RECENT HEADLINES
May 23, 2012

Emilly Cunningham was named to the All-Tournament Team. photo by Rich Dworkis

BULLDOG SOFTBALL PLACES 4TH AT NWAACC CHAMPIONSHIP

The Bellevue College Bulldogs softball team finished another great season placing 4th at the NWAACC Softball Championship Tournament held in Portland, Oregon, May 18-21. It is the second year in a row that the Bulldogs have brought home the 4th place trophy. They are only one of two teams to place in the top four the past two seasons.

In what proved to be a dramatic and wild NWAACC tournament, the #2 seeded Bulldogs showed their grit and determination throughout. The team started the tournament on Friday beating Centralia 10-1. In game two, the Bulldogs got behind early to North Region rival Douglas. The Dawgs rallied in the seventh to score three runs, but it was not enough as Douglas came out on top, winning 5-3. The Dawgs were then forced into the losers bracket.

In game one on Saturday, Bellevue beat Grays Harbor 9-0 to start what turned into the most dramatic day of softball in Bulldog history. Game two on Saturday pitted the Bulldogs against #3 seeded Southwest Oregon (one of two NWAACC teams to beat Bellevue this season). The game was a pitchers duel as the teams battled back and forth for six innings in a 1-1 tie. In the top of the seventh, Bellevue’s Haylee Baker walked and Lindsey West followed with a two-run homerun to put the team ahead 3-1. Bellevue then rallied for six more runs and Emilly Cunningham shut down SWOCC in the seventh inning for the dramatic 9-1 win.

That win kept the Bulldogs alive to face the #1 seeded Knights from Wenatchee Valley in their third loser-out game of the day. The Knights scored one run in the first inning before Danielle Orvella and Cunningham combined to shut them out the rest of the game. The Bulldogs struggled to get anything going offensively until the seventh inning. Behind 1-0 and down to their last two outs of the season, the Bulldogs’ Larissa Johnson hit a double to keep the team alive. With one strike on her in the bottom of the seventh, the next batter, Jessica Tingley, hit a towering walk-off homerun that cleared the fence by 40 feet to give the Dawgs the dramatic come-from-behind victory and cap an amazing day of softball for the program.

On Sunday, the Bellevue faced up against Clackamas in another loser-out game. The last time these two teams met, Clackamas won 1-0 in a classic battle of powerhouse rivals. This time proved to be much of the same and the teams battled back and forth for seven innings. Tied 4-4 with two outs in the seventh, Clackamas was able to force across the winning run to end the Bulldogs dramatic tournament run.

"This was one of the most memorable weekends of sports I have ever been a part of," said Bulldogs head coach Leah Francis.  "I am so proud of the way this team played; with grit, heart and determination.  It was a fun weekend and an amazing season. We are all very proud of this squad and how they represented Bellevue College!"

The Bulldogs finished up the year with an overall season record 44-5, taking home a North Region 1st Place trophy and an NWAACC 4th Place trophy!

Year-End Awards for Bulldogs Softball:

NWAACC All-Tournament Team
Emilly Cunningham
Lindsey West

NWAACC All-Americans
Haylee Baker
Autumn Isaacson

NWAACC Golden Shoe Award (Most stolen bases in NWAACC)
Autumn Isaacson

North Region Pitcher of the Year
Danielle Orvella

North Region Player of the Year
Haylee Baker

North Region Coaching Staff of the Year
Leah Francis, Whitney Whittemore, Sarah Hyatt, Rita Roach, Matt Hernandez

First Team North Region All-Stars
Danielle Jackman
Sarah Agerup
Meaghan Ransier
Lindsey West
Emily Guluarte
Autumn Isaacson

Second Team North Region All-Stars
Emilly Cunningham
Larissa Johnson
Jessica Tingley
Nicole Barger
Breanna Wilson

All-Academic Sports Team Spring Quarter
Emily Guluarte
Danielle Jackman
Danielle Orvella

Reigning NWAACC Championship MVP Tyler Baumgartner leads Bellevue into this week's NWAACC Championships.. photo by Rich Dworkis

BC BASEBALL TO OPEN NWAACC CHAMPIONSHIP THURSDAY

Bellevue College baseball, ranked #1 in the final NWAACC Alaska Airlines Coaches' Poll and ranked #33 in the national poll, will play Pierce College at 12:35 p.m. in the opening round of the NWAACC Championships beginning Thursday May 24. The five-day tournament will be played at Lower Columbia College in Longview, WA, May 24-28. The Bulldogs bring a 34-10 record into the tournament that features the final eight in the northwest. For information on the tourney including scores, stats, lodging information, and live video, please visit the NWAACC website www.nwaacc.org and click on the Baseball Championship logo to the right your screen.

Year-End Awards for Bulldogs Baseball:

First Team North Region All-Stars
Adrian Sampson, Pitcher
Jonathan Humphrie, Relief Pitcher
Dustin Breshears, INF
Jerad Casper, INF
Tyler Baumgartner, OF
Max Brown, OF
Colin Hering, Utility

Second Team North Region All-Stars
Matt Cooper, Pitcher

North Region Gold Glove Team
Dustin Breshears, 2nd Base

All-Academic Sports Team Spring Quarter
Tyler Baumgartner
Blake Fulghum
Scott Kuzminsky
Will Minice

Number one singles Anissa Bryant-Swift photo by Rich Dworkis

EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE NWAACC CHAMPIONSHIP FOR BC WOMEN’S TENNIS

Bellevue College women’s tennis won their eighth consecutive NWAACC Women’s Tennis Championship at the tournament held in Spokane May 11-12. With Anissa Bryant-Swift at the number one position leading the way, the team edged Spokane by 35 points to take another title. Bellevue won first place in five of nine categories: #1 Singles: Anissa Bryant-Swift; #2 Singles, Martha Santos; #4 Singles, Elynn Wu;  #1 Doubles, Bryant-Swift and Amber Portka; and #2 Doubles, Santos and Jazi Ahyat.
Jazmin Ahyat, Anissa Bryant-Swift and Amber Portka were also named to the NWAACC All Academic Sports Team for spring quarter 2012. BC’s women’s tennis head coach, Jason Chapman, was selected Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year. Coach Chapman recapped the season: “This year was another successful season despite having to deal with quite a few difficult injuries and figuring out some doubles teams. I am very proud of the fact that we pushed some four-year schools down to the wire in some matches, and that we won all of our league matches. Our number one player for the past two years, Anissa Bryant-Swift, will be going on to play at Boise State University next year. Will be looking to keep the streak alive next season and hope for another great group of women to work with!”

Katya Case took home the individual medalist honors and helped the women's team to their first NWAACC Championship photo by Rich Dworkis

BELLEVUE WOMEN’S GOLF
WINS FIRST NWAACC CHAMPIONSHIP

The Bellevue College women’s golf team won their first NWAACC Championship Monday, May 21, at the conclusion of the two-day Championship Tournament held at the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain and McCormick Woods in Bremerton. The Bulldogs finished their outstanding season in style winning their eighth straight tournament besting second place Spokane by 17 shots. Leading the team and winning medalist honors was standout sophomore Katya Case. Battling tough weather conditions, Case shot an 81 in the first round, and followed that up with a very solid 77 in the final, winning the tournament by 10 strokes. Solid play was turned in by all of the BC women with Jamie Kirsila finishing in sixth place with a two-day total 171, and Alayna Herring tied for eighth with 177. Herring's solid back-nine play, including a great up and down for par on the 18th was a key factor in securing the victory for the women. Freshman Corey Rois tied for 12th with 180, and teammate freshman Kayce Ogishima was 16th with 183. "I couldn't be happier for this team,” said head coach Kirk Johanson. “After finishing the regular season undefeated, it was great to finish off with a dominant performance in the championships. I'm very proud of what these women have accomplished this year. Their commitment and teamwork all year was outstanding, and it’s very special to be the first BC Women’s Golf Championship Team. I'm glad for Katya and Alayna to be able to finish their BC Golf careers as champions."

Katya Case was selected to the NWAACC All-Stars Women’s First Team, with Alayna Herring, Jamie Kirsila, Kayce Ogishima, and Corey Rois named to the Second Team. Sophomore Alayna Herring was also honored on the All-Academic Sports Team for Spring Quarter 2012. Coach Kirk Johanson has been named Women’s Golf Coach of the Year.

Colten Kleis was the top finisher for the Bulldogs men's team. photo by Rich Dworkis

BC MEN’S GOLF FINISHES 4TH AT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

The Bellevue College men’s golf team finished fourth to wrap up the season at the NWAACC Championships held at McCormick Woods GC and the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain in Bremerton, May 20-21. Heavy rain and wind met the golfers the first day making scoring very difficult, but Bulldog freshman Colten Kleis played well in the tough conditions, finishing the first round four strokes off the lead with a solid 76; three back at 79 was sophomore Zach Buchanan.  At the completion of the day the Bulldogs found themselves in third place as a team.

The final round was made difficult again with poor weather. Playing well despite the rain were sophomores Chad Smith and Charles Lee, both shooting 76, as was freshman Nathan Stephenson. Smith finished the tourney in the top
ten, tied at 10th, Kleis and Buchanan tied 13th, Lee tied 15th, and Ryan Maul tied for 33rd. The team finished in fourth place. "I'm proud of the men as they continued to improve throughout the year. They never gave up and were great teammates and competitors.” Sophomore Zach Buchanan was named to the All-Academic Sports Team for Spring Quarter 2012.

Please visit the BC Athletics website http://bellevuecollege.edu/athletics/ for additional team information. For complete standings, coaches’ polls and up-to-the-minute results go to http://nwaacc.org

Admission to all Bellevue College men’s and women’s home games is FREE to students, staff and faculty with current BC ID. Please come and support our outstanding student-athletes.

GO, BULLDOGS!