SOFTBALL

Friday 3/22 vs. Oregon Tech 3:00 pm (G1 Livestats | G2 Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 3/23 vs. Oregon Tech, 11:00 am (G1 Livestats | G2 Livestats | Video Stream)
 
Bushnell (6-17, 1-8 CCC) returns home this weekend, looking to break a nine-game losing streak after getting swept on the road at Carroll College last weekend.  
 
CCC OUTLOOK: The Cascade Conference continues to be one of the strongest in the NAIA and is home to four Top-25 teams. Oregon Tech is ranked No. 5, followed by No. 10 Southern Oregon, No. 15 Eastern Oregon, and No. 21 College of Idaho. In addition, British Columbia continues to receive votes.   
 
The College of Idaho is the lone undefeated team in CCC play at 8-0. They are followed closely by Oregon Tech and Eastern Oregon at 7-2 while Southern Oregon and British Columbia are each 6-3.
 
Bushnell ranks eighth in the CCC in hitting (.249 BA), sixth in pitching (3.49 ERA), and ninth in fielding (.939).  The Beacons are fourth in the CCC with 30 doubles.  
 
Violet Richardson is third in conference for doubles (8) and Madi Steelman is ninth in the CCC with nine stolen bases. Faith Wayman is batting .380 on the season which ranks 13th. In the circle, Cole is fourth for innings pitched (69.1) and 12th with a 3.23 ERA. Defensively, Hannah Tennant leads the conference with 145 putouts.
 
OREGON TECH: The Owls (16-6, 7-2) come in riding a huge weekend sweep of No. 10 and defending NAIA National Champion Southern Oregon University. OIT earned both the NAIA Pitcher of the Week (Kacie Schmidt) and NAIA Player of the Week (Kaila Mick) for their efforts.
 
The Owls are the top hitting team in the conference, batting .336, and they lead the nation in triples with 13. The OIT pitchers combine for a 2.33 ERA, which is third-best in the conference. Defensively they rank second in the CCC with a .974 fielding percentage.
 
Mick, who went 11-for-12 at the plate against SOU, is now batting .565 on the season which ranks second in the nation. She leads the conference in hits (39), runs (27), RBI (30), doubles (11) and triples (5). Schmidt ranks fourth in the CCC with a 1.61 ERA. She is 8-3 and has struck out 61 batters in 74 innings.
 
The Owls are a daunting 79-8 all-time against the Beacons and have won 25 straight.

BASEBALL

Friday 3/22 at Utah Valley, 12:05 pm (G1 Livestats | G2 Livestats | Video Stream)
Saturday 3/23 at Utah Valley, 12:05 pm (Livestats | Video Stream)
 
Bushnell (16-9, 4-0 CCC) opened Cascade Collegiate Conference play with a four-game sweep over Eastern Oregon. The Beacons have a break from conference play this week and will instead take on NCAA Division I Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
 
The Beacons finished with a school-record 19 hits in the opener and didn't slow down in game two, piling on 16 more. Albert Jennings tallied seven hits on the day with five RBI to lead Bushnell at the plate. Bushnell held Eastern Oregon to just three runs on Sunday to record their eighth straight win over the Mounties.
 
Bushnell is second in the CCC with a .294 batting average, including eight players hitting over .300, and is the top team in the conference with runners on. The Beacons are batting .318 with runners on base and .323 with two outs.
 
Chase Nye ranks second in the conference with a .400 average and is fifth in slugging (.650). Isaiah Hart is hitting .371, sixth in the CCC and Albert Jennings is ninth with a .366 average. Jordan Wilson is seventh in hits (35) and third in home runs (7), while Albert Jennings ranks third in RBI (27) and sixth in doubles (8).  
 
The pitching staff holds a combined 4.75 ERA, the top mark among CCC schools. Ethan Sachs ranks sixth with a 4.33 ERA in seven starts and is seventh in strikeouts (35). Trevor Hammond is second in wins with four, while Colby Knutzen is tied for first in saves with three.
 
UTAH VALLEY: The Wolverines are 7-12 overall and 4-2 in the Western Athletic Conference. They are coming off a three-game sweep over Stephen F. Austin, taking two of three via run rule.   
 
Utah Valley is hitting .276 as a team and is led by senior outfielder Calyn Halvorson. Halvorson is batting .391 with 25 hits and 13 RBI through 18 games played. Just 14 Wolverines have seen a plate appearance this season.
 
The Wolverines hold a 6.32 ERA as a team and often utilize senior Chase Hennessey to throw just the first inning. Hennessey has an 11.05 ERA (due to one bad outing) through eight starts and has thrown just 7.1 innings. In his eight starts, he did not allow a hit in six of them.
 
This will be the first meeting between Bushnell and Utah Valley.

TRACK & FIELD

Saturday 3/23 at Oregon Preview (Livestats)
 
LAST WEEK: Eight more tickets were punched for the Cascade Collegiate Conference championships last weekend as the Beacons competed at the Lewis & Clark College Electric Forest Collegiate Open. This included four on the women's side and four on the men's side and brought the season total up to 18 qualifications.
 
THIS WEEK: Eight athletes and a relay team have qualified for the Oregon Preview at historic Hayward Field on Saturday. For the men the only athletes competing will be Hunter Reininger and Kaleo Wellman in the long jump.
 
On the women's side, Adrienne Mai and Kaitlin Cook compete in the 400m while Cook will be joined by Sierra Janikowski in the 400m Hurdles. Maddii Desemone qualified for the 100m, Mayah Pappas in the long jump and Libby Mathis in the Shot Put.  

GOLF

Sunday - Monday 3/24 – 3/25 at Simpson Spring Invitational
 
The Bushnell golf team continues the spring season at the Simpson Spring Invitational in Redding Calif.
 
Last weekend, the Beacons took three golfers to the Willamette Valley Cup. Jackson Muramoto led the 83-competitor men's field after shooting a 68 in round one but fell into a tie for 11th after a 77 in round two. Jada Richwine represented the Beacon women, tying for 28th in the 55-player field with an 86-84—170.