TRACK & FIELD
Saturday, March 5 at Linfield Icebreaker (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
The outdoor season has it's "soft opening" this weekend as the teams compete at the Linfield Icebreaker. As a school that competes in the NAIA indoor track & field season, Bushnell is not eligible to qualify for the CCC or NAIA championships with any marks this weekend, but results will count toward the record books and will set the tone for the spring season ahead.
 
24 Beacons are scheduled to compete on Saturday, including 16 women and eight men. Those competing who are seeded in the top-ten of their respective events include Sierra Janikowski (100H 400H), Adrienne Mai (400m), Maddii Desemone (100m), Trinity Hazelitt (100m), Jaron Carter (100m, LJ), Ashton Williams (100m), Sarah Phillips (400H), Justin Rodgers (400H), Mikayla Rodriguez (HJ), Mayah Pappas (LJ), Dakota Underwood (Discus, Shot Put), and Taylor Huffman (Javelin).
 
Carter and Pappas are seeded No. 2 in the 100m and Long Jump respectively, while Underwood is seeded third in the Shot Put.
 
For Bushnell's distance squad, Saturday marks the start of the season and a number of them will be in action across the 1500m, 5000m, and 4x400m relay events.
 
SOFTBALL (5-5 Overall, 3-0 CCC)
Friday 3/4 vs Eastern Oregon, 1:00 pm/3:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 3/5 vs. Eastern Oregon, 11:00 am/1:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
Bushnell is coming off a historic weekend to kick off the conference schedule, opening CCC action at 3-0 for the first time in school history. The series was originally scheduled to be played at Providence in Great Falls, Montana but was moved to Springfield due to weather concerns.
 
The Beacons topped the Argos 4-2 and 13-0 (5 innings) on Friday, a day that was highlighted by three triples from Alyssa Ferreira and a three-hit shutout in the second game behind the arm of freshman Aliyah Kelly. Ferreira's two triples in game two is a single-game school record. The 13-0 win in the second game was the largest margin of victory for Bushnell since April 21, 2001.
 
Anabel Mendez recorded eight RBIs on Saturday to lead the Beacons to another pair of wins, 7-1 and 14-2 (5 innings). Mendez went 6-for-7 on the day to lead Bushnell at the plate. She hit two home runs and a double in game two, totaling six of Bushnell's RBIs in the 14-2 victory. Krystal Akagi tied a single-game school record with three stolen bases in the second game. Breanna Hilton recorded her first collegiate win in the circle, allowing four hits and two runs, both unearned, through three innings of work in the 14-2 victory.
 
MEET THE BEACONS: Aliyah Kelly and Sam Silver make up the starting pitching duo for the Beacons. Kelly, a freshman, holds a 1.95 ERA through five starts, allowing just eight earned runs in those outings. Silver has a 3.37 ERA and 14 strikeouts in her six appearances.
 
Mendez leads the conference in on-base (.595) and slugging (.967), ranks second in batting average (.533) and is eighth in RBIs (14). She ranks in the top-30 nationally for batting average, on-base and slugging percentage. The senior has all three home runs for the Beacons this season. Ferreira jumped to a .391 batting average over the weekend and her three triples lead the conference. Krystal Akagi is hitting .333 with a team-leading six stolen bases (7th CCC).
 
As a team, Bushnell is batting .309, fourth in the CCC. The Beacons rank second in the conference with a 2.48 ERA through 10 games, behind just Oregon Tech (1.91).
 
MEET THE MOUNTAINEERS: Eastern Oregon (8-5) opens conference play this weekend after playing the entirety of its non-conference schedule on the road. The Mountaineers come into the weekend following four straight days of games in California, where they went 6-2, which included a win over No. 17 Hope International.  
 
The Mountaineers are led by senior Kayla Berg, a pitcher and outfielder, who has recorded a .395 batting average through 13 games with seven doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs. Berg ranks second in the conference in doubles and third in home runs. Her .868 slugging percentage is also second in the CCC. Senior Taylor Dow is batting .356 with 16 hits and five RBIs.
 
Eastern has used five different starting pitchers on the year with senior Amanda Smith seeing the most time in the circle. Smith holds a 2.63 ERA and two saves through eight appearances. Abby Giles has allowed just one run on six hits through 13 innings of work.
 
The Mountaineers hold a 38-26 advantage in the all-time series with the Beacons. Eastern had a 14-game win streak beginning in 2015 but the sides are 4-4 throughout the last two series.
 
BASEBALL (2-14 Overall)
Friday 3/4 vs British Columbia, 5:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 3/5 vs. British Columbia, 1:00 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
The Beacons picked up their second win of the season as they hosted Oregon Tech last weekend, going 1-3 in the series. Kai Keamo picked up the win with 4.1 scoreless innings of relief work and Daniel Furman made his season debut, retiring the last two batters to record the save.
 
Another new opponent is on the docket for the relaunched Bushnell Baseball program as they head across the border to take on the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. Originally scheduled as a four-game series, this non-conference series will just feature two games.
 
MEET THE BEACONS: Bushnell heads into the weekend ranked seventh in the CCC in hitting with a combined batting average of .230. The Beacons are sixth in pitching, holding an 8.73 ERA.
 
Kyle Casperson boosted his batting average to .360 over the weekend and now ranks in the top-20 in the CCC. Just above him is Furman who made his debut against the Owls a good one, going 4-for-11 with four runs and two RBI over three games.
 
Jahshua Yacapin (1-0) continues to lead the pitching staff with a 2.33 ERA which ranks sixth in the Cascade Conference. He has struck out 19 batters in 19.1 innings.
 
MEET THE THUNDERBIRDS: UBC will play their first home games of the season after playing their first 16 games on the road. They went 3-5 during a week-long trip to Arizona to open the season, were swept by Antelope Valley, grabbed a win against Sacramento State and this past weekend split a four-game series with William Jessup, scoring a season-high 13 runs in a victory to close the weekend.  
 
The T-Birds currently rank fourth in the CCC in hitting (.266) and fifth in pitching (7.73 ERA). The team has three players averaging above .300, led by Brett Corbeth who hass 11 hits in 29 at-bats. Ty Penner posts team-highs with 19 hits and eight doubles.
 
Leading the pitching staff is Shane Laforest, who is 2-1 and boasts a 4.91 ERA. He has struck out 17 batters in 18.1 innings and opponents are hitting .216 against him.