By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, ORE. -- Sitting in third place in the Northwest Conference with only eleven games left in the regular season, the Willamette University softball team will travel to Portland, Ore., for a crucial four-game set against rival Lewis & Clark College.

The Bearcats and Pioneers will play doubleheaders on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6. The twinbill on Saturday will start at 11 a.m. (PDT), with Sunday's doubleheader set for 12 p.m. Live Stats will be available for all of the games.

Willamette enters the weekend with a 14-13 overall record, including 10-7 in the NWC. The Bearcats have a half-game lead on Pacific University (10-8) for third place in the conference standings, and own the tiebreaker over the Boxers with a 3-1 head-to-head record. WU leads fifth-place George Fox University (8-8) by 2 1/2 games.

The top four teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the round-robin NWC tournament, which determines the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

WU split a pair of doubleheaders against the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University last weekend.

Heather Winslow (Jr., OF, Oregon City, OR/Oregon City HS) leads the Bearcats with a .434 batting average this year. She also ranks atop the team in on-base percentage (.548) and stolen bases (22). Her stolen bases total ranks second in the NWC.

Ashley Pender(So., 2B, Reno, NV/North Valley HS) is batting .414 for Willamette. Her team-leading 27 RBIs rank fourth in the conference. Pender also leads the Bearcats in doubles, with eight.

Erin Norris (Jr., C/3B, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) owns a .361 average at the plate, with a team-best five home runs to go with 22 RBIs. Kayla Rieger(Jr., OF, Anacortes, WA/Anacortes HS/Adelphi Univ.) is batting .350.

As always, Willamette has been aggressive running the bases. The Bearcats have been successful on 71 of 87 attempted steals, led by Winslow's 22 successful swipes. Myranda Ramirez (Fr., OF, Sunnyvale, CA/Homestead HS), is 10 of 12, while Jenna King (Jr., OF, Camarillo, CA/Adolfo Camarillo HS) is a perfect 13 of 13.

Freshman pitcher Jade Smith (Chico, CA/Chico HS) is 9-3 on the season with a 1.41 earned run average. She has achieved 37 strikeouts against just 15 walks in 84.1 innings pitched. Victoria Bradshaw(So., P/DP, Discovery Bay, CA/Liberty HS) has made 11 starts for Willamette, compiling a 3-4 record and a 4.29 ERA.

Lewis & Clark is 9-19 on the season and 5-14 (7th place) in the NWC. On Wednesday, April 2, the Pioneers swept a doubleheader from Puget Sound.

L&C's top hitter is sophomore Hannah Del Pra, who sports a .364 batting average. She has two home runs, seven doubles, and 22 RBIs this season, along with a .511 slugging percentage.

Junior Madison Hollenbeck (6-10) has achieved a 4.37 ERA to lead the Pioneers, allowing 81 runs over 101 innings pitched. No other L&C pitcher has tossed more than 35 innings.