Bruins Sweep NWC Softball Awards with Hento and Doyle; Hento Gets BAA Honors

NEWBERG, Ore.  – Rookie right-hander Erin Hento and second baseman Becka Doyle of George Fox University have been named the Northwest Conference Softball Pitching and Offensive / Defensive Student-Athletes of the Week respectively for Feb. 14-20, with Hento also named the Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week.

Hento, a freshman from Keizer, Ore., posted a 3-0 record with a 2.05 earned run average with 14 strikeouts and one walk in 13.1 innings as the Bruins swept a four-game series from Eastern Oregon Feb. 19-20.  She threw a complete-game seven-hitter in a 6-4 series-opening win over the Mountaineers on Saturday, striking out nine with one walk while allowing only two earned runs.  On Sunday, she started and got the 5-2 win with 4.2 innings of five-hit ball, allowing both EOU runs with two strikeouts and no walks.  In the second game of the Sunday twinbill, she got the win in a 4-3 10-inning win, striking out three with no walks and no hits allowed in the final 1.2 innings of relief. 

Hento currently leads the NWC in wins (4) and strikeouts (18), is tied for the lead in appearances (6) and starts (4), and ranks second in innings (26.1).

Doyle, a junior from Portland, Ore., batted .500 (6-12) against the Mountaineers with two doubles, three runs scored, three RBIs, and three stolen bases.  She went 3-3 with a double, a run, an RBI, and two stolen bases as the Bruins took the series opener on Saturday 6-4, then went 0-3 but scored a run in a 5-0 second game win.  On Sunday, she was 1-3 with a steal in a 5-2 first-game win, then was 2-3 with a double, a sacrifice fly, a runand two RBIs in a 4-3 10-inning win in the finale.  She led off the last of the 10th with a double and scored on Shelby Briske’s single to give the Bruins the sweep.

Doyle is currently batting .346 on the season with six RBIs, and is tied for fifth in the conference in doubles (2) and stolen bases (3).

The Athlete of the Week Award for both men and women is presented throughout the Bruin sports seasons by the Bruin Athletic Association, whose mission is to provide George Fox student-athletes with an outstanding athletic and academic experience and to strengthen the overall competitiveness of the Bruin athletics program.  For more information about the organization or to become a member, visit the Bruin Athletic Association website.

George Fox, 5-5 on the season, was scheduled to open Northwest Conference play this weekend, but Saturday’s doubleheader at Pacific Lutheran and Sunday’s twinbill at Puget Sound have been postponed due to several inches of snow on the fields at PLU and UPS and expected frigid temperatures.  No makeup dates have been announced.