NU at So Cal Invitational
	Tournament Notes
2/7	Arizona Christian	10 AM
2/7	La Sierra	3 PM
2/7	San Diego Christian	5:30 PM
2/8	Menlo	12:30 PM
2/8	Antelope Valley	5:30 PM
	Invitational Website

KIRKLAND – Northwest opens the 2020 softball season with five games at the So Cal NAIA Classic in Lake Elsinore, Calif., Friday and Saturday.
 
NU plays three games Friday, opening with Arizona Christian at 10 a.m., followed by La Sierra at 3 p.m., and San Diego Christian at 5:30 p.m. Saturday's schedule starts at 12:30 p.m. against Menlo and wraps up with a 5:30 contest against Antelope Valley.
 
NU opens on the road for the eighth consecutive season and is scheduled to play 17 games before the first home contest Feb. 29. The Eagles have never opened with consecutive wins and have won the season opener just twice in seven previous seasons–2018 and 2019.
 
Of the five opponents in the So Cal NAIA Classic, only Menlo has played the Eagles previously. The Oaks scored a 13-4 win over NU in the Eagles' inaugural season in 2013.
 
The Eagles are coming off their best pitching season in terms of earned run average at 4.53 in 2019. Rachel Hawley earned honorable mention All-Conference honors as a junior last season when she tossed a pair of one-hitters. Those were the first two one-hit outings to go seven innings for Northwest. 
 
Hawley also finished with a school-record 3.27 earned run average last season. Hawley is joined in the circle this season by returner Carly Tighe, junior college transfer Ava Kopperschlager, and freshman Abby Brake.
 
The Eagles return their top five hitters from last season. Nicola Fish was honorable mention All-Conference as a freshman in 2019 with a .328 batting average. 
 
Alexis Contreras had a team-high six home runs last season, Sammi Caron led the team in stolen bases, Carly Tighe had a pair of two home run games, and Sam Parisio started every game at short and saw her batting average jump 60 points last season. Of the 12 players that started 20 games last season, eight are back for 2020.
 
Arizona Christian is off to a 2-2 start. After being swept by Taylor, the Firestorm took two last weekend from Embry-Riddle. Tatumn Porras leads ACU with a .545 batting average, and Emerald Grijalva is 1-0 with a 2.92 earned run average in two starts in the circle.  ACU carries a team batting average of .316 and a team ERA of 4.67. 
 
La Sierra is 4-2 this season, including a four-game split with St. Katherine and a sweep against San Diego Christian. The Golden Eagles have played error-free defense this season. Elizabeth Pena leads the team with a .857 average. Keana Houchin has a 1.75 earned run average. LSU is hitting .400 as a team with a 5.92 ERA.
 
San Diego Christian is 0-4 this season after being swept by Antelope Valley and La Sierra. The Hawks are batting .227 with a 10.34 team earned run average.
 
Menlo is 1-3 coming into the weekend with a split against Antelope Valley and two losses to Cal State-Monterrey. MU is batting .231 with a 5.32 team earned run average. Lauren Harrison is batting .556, and Victoria Cervantes leads the pitching staff with a 4.67 ERA.
 
Antelope Valley is 4-4 this season after going 1-3 on the weekend. The Pioneers are hitting .319 this season with a team earned run average of 4.86. Rosie Aguirre is batting .500, and Chelsea Ramos has driven in 16 runs. Mackenzie Potter is 2-2 in the circle with a 4.20 ERA.
 
NU Head Coach Pam Fink's first season with the Eagles saw the team win 13 games and tie the single-season wins total in 2019. She coached 25 seasons at Oklahoma Baptist, making three trips to the NAIA postseason, including two NAIA World Series appearances. She also has an NCCAA national championship and left OBU with the most coaching wins in all women's sports.