEM, ORE. -- Tiras Koon (So., C, Honolulu, HI/Iolani School) blasted a grand slam homer to help Willamette University score six runs in the fifth inning, as the Bearcats overcame an early deficit to defeat the University of Puget Sound, 12-5, in a Northwest Conference baseball game on Saturday, April 27.
PORTLAND, ORE. -- Hunter Gallant (So., 3B, Rescue, CA/Ponderosa HS) went 6 for 7 at the plate, and the Willamette University baseball team scored four runs in the top of the 11th inning, before holding Lewis & Clark College to three runs in the bottom of the stanza, as the Bearcats edged the Pioneers, 15-14, on Tuesday, April 23 in a non-conference game.
SPOKANE, WASH. -- Whitworth University scored at least one run in each of the first eight innings and pitcher Carson Blumenthal limited Willamette University to five hits, as the Pirates shut out the Bearcats, 15-0, in the final game of a Northwest Conference series on Sunday, April 21 at Merkel Field.
SPOKANE, WASH. -- The Willamette University Bearcats plated two runs in the top of the ninth inning to win the first game, 5-3, and tallied three runs in the 10th inning of the second game for a 9-6 victory, to sweep a doubleheader from Whitworth University on Saturday, April 20 at Merkel Field.
KEIZER, ORE. -- Willamette University pounded 14 hits, including a triple and three doubles, as the Bearcats routed Corban University, 11-1, at Volcanoes Stadium on Wednesday, April 17. The Bearcats also received strong pitching, as five hurlers combined to hold Corban to three hits -- all singles.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University took advantage of its opportunities -- on offense and defense -- to defeat Whitman College, 8-5, on Sunday, April 14. When the game ended, Whitman held a 17-8 edge in hits, but Willamette owned the win and a sweep of the three-game series at John Lewis Field.
BANKS, ORE. -- Willamette University won the team championship and sophomore Mckenzie Weinhold (So., Placerville, CA/El Dorado HS/Univ. of Nevada-Reno) tied for first place in the individual standings for the Bearcats, during the Willamette Cup, hosted by Pacific University on Sunday, April 14 at Quail Valley Golf Course. The tournament featured full teams from Willamette and Pacific, plus three golfers from Linfield. Willamette's winning score was 349, while Pacific finished in second place with a score of 406. One of Linfield's golfers, Brinn Hovde, tied with Weinhold for first place after both athletes shot an 86. Led by Weinhold, the Bearcats took four of the top five places. Taneesh Kaur Sra (Fr., Fremont, CA/Mission San Jose HS) achieved third place with an 87, as she ended the 18 holes just one shot behind the co-leaders. LettaJoe Gallup (So., Alameda, CA/Holy Names HS) and Elise Levy (Fr., Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS) tied for fourth place at 88. Alexandria Smith of Linfield carded an 80 to finish sixth, while Maggie Harlow of Linfield was seventh with a 90. Also golfing for Willamette was Mele Ana Kastner (So., Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS), who shot 97 for the round. Willamette is scheduled to host the Northwest Conference Championship Tournament at the Oregon Golf Association (OGA) Golf Course on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21. The NWC Championship Tournament counts for one-half of the overall NWC title, with the other half split evenly between the NWC Fall Classic and the NWC Spring Classic, which have already been completed.
SALEM, ORE. -- Tosh Semlacher (Jr., RF, Gold River, CA/Jesuit HS) of Willamette University blasted a walk-off homer to start the bottom of the ninth inning for 4-3 victory in the second game, as the Bearcats grabbed two wins in a doubleheader against Whitman College on Saturday, April 13 at John Lewis Field.
SALEM, ORE. -- The Northwest Conference baseball series between Willamette University and the University of Puget Sound, set for Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, has been rescheduled. The changes have been made to reduce time conflicts between the games and the NWC Track and Field Championships, which WU is hosting on April 26 and 27.
SALEM, ORE. -- Corban University defeated Willamette University, 8-7 in 11 innings, on Tuesday, April 9 at Warrior Field. Corban first baseman Peter Martin, who hit a bloop double down the left field line to start the bottom of the 11th inning, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on a single by left fielder Kyle Kunkel.
BREMERTON, WASH. -- The Willamette University women's golf team earned third place at the Northwest Conference Spring Classic after the second round was canceled at the Gold Mountain Golf Course on Sunday, April 7. Results from the first round on Saturday, April 6 became the official overall scores for the tournament.
BREMERTON, WASH. -- Led by freshman Elise Levy (Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS), the Willamette University women's golf team held third place after the first day of the Northwest Conference Spring Classic at the Gold Mountain Golf Course on Saturday, April 6.