Red Lion Players of the Week Announced
The following CCC and NAIA West student-athletes have been recognized as Red Lion Players of the Week for their performances during the period April 7 – 13.
Softball Pitcher
Concordia’s McKenzie Marshall has been named the Red Lion Softball Pitcher of the Week.
Marshall, a senior from Oregon City, Ore., registered three wins in four appearances while not allowing a single earned run. Marshall closed out the final 5.1 innings in the first game against Corban and returned to pitch a 7-innning win in the second game against the Warriors. Opponent's hit .177 against Marshall in her four appearances with the senior striking out 12 and walking three. The outings helped CU climb to within a game of the top of the CCC standings.
Honorable mention: Rylee Carleton, OIT; Nickayla Skinner, C of I
Softball Player
Southern Oregon’s Julia Willison has been named the Red Lion Softball Player of the Week.
Willison, a senior from Reno, Nev., hit her first three home runs of the season, a grand slam and two three-run shots, to propel the Raiders in three wins. She went 7-for-16 but reached base in 13 of 23 plate appearances and now has a .575 on-base percentage for the season.
Honorable mention: Cassidy Hoglund, OIT; Briana Brace, C of I; Lounette Jackson, CRB; Brittnee Carmen-Rice, EOU
Baseball Pitcher
British Columbia’s Conor Lillis-White has been named the Red Lion Baseball Pitcher of the Week.
Lillis-White, a junior from Toronto, Ont., threw his third complete-game shutout of the 2014 season as his UBC Thunderbirds blanked the Corban Warriors 5-0 in Salem, Ore. on Friday, April 11. The junior from Toronto gave up just three hits while recording seven strikeouts. The T-Birds needed Lillis-White to be needed him to be every bit as good as he was, because UBC led just 1-0 heading into the eighth inning, with Corban pitcher Austin Guzzon also throwing gem of a game. Lillis-White improved to 6-0 on the season and lowered his earned run average to 0.65, second best in the entire NAIA, in 55.2 innings of work this season. UBC hosts Simpson (Calif.) this weekend in Vancouver.
Honorable mention: Daniel Aranda, CRB; Jon Yearout, CU
Baseball Player
Corban’s Jon Mercer has been named the Red Lion Baseball Player of the Week.
Mercer, a junior from Bothell, Wash., earned six starts because of illness to the regular starting center fielder and hit .500 for the week with hits in five of six games. In the game he didn't have a hit he had only one at-bat before giving way to a replacement. Batting in the No. 9 spot, he was 4-for-4 with three RBI in the series-opening win over UBC.
Honorable mention: Aaron Bocchi, OIT
Women’s Field
Concordia’s Emma Buchholz has been named the Red Lion Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week.
Buchholz, a junior from Sheridan, Ore., increased her NAIA-leading mark in the javelin on Friday while establishing a new meet record at the Western Oregon University John Knight Twilight. Buchholz unleased a 156-0 (47.54m) on her second throw to add almost two feet to her previous season best. The distance broke the former meet record mark of 154-0 (46.94m) set by Western Oregon's Carolanne Powers in 2010.
Honorable mention: Joelle Swanson, OIT
Women’s Track
Eastern Oregon’s Kadie Booth has been named the Red Lion Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week.
Booth, a senior from Post Falls, Idaho, had a successful weekend on the track at the Albertson’s WAR VII on Saturday. She competed in four events, won two and finished second in the other two. Booth was first out of 32 athletes in the 200 meter dash as she clocked a time of 25.37. She finished second in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.28. Booth anchored the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 meter relay teams at the meet. The 4x100 meter team broke EOU’s school record and hit the NAIA “B” standard with a time of 48.12, to win the event. In the 4x400 meter relay, Booth anchored the team to a time of 3:52.29, which hit the NAIA “A” standard and a second place finish.
Honorable mention: Amelia Maguin, SOU; Ericka McDaniel, NU
Men’s Field
Evergreen’s Anthony Johnson has been named the Red Lion Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week.
Johnson, a sophomore from Seattle, Wash., won the high jump at the Washington Open. Still the national leader in the high jump, Johnson took first place with a jump of 6-11, finishing ahead of University of Washington's top high jumper, AJ Maricich. He leads the NAIA by over an inch in his first season of competition for the Geoducks.
Honorable mention: Tyler Callahan, CU; Brian Wickham, EOU
Men’s Track
Concordia’s Matthew Clowes has been named the Red Lion Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week.
Clowes, a junior from Stoke-on-Trent, England, added yet another strong performance to his season by posting an NAIA-leading 3:44.14 in the 1,500 at the John Knight Twilight on Friday. Clowes won the event by more than seven seconds over teammate Brad Prettyman. Clowes' time not only shattered the CU school record, previously held by Cory Pena with a 3:49.84, but also battered the facility record and the meet record in the process. Clowes holds a four-second lead on the NAIA performance list over Lewis-Clark State's Sam Atkin (3:48.41).
Honorable mention: Kevin Jorgensen, SOU
Women’s Golf
College of Idaho’s Baylee Borchers has been named the Red Lion Women’s Golfer of the Week.
Borchers, a senior from Meridian, Idaho, earned her third medalist honor of the 2013-14 season at the Northwest Christian Invitational. She shot 233 to win the event by two strokes over Concordia's Madison Alamillo.
Honorable mention: Madison Alamillo, CU
Men’s Golf
Northwest Christian’s Tyler Falk has been named the Red Lion Men’s Golfer of the Week.
Falk, a senior from Springfield, Ore., won his second consecutive tournament, claiming a two-stroke win at the Northwest Christian University Invitational, hosted at Springfield Country Club. Falk shot a 2-under 214 for the event. He was the only player to hit par in the third round and the only player to hit at par-or-below in all three rounds. Falk currently leads the race for CCC Player of the Year by 6 strokes with three rounds to play. At the beginning of the spring he trailed the leader by 10 strokes. Falk has won three tournaments this season and has tied the career record of six held by Justin Ahrens. Falk currently leads the CCC and ranks 6th in the NAIA in stroke average (71.67). He is also second in the NAIA for sub-par strokes per round (4.00), and third in the NAIA in Par-5 scoring (4.65). Falk is third in the NAIA in head-to-head player standings, based upon adjusted scoring average.
Honorable mention: Kolton Kyne, CU