College Update: Wall Playing a Key Role for No. 23 Saints

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   There's lots of Lewis County athletes playing sports at the college level, especially in the spring. Here's a roundup of how some of them are doing at four-year schools.

Softball

    The Saint Martin's University softball team improved to 30-11 and a league-leading 12-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday with a pair of wins over Montana State-Billings — with Tenino product Dani Wall playing a big role.

    The Saints are ranked No. 23 in the NFCA Division II poll for the first time in program history, and Wall — a sophomore — is hitting .285 and has started all 41 games, with 24 RBIs.

    Wall was 1 for 3 and drove in 2 runs in an 18-15 win in Saturday's opener, and went 1 for 3 in the Saints' 12-3 win in the nightcap. She also had a hit and an RBI in each game of SMU's 8-1, 12-6 sweep of Western Oregon on Thursday.

    Mossyrock's Hannah Pomeroy was the losing pitcher in Game 2 for Western Oregon, striking out six and allowing 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. Pomeroy has a 10-7 record for the Wolves, with a 4.08 ERA in a team-high 121 2/3 innings pitched.

    Amanda Woods, a freshman from Pe Ell, had four hits for George Fox University in a four-game weekend series against Whitworth. Woods went 2 for 4 with three RBIs in a 5-3 win in Saturday's opener, was 1 for 4 with an RBI in Sunday's 6-5 opening-game win, and was 1 for 2 with two RBIs in Saturday's 12-1 nightcap win. The Bruins finished the regular season with a 15-13 Northwest Conference record and will await the outcome of a pair of makeup games today to learn whether or not they qualify for the four-team NWC Softball Tournament. Woods is second on the team with a .360 batting average, and has started all 40 games for the 18-22 (overall) Bruins, with three home runs and 32 RBIs.

    Lauren Liseth, a junior from Centralia, went 1 for 3 as Fairfield University beat Manhattan College 4-3 in the opening game of a doubleheader on Sunday. Liseth leads the 19-15 Stags with a .393 batting average, and has hit six home runs with 29 RBIs.

    Jessika-Jo Sandrini went 1 for 4 and drove in 2 runs for Siena in a 10-7 win over Niagra in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday. Sandrini also pitched the last inning of the game, allowing one hit without a run to get the win. The junior from Adna had a hit and got the win in the Saints' 5-2 win in the opener, striking out five and allowing 10 hits. Sandrini is hitting .341 for the 10-22 Saints, and has been hit by 15 pitches — which gives her an average of .48 hit-by-pitches per game, the sixth-best ratio in the nation.

    Jet'aime Mullins, a senior out of White Pass High School, closed out her college softball career with a 3 for 4 performance at the plate, with two RBIs, for Lewis & Clark College on Sunday, as the Pioneers won 3-2 in the opening game of a doubleheader with Pacific. Mullins hit .310 with 22 RBIs and four home runs for the Pioneers, who finished the season with a 16-22 record and went 10-18 in Northwest Conference play.    

Baseball



    Ryan Knutz went 1 for 4 and drove in a run for Bellevue University (Neb.) in a 2-0 win over Dakota State on Monday. The senior catcher from Rochester is hitting .270 for the 35-6-1 Bruins.

    Colton Schoelkopf went 2 for 4 with a double and scored 3 runs for Colorado Mesa in a 15-1 win over Colorado State University-Pueblo on Sunday. The junior catcher from Chehalis is hitting .333 and has started 21 games for the 26-6 Mavericks.

    Robert Pehl, a sophomore from Chehalis, was 2 for 5 with an RBI for the University of Washington during an 11-3 win at Stanford on Saturday. Teammate Erik Forgione — also a sophomore from Chehalis — was 1 for 1 with a stolen base for the Huskies (9-24). Pehl has started all 33 games and is hitting .252 for the Huskies.

    Josh Moss, a sophomore from Rochester pitching for Saint Martin's University, was the losing pitching in a 5-3 loss to Montana State Billings on Sunday. Moss struck out five over 5 1/3 innings of work, with seven hits allowed. The left-hander has struck out 44 batters in 54 1/3 innings this season.

    Chris Bishop, a sophomore from Rochester pitching for Pacific Lutheran University, tossed the last five innings of a 7-2 loss to George Fox University on Sunday. Bishop allowed six hits and one earned run, with three strikeouts and three walks. The right-hander has a 5.17 ERA in 14 appearances this season for the Lutes, with 33 strikeouts.

Track & Field

    Andy Robertson, a sophomore from Chehalis, finished seventh in the 800 meters for Boise State University on Friday at the Utah Spring Classic in Salt Lake City. Robertson covered the court in 1 minute, 55.86 seconds.

    Mikel Elliott, a junior from White Pass High School, won the 1,500 meters on Friday for Concordia University at the John Knight Twilight track meet in Monmouth, Ore. Elliott finished the race in 4 minutes, 43.09 seconds, and teammate Megan VonBargen — a freshman from Adna — finished 20th in the event. Katie Jahnsen, a senior from Chehalis competing for Pacific Lutheran University, tossed the hammer a personal-best 157 feet, 7 1/4 inches for at the same meet. Jahnsen finished seventh in the event.

    Zach Stanfield, a senior from Adna, won the 200 meters for Seattle University on Saturday to help a team of Washington athletes beat a squad of schools from Oregon, Idaho and Montana in at WAR IV in Spokane. Stanfield run the 200 in 21.95 seconds, and ran legs of the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays.