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SB: WHAT'S BRUIN - Briske, Lee Earn Both NWC Awards; Lee Wins BAA Honor Also
Upcoming Games
- Sat., Feb. 27, 12:00 pm - vs. Eastern Oregon University (2), Newberg, Ore.
NEWBERG, Ore. - Off to one of their best starts ever at 3-1, the George Fox University Bruins hope to continue their successful ways when they host the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers from La Grande for a non-conference softball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at 12:00 noon at Morse Field.
The Bruins opened the season at home last Saturday by winning a pair of 2-1 contests from the Corban College Warriors, the first game going 11 innings. Rookie Taylor Whitmore went the distance in the opener, scattering eight hits while striking out nine, and Shelby Klein knocked in Shelby Briske with the winning run in the 11th. Erin Lee threw a complete game for the victory in the nightcap, spacing five hits with one strikeout and no walks, and Briske doubled off the top of the fence in center to drive in Nicole Renteria with the tie-breaking run in the 6th.
In the Northwest Cup tournament at Hood View Park in Clackamas, Ore., on Sunday, the Bruins knocked off the College of Idaho Lady Coyotes 8-0 before falling to the Northwest Christian University Beacons 13-6. Lee tossed a five-hitter with three strikeouts and one walk to beat the defending Cascade Collegiate Conference champion and NAIA Division II pre-season No. 15 C of I team, and Bethany Chriss, Becka Doyle, and Briske all homered. The Bruins gave up four long balls in the dropping the NCU game.
Eastern Oregon, which was picked to finish seventh in the Cascade Collegiate Conference pre-season poll, will be opening its season against the Bruins. The Mountaineers finished the 2009 season 13-29 overall and 5-19 in conference play, finishing seventh in the CCC. Eastern returns four starters from last year's team.
The Bruins will begin Northwest Conference play next weekend, hosting Linfield College on March 6 and going to Pacific University on March 7.
BRUIN BITS:
* Briske, Lee Earn Both NWC Awards; Lee Wins BAA Honor Also
Right-hander Erin Lee and right fielder Shelby Briske of George Fox have been named the Northwest Conference Student-Athlete Softball Pitcher and Hitter of the Week respectively for Feb. 15-21, and Lee also garnered the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week for their performances in the Bruins' 3-1 season-opening week.
Lee, a senior from Edmonds, Wash., threw a five-hitter in defeating Corban 2-1 on Feb. 20, completing a two-game sweep of the Warriors. She struck out one and walked none in 7.0 innings. The next day, in the Northwest Cup tournament at Hood View Park in Clackamas, Ore., she allowed five hits with three K's and one walk in 6.0 innings while shutting out the defending Cascade College Conference champion and NAIA Division II pre-season No. 15 College of Idaho 8-0. She also threw two relief innings in the Bruins' 13-6 loss to Northwest Christian later in the day, allowing four hits and three runs. For the week, she pitched in three games with a 2-0 record, allowing 14 hits and 4 runs in 15.0 innings for a 1.87 ERA, with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks.
Briske, a junior from Spanaway, Wash., hit in every game, starting with a 1-4 in the Bruins' 2-1, 11-inning win over Corban to open the season on Saturday. She singled and scored the winning run of Shelby Klein's hit in the bottom of the 11th. In the second Corban game, she was 3-3 within an RBI double to score Nicole Renteria with the go-ahead run in the 6th. In the Bruins' 8-0 over the College of Idaho in the Northwest Cup tournament on Sunday, she was 2-4 with a solo home run and 3 RBIs, then followed that up with a 3-3 in a 13-6 loss to Northwest Christian, hitting a three-run double that cut the Bruins' deficit to 7-6 in the 4th inning. For the week, she batted .571 (8-14) with 2 doubles, a home run, 8 RBIs, 2 runs scored, a stolen base, and a .929 slugging percentage and .625 on base percentage.
* 2010 Honors
Erin Lee
- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete Pitcher of the Week - Feb. 15-21
Shelby Briske
- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete Hitter of the Week - Feb. 15-21
* Head Coach Jessica Hollen
Jessica Hollen (Western Oregon ‘03) is 8-33 (.195, 5-19 home, 2-13 road, 1-1 neutral) to date in her 2nd season at George Fox ... She was an assistant coach at Chemeketa Community College in 2004, varsity coach at Stayton (Ore.) High School in 2005-06, and co-head coach at Chemeketa in 2007 ... Against Eastern Oregon, she is 1-1 (1-1 home) ...
