LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University Softball heads to the West Coast this week as the team will journey to California for eight non-conference games. The Mountaineers will play two-games each day from Thursday-Sunday in what will be their final non-conference games of the regular season. 

OPPONENTS
Menlo College Oaks (4-10)
William Jessup Warriors (8-6)
No. 17 Hope International Royals (7-3)
Marymount California Mariners (2-7)

WHERE
Atherton, Calif. - vs. Menlo
Lincoln, Calif. - vs. William Jessup/Hope International/Marymount California

WHEN
Thursday, Feb. 24, 10 a.m. & 12 p.m. - vs. Menlo
Friday, Feb. 25, 12 & 4 p.m. - vs. WJU & HIU
Saturday, Feb. 26, 10 a.m. & 1 2p.m. - vs. HIU & WJU
Sunday, Feb. 27, 10 a.m. & 12 p.m. - vs. Marymount California

First Pitch
• The Mountaineers (2-3) will look to get back into the winner's circle following an 0-2 slate last weekend at Lewis & Clark College. 
• Eastern will look to make the most of a trip that consists of match-ups against in-region opponents.
• This week's games for the Mounties are their first against NAIA opponents after playing NCAA Division III foes back-to-back to start the year.
• Following the West Coast trip, EOU will be back in-stat weekend to start conference play against Bushnell University.

How to Watch/Follow
• Live video coverage for Thursday's game vs. Meno College will be available GSAC Sports Network at www.GSACSportsNetwork.com/menlo.
• Live video coverages for Friday-Sunday will be available through William Jessup Athletics at www.GSACSportsNetwork.com/williamjessup. 
• Live stats coverage for all eight games this weekend can be accessed by clicking the link above and by going to the EOU Softball schedule page.
• All home games this year will be webcast on the Mountie Sports Network at www.EOUSports.com/watch. All EOU home games will be Pay-Per-View and can be purchased for $7.95 per game or $11.95 for a day pass. Fans can also purchase an Eastern Oregon All-Access pass to watch all 2021-22 EOU home sporting events for $100.
• Livestreams for all home games will begin 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
• Live stats coverage for EOU Softball games this season can be accessed at www.eousports.com/livestats.

Story Lines
• The Mounties will look to snap a three-game skid when they head to California.
• This week's games for Eastern are the first of the year against NAIA opponents.
• EOU is just five games into what is a 17-game road swing to start the 2022 season.
• One of the Mounties' opponents this week is nationally ranked in No. 17 Hope International.

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• EOU dropped a single-day doubleheader against Lewis & Clark College last weekend, falling 6-5 and 2-1.
• In game one, five errors plagued EOU and the team left nine runners on base in the loss.
• Game two was a low scoring affair, but once again Eastern left eight runners on base.

Series History vs. This Week's Opponents
• EOU is 3-2 against Meno all-time with a 1-1 mark in true road games. The two squads last met in 2013 playing three games. Eastern was 2-1 against the Oaks.
• EOU and WJU have met seven times, with the Warriors winning all seven match-ups. The two last met in 2020 with the Mounties falling 12-4 in both contests.
• Eastern and HIU have met just one time before this week back in 2005. EOU was the victor in the lone match-up by a final of 4-2. 
• This week's match-up between EOU and Marymount will be the first ever for the two squads.

Travelin' Mounties
• EOU begins the season with its first 17 games on the road before playing at home.
• For the 2022 season, Eastern will play 35 games away from home and just 18 at home.
• Early on to start the year, the Mounties are 2-3 on the road.

Comin' Out Swingin'
• Four players are batting over .300 to start the season in Taylor Dow (.444), Kayla Berg (.385), Grace Gaither (.313), and Karsyn Zaragoza (.3000.
• Gaither has hit four doubles in five games and is tied for the team lead in RBI with three.
• Kayla Berg has five hits early on and has hit the lone home run for the Mounties.
• Taylor Dow leads the way with eight hits and has two RBI.

Swing and a Miss!
• Through five games, the Mounties have fanned 30 batters.
• Eastern has a 1.68 team ERA to start the year and is holding batters to a .190 average.
• Early on both Amanda Smith leads the pitching staff with 12 strikeouts.

Scouting the Competition
Menlo College Oaks
• The Oaks enter the Thursday tilt with a 4-10 overall record. They have dropped their last two contests and are currently 1-5 at home to start the year.
• Through 14 games, the Oaks are batting .282 as a team and have two home runs. They have a team ERA of 4.77 and have struck out 50 batters.
• Nohea Hee has a team leading 35 at bats and is hitting .286 to start. Shehas 10 hits and scored three runs.
• Hailey Roloff has hit a team-high .529 through 11 games played and has five RBI. She has knocked 18 hits and scored a team best 10 runs.
• Wendy Mouat is the team's RBI leader with eight this season. She has also hit one of the team's two homers. 
• Second in RBI is Makenna Weilerwith six. She has also drawn a team-high five walks.
• Leading the pitching staff so far is Brianna Gonzalez. She has appeared in eight games, started four and pitched 31 complete frames.
• Gonzalez also has 21 strikeouts on the year and has a team best ERA of 3.84.
• Defensively, the Oaks have a .939 fielding percentage and have committed 25 errors on the year. They have turned 11 total double plays so far.

William Jessup Warriors
• The Warriors enter the weekend with an 8-6 overall record with all 14 games having been played on their home field.
• Through 14 games, WJU is batting .299 as a group. They have 57 RBI on the year. Scored 70 runs and have smacked five home runs.
• The Warriors pitching staff has thrown a total of 42 strikeouts through 92 innings worked. They have surrendered just one home run and have a team ERA of 2.66.
• On defense, WJU sports a .949 fielding percentage, but have turned just two double plays. They have 23 errors on the day and have given up 22 stolen bases.
• Kaela Hangebruck leads the bats through 14 games played with a .375 average. She has scored 11 runs and knocked eight RBI. She has also hit one homer and is slugging .550.
• Naalie Nash has the second best batting average at .366 through 14 starts. She is tied with Hangebrauck for the most hits with 15 and is 2-2 on stolen base attempts.
• Kaylee Winn is the RBI leader with 13 and is batting .324 so far. She has also scored eight runs and drawn three walks.
• Sam lorge is the home run leader early on with two. She also has eight RBI and has tallied 12 hits on the year.
• Maddy Ybarra leads the way in base running with 10 stolen bases on 11 attempts. She is batting .333 and has hit a team-high three doubles.
• Maikyla Nelson leads the pitching staff with a 1.99 ERA and sports a 4-3 record. She is tied for the lead in strikeouts with 19 in 38.2 innings worked.
• Katie Blankheim also has 19 strikeouts on the year and has appeared in a team-high eight games. She is 4-2 on the year and has a 3.23 ERA.

No. 17 Hope International Royals
• HIU enters this weekend with a 10-5 overall record and is 7-3 in that span at home. They are currently ranked No. 17 in the NAIA preseason coaches' top-25 poll.
• The Royals are batting a combined .308 on the year and have already hit 16 home runs which leads the NAIA. They have the seventh most RBI with 81.
• Skyler Mao leads the team in RBI with 22 on the year and has hit a team-high six home runs already. She has the third most runs scored at 10 and is batting a team best .435.
• Caitlyn Felina is the leader in runs scored with 18 on the year. Seh has five RBI and his batting .347. She is also 9-10 in stolen base attempts to lead the team.
• Makenna O'Toole is second in runs scored and third in RBI at 13 and 12, respectively. She has also hit three homers to rank third on the team.
• Nicole Marquez is second in RBI with 13 and has the second most home runs hit with four on the year. 
• In the circle, Allie Puente is the leader in strikeouts, games played, starts, and overall record. She is 5-1 with a 1.01 ERA and has struck out 81 batters in 48.2 innings pitched. She has worked seven complete games.
• Olivia Candelas is second in strikeouts with 12 in 23 complete innings. She is 3-1 on the year and has a 1.83 ERA.
• As a staff, HIU's pitchers boast a 2.14 ERA and have struck out 103 batters so far. Defensively, the team has a .940 fielding percentage and has 23 errors this season.

Marymount California Mariners
• Marymount sports a 2-7 overall record entering the weekend and has yet to play in a neutral site game.
• The Mariners are batting just .212 as a unit and have scored 29 runs. They have 28 RBI, but have yet to hit a home run this season.
• Defensively, MCU owns a .970 fielding percentage and has turned four double plays. They have committed just seven errors through nine games.
• In the circle, the team has a collective ERA of 5.19. They have struck out just 23 batters in 55.1 innings of work. 
• Leading the team in RBI is Diamond Lewis with six. She is hitting .250 on the year, but has struck out eight times already this season.
• AnnaMaria Corona is also batting .250 and is tied with Lewis for the team lead in hits with six. She has three RBI and has scored three runs.
• In the circle, Liana Castro leads the way in strikeouts with 13 in 21 complete innings. She has a 2.00 ERA and is 1-3 on the year.

Up Next
• Conference play. Following the eight-game trip to California, EOU will head to Eugene, Oregon for its 2022 CCC opener against Bushnell March 4-5. Day one action against the Beacons begins at 1 p.m., followed by an 11 a.m. start on day two.

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