It's the start of Spring Break week for the Beacons and all Bushnell spring sports teams are scheduled to be in action this weekend.
 
BASEBALL
 
Friday 3/21 vs. Warner Pacific, 2:00 pm
Saturday 3/22 vs. Warner Pacific, 11:00 am
Tuesday 3/25 vs. Lewis & Clark College, 6:00 pm
 
THIS WEEK: The Beacons, currently one game out of first-place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, look to stay in the title hunt this weekend, taking on Warner Pacific, before a non-conference game scheduled for Tuesday against Lewis & Clark College.
 
LAST WEEK: The Beacons went on the road to Caldwell, taking three of four games from The College of Idaho. Bushnell outscored the Yotes 28-13 in the three victories, but were victims of a 5-4 walk-off loss in the final game of the series, breaking a school-record nine-game hitting streak.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Beacons swept the Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Week Awards. Junior Braden Proud was named the CCC Pitcher of the Week. The 6'1" righty had an incredible start in game two of the C of I series, which Bushnell won, 5-2. Proud pitched seven strong innings, allowing no earned runs, striking out seven batters and allowing just three singles. Proud lowered his ERA to 2.64, the second-lowest in the CCC.
 
Senior Cade Crist had a sensational week for the Beacons, batting .389 in the four-game series, hitting five home runs and collecting 13 runs batted in. He posted a pair of multi-homer games and in the third game of the series, tied Bushnell's single-game record with six runs batted. 
 
HOME RUN BATTLE: The chase for the Cascade Conference All-Time Home Run Crowd is kicking into high gear, and two Beacons are a part of it. The CCC record for career homers is 39 and has stood for 26 years, set by Greg Schelhaas from The College of Idaho in 1999.
 
Current home run totals around the CCC include: Tyler Horner (OIT, 36), Charlie Updegrave (LC, 32), Cade Crist (BU, 32), Jordan Wilson (BU, 32).
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: With both Bushnell and British Columbia dropping one of their four games over the weekend, No. 20-ranked Lewis-Clark State College has taken over sole possession of first-place in the CCC at 11-2. The Beacons and Thunderbirds are one game back at 10-3. Oregon Tech (7-6) follows in fourth and Warner Pacific (5-8) is fifth.
 
BEACON OUTLOOK: The Beacons (20-4, 10-3 CCC) lead the Cascade Conference, and are ranked No. 9 in the NAIA in pitching, holding a 3.61 team Earned Run Average. Beacon pitchers also lead the CCC for opponent batting average (.231), wins (20) and saves (10), and rank fourth for strikeouts.
 
Braden Proud (2.64) rank third in the CCC for ERA while Max Chapman leads the conference with 34.2 innings pitched and is eighth for ERA at 3.37.
 
Alec Gums leads the conference with four saves for a bullpen that has been dominant. Of all relief pitchers in the CCC with at least 10 innings pitched, Garrett Vohs leads the way with a 0.00 ERA, striking out 16 batters in 12 innings with opponents hitting .075 against, allowing just three hits. Blake Stavros is second with a 0.79 ERA and two saves.
 
Offensively, the Beacons are sixth in the conference with a .282 batting average. Bushnell leads the CCC with 38 home runs and 60 hit-by-pitch, and ranks fourth with 90 extra-base hits. 
 
Will Hudler ranks seventh in the CCC with a .379  batting average and is fourth with a .712 slugging percentage. Cade Crist is tied for the conference lead with nine home runs while Jordan Wilson is third with eight.  
 
WARNER PACIFIC: The surprise of the Cascade Collegiate Conference has been first-year program Warner Pacific (6-12), winning a third of their games this season including five in CCC play. If the regular season ended today, the Knights would be in the CCC tournament in their first go round.
 
The Knights currently rank seventh in the CCC with a .272 batting average and a CCC-low 45 extra-base hits. They are fifth in conference with a 6.12 earned run average with a CCC-low 107 strikeouts.
 
Leading the WPU offense has been Mitchell Thoma-Britt and Connor Hale, both hitting .364 which ranks 12th in the CCC. Josiah Nickel holds a 3.44 ERA in five starts with opponents batting .250 against him.
 
The Beacons took three of four from the Knights in Portland earlier this season including 2-of-3 conference-counting games.
 
LEWIS & CLARK: The Pioneers are 6-6 this season and have started 2-4 in the Northwest Conference. They are hitting .298 as a team and have a 6.94 Earned Run Average.
 
LC is 2-1 all-time against the Beacons as the teams played a three-game series in 2023. A double-header in Eugene resulted in a split.
 
SOFTBALL
 
Friday 3/21 at Oregon Tech, 2:00 pm
Saturday 3/22 at Oregon Tech, 11:00 am
 
THIS WEEK: The Beacons will have their biggest test of the season this weekend, hitting the road to take on No. 2-ranked Oregon Tech.  
 
LAST WEEK: The Beacons split Friday's double-header with Carroll College, but lost the series, falling 13-11 in game three on Saturday. In the 9-1 six-inning run-rule victory in game two, Violet Richardson hit her CCC-leading fifth home run of the season and Sara Martin got the win, throwing a two-hitter.
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK: The top of the mountain in the CCC continues to dominate with four teams ranked in the NAIA's top-25: No. 1 Southern Oregon (21-1), No. 2 Oregon Tech (13-3), No. 13 Eastern Oregon (10-3), and No. 20 College of Idaho (13-3). British Columbia is receiving votes while Carroll rounds out the top-six.
 
BEACON OUTLOOK: Bushnell (6-13, 1-8) is ranked fifth in the CCC with a 2.50 ERA. Emily Cole is currently ranked fifth in the CCC with a 2.10 ERA, striking out 48 batters in 56.2 innings. Sara Martin is seventh (2.13). 
 
Offensively, the Beacons are eighth in the conference in hitting with a .218 batting average. Violet  Richardson leads the Cascade Conference in home runs (5)  and extra-base hits (13) and is fourth in the conference with a .449 batting average, behind three players from Southern Oregon.  
 
OREGON TECH: The Owls (13-3, 4-2) come in after a dominant four game sweep of Providence in which they outscored the Argos on the road, 50-10.
 
OIT ranks fifth in the CCC on offense, hitting .306. Gina Allen has the big stick, hitting .422 which ranks sixth in the conference. The Owls are third in the conference with a 2.07 combined ERA with opponents hitting just .203 against them. All-American Kacie Schmidt leads the staff with a 6-2 record, 1.58 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.
 
Oregon Tech holds an 83-8 lead in the all-time series with Bushnell, who hasn't defeated the Owls since 2016, a run of 29 straight.
 
TRACK & FIELD
 
Saturday 3/22 at Oregon Preview
 
LAST WEEK: The Bushnell outdoor track & field teams were in action in Eugene on Saturday, taking part in the Lane Community College Open. A host of personal records were set despite the poor weather, with a smattering of new Cascade Conference Qualifiers thrown in as well.
 
THIS WEEK: The Beacons remain in Eugene as a bevvy of Beacons have qualified to compete in the Oregon Preview at Hayward Field. For the women, Maddii Desemone and Cyan Kelso-Reynolds will compete in the 100m, Cadence Smith will run in the 5000m, and Jordan Lauinger takes to the 400 meter hurdles.
 
On the men's side, Carmine Taetuna-Fautanu will run in both the 100m and 200m and Blake Thornton competes in the 400m. The jumpers will be represented by Maui Richmond in the high jump, Kaleo Wellman and Hunter Reininger in the long jump, and Ty Kishen in both the long and triple jumps.
 
GOLF
 
Monday-Tuesday 3/24-25 at Simpson University Invitational
 
LAST WEEK: The Willamette Open, scheduled for Creekside Golf Course in Salem was washed out on Saturday and Sunday.
 
THIS WEEK: The Bushnell golf teams will be in Redding, California next week for the Simpson Invitational.  
 
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
 
Friday 3/21 vs. The College of Idaho, 12:00 pm
Saturday 3/22 vs. Northwest, 10:00 am
Saturday 3/22 vs. The College of Idaho, 12:00 pm
 
LAST WEEK: The Beacons were swept by the University of Portland on Sunday afternoon.   
 
THIS WEEK: Cascade Collegiate Conference action continues this weekend at Alki Beach in Seattle, Washington, hosted by Northwest University. The Beacons will play three times, twice against No. 10 College of Idaho and once against Northwest.  
 
ESPORTS
 
Monday, 3/24: Teamfight Tactics Finals 5:00 pm
Tuesday, 3/25: Fortnite Semi-Finals, 5:00 pm
Wednesday, 3/26: Rocket League Round of 32, 5:00 pm
 
Three teams remain in postseason competition for Bushnell Esports. Zack Claunch starts off the week with the TFT Finals where he is ranked second in the ECAC. The finals is a checkmate format meaning once a player hits 17 points, they will be in 'check' and must place first in a game in order to be crowned the champion.
 
Fortnite competes in a semi-final tournament on Tuesday. Nick McGowen and Claunch will play five matches and must finish among the top-40 teams in order to advance to the championship the following week.
 
Rocket League brings an undefeated regular season record into the playoffs. Isaac Wagner, Brec Feehan and Kyle Foss will play a best-of-seven match on Wednesday at 5:00 pm. Their opponent will not be determined until closer to the match date.