SPOKANE, Wash. - The Whitworth College softball team remained 8th in the NFCA Division III ratings this week tying last week's all-time high-water mark in the national rankings. The Pirates will take on 2nd-ranked and three-time defending Northwest Conference champion Linfield this weekend.
What's at stake: The four game series between Whitworth (29-3 overall, 24-0 NWC) and Linfield (currently 30-4 overall, 21-1 NWC) will determine the 2007 NWC title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday will begin at noon. Last season Whitworth went to Linfield during the final weekend trailing the Wildcats by one game in the NWC standings. The Pirates won the first and third games of the four game series to pull into a tie for the NWC lead, but Linfield answered each time with wins in games two and four to secure their third straight conference title. Both Linfield (automatic) and Whitworth (at-large) went on the the NCAA Division III tournament. The Wildcats won the regional and eventually finished fourth at the NCAA finals in Salem, Virginia. Keep Up With the Action: All four of this weekend's games will be viewable on Whitworth's website through the Live Stats program. Fans will be able to keep up with the action on an inning by inning bases by clicking here, or on the link that will be available on the Whitworth web site. Records Fall: With four games left in the regular season, Whitworth has already broken or tied several key team records this season. Most importantly, the Pirates have tied the school record for number of wins in a season with 29 (they were 29-8 in 2004). The Bucs extended their school records for winning streak and NWC wins to 16 and 24, respectively, with last weekend's four game sweep of Willamette. Whitworth has also set single season team records for home runs (33, old record was 24 in 2006), runs scored (221, 192 in 2006), runs batted in (198, 176 in 2006), hits (292, 287 in 2006) and doubles (71, 58 in 2006). Making her Case: Heather Case (Jr., IF, Poulsbo, Wash. - North Kitsap) leads the Northwest Conference in batting average this season (.466) and is ranked among the conference leaders in slugging percentage (.748), hits (48), doubles (11), home runs (six) and runs batted in (31).The two-time First Team All-NWC selection already holds Whitworth's career records for home runs (15) and runs batted in (65) and is on pace to break nearly every batting record in the books, should she remain healthy throughout her four seasons. Case has also contributed heavily in the pitchers' circle this season, posting a 7-2 record with a 1.83 earned run average. Unblemished: Jessie LaPlante (Jr., RHP, Rathdrum, Idaho - CC of Spokane) has a chance to tie or break Whitworth's single-season win record, simply because she refuses to lose. LaPlante is 17-0 this year, two wins shy of former Pirate all-star Jo Sonnet's single season record of 19 wins. LaPlante has an earned average of 2.24. Her strikeout to walk ratio is almost 5-1 and she has walked only 19 batters in 119 innings this season. The Only Senior: Whitworth only has one senior on this year's team, but Lindsay Davis (Sr., C, Lake Forest, Calif. - Laguna Hills) has contributed more than her share to the success of the team this season, and over the last four years. Davis has been the starting catcher since her freshman campaign and has started all 146 games Whitworth has played in those four seasons. This year Davis is putting together the finest stats of her four years. Heading into the weekend Davis has career highs in batting average (.384), home runs (5) and runs batted in (22). She has 11 home runs and 52 RBIs in her career. The Friendly Confines: Whitworth is unbeaten (12-0) at Diana Marks Field this season. Since the 2004 season the Pirates are 49-8 (.860) at home. |
