Athenas Begin NCAA Tournament Run Friday

Location: Claremont, Calif.

Head Coach: Gina Oaks Garcia (1st Season)

NCAA Appearances: 8th

2017-18 Record: 31-12, 17-11 SCIAC

Last NCAA Result: 2016, NCAA Regional Final: Fell to Linfield 6-5 (8 innings)

Roster  |  Schedule  |  Stats

Last 15 Games

4/7 - at Whittier (DH) - 11-3 W/3-2 L

4/13 - Chapman (DH) - 7-0 W/3-1 W

4/14 - at Occidental (DH) - 6-1 W/7-1 W

4/21 - La Verne (DH) - 4-0 W/8-6 W

4/27 - Pomona-Pitzer (DH) - 3-0 L/5-1 W

4/28 - at Cal Lutheran (DH) - 1-0 W/9-1 L

5/4 - at La Verne (SCIAC Tournament) - 2-0 W

5/5 - (N) Pomona-Pitzer (SCIAC Tournament) - 2-1 W

5/6 - at La Verne (SCIAC Championship) - 2-0 W

About the Athenas:

The Athenas swept their way through the SCIAC Tournament, needing only three games to earn their fifth title in program history. Led by Anna Gurr in the circle, CMS defeated top-seeded La Verne 2-0 to open the tournament. The fourth-seeded Athenas then took down Pomona-Pitzer 2-1, surrendering their only run of the tournament, before beating La Verne 2-0 in the Championship game. Gurr tossed all 21 innings without giving up an earned run and walked just two batters.

CMS finished fourth in the SCIAC for the regular season with a record of 17-11. Coming into the Regional, the Athenas have won 11 of their last 13 including three-straight series sweeps against Chapman, Occidental, and La Verne. CMS faced the hosting Linfield Wildcats early in the season (Feb. 16) and won convincingly by a final of 7-0. In the contest, Reeve Grobecker went 4-4 at the plate and three other Athenas recorded a multi-hit game. Gurr was impressive on the mound, striking out eight and walking no one while shutting out the Wildcats.

The Athenas garnered five All-SCIAC honors to begin the month of May, headlined by Gurr receiving her third-straight SCIAC Pitcher of the Year honor. In her senior season, Gurr has tossed a team-leading 161.0 innings while pitching to a 1.39 ERA with 104 strikeouts and just 10 walks. Gurr is in the top three of the SCIAC in a number of categories from the circle including ERA (1st, 1.39), appearances (T1st, 32), wins (1st, 18), and complete games (T1st, 17).

Chloe Amarilla also made the All-SCIAC First Team this season as a pitcher/third baseman. She has led the offense this season with a .441 batting average while also turning in the teams' second-best slugging percentage at .580. She leads the team with 63 hits, 36 runs scored, and 14 doubles. In addition to her strengths at the plate, Amarilla also owns a 2.50 ERA with 106.1 innings pitched as CMS' number two starter. The junior holds an 11-4 record and has tossed eight complete games.

Kawai Scanlan, Molly Spaniac, and Maddie Valdez all turned in outstanding rookie campaigns to earn Second Team accolades. In the outfield, Scanlan and Spaniac have appeared in every game this season and been a consistent force in the Athenas' order. Spaniac has spent a majority of the season in the two-hole, setting the table for the middle of the order. She has scored 31 runs with a .434 on base percentage and has some pop in the bat, with 12 extra-base hits including three triples and a home run.

Location: Newberg, Ore.

Head Coach: Jessica Hollen (10th Season)

NCAA Appearances: 2nd

2017-18 Record: 35-9, 24-4 Northwest Conference

Last NCAA Result: 2016, NCAA Regional: defeated by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3-1

Roster  |  Schedule  |  Stats

Last 14 Games

3/31 - Puget Sound (DH) - 9-0 W/9-1 W

4/9 - at Pacific Lutheran (DH) - 5-0 W/1-0 L

4/12 - Pacific Lutheran (DH) - 3-2 W/7-3 L

4/16 - at Willamette (DH) - 11-0 W/14-5 W

4/20 - Pacific (Ore.) (NWC Tournament) - 10-2 L

4/21 - Whitworth (NWC Tournament) - 10-3 W

4/21 - Pacific (Ore.) (NWC Tournament) - 7-2 W

4/22 - Linfield (NWC Championship) - 9-1 L

About the Bruins: 

George Fox is 35-9 coming into the tournament and recently had nine All-NWC selections. Madison Sorensen was named Pitcher of the Year and Jessica Hollen was named Coach of the Year. The Bruins set a new program-best for wins in a single-season and their first-ever share of the Regular Season NWC Championship. They fell to Linfield in the NWC Tournament Championship Game 9-1 in six innings.

Sorensen earned NWC Pitcher of the Year after leading the Bruins and the conference in ERA (1.71), wins (22), strikeouts (155) and tied for first in saves (3). She is also tied for 12^th in the nation in strikeouts and third in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.82). She concluded the regular season as the career record holder in career wins, career saves, career appearances, and career strikeouts. Catcher Alyssa Gonzalez earned First Team All-NWC honors after playing all 44 games for the Bruins behind the plate. She was second in the conference in runners caught stealing (10). Also on the mound for the Bruins, Abbie Bergerson was second in the conference in ERA (2.58) and tallied nine wins on the season.

Location: McMinnville, Ore.

Head Coach: Jackson Vaughan (16th Season)

NCAA Appearances: 14th

2017-18 Record: 35-8, 24-4 Northwest Conference

Last NCAA Result: 2016, NCAA Super Regional: defeated by UT Tyler 2-0

Roster  |  Schedule  |  Stats

Last 15 Games

3/30 - at Whitworth (DH) - 6-1 W/10-5 L

3/31 - at Whitworth (DH) - 15-6 W/5-4 W

4/8 - Pacific (Ore.) (DH) - 7-2 W/7-1 W

4/9 - Pacific (Ore.) (DH) - 9-8 W/6-0 L

4/14 - Lewis & Clark (DH) - 8-5 W/8-5 W

4/17 - at Lewis & Clark (DH) - 9-1 W/12-3 W

4/20 - (N) Whitworth - 5-1 W

4/21 - (N) Pacific (Ore.) - 9-7 W

4/22 - at Linfield (NWC Championship) - 9-1 W

About the Wildcats:

Currently riding a seven-game winning streak, the Wildcats advanced to the NCAA postseason for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons after defeating George Fox 9-1 in the NWC Tournament Championship to earn the automatic bid. Linfield completed its run through the NWC Tournament with a perfect 3-0 record, scoring 23 runs in wins over Whitworth, Pacific (Ore.), and George Fox.

Linfield landed nine players on the All-NWC list, including Player of the Year Melanie Oord. The senior ranked in the NWC's top 10 in nearly every hitting category. She led the NWC in RBI (46), walks (22) and on-base percentage (.589). Oord hit .462 this spring with 55 hits, 33 runs scored, 12 doubles and seven home runs while leading Linfield to the NWC regular-season co-championship and NWC Tournament title. Senior catcher Emily Allen hit .430 during the regular season with 58 hits, 42 RBI, 47 runs scored, 15 doubles and five home runs. Last year's NWC Player of the Year, Cheyenne Fletcher hit .396 this spring and scored a conference-best 60 runs. She had 31 RBI with eight homers and a .485 on-base percentage.

Missing out on the NCAA Tournament last season, the Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2016 after defeating CMS 6-5 in eight innings in the Regional Final. They fell to UT Tyler, the 2016 National Champions, in the Super Regional.