By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University softball team will start the 2020 regular season on the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 12 with a single game at Warner Pacific University in Portland, Oregon. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. (PST) at Delta Park. The Bearcats will be led by new Head Coach Paige Hall, who arrived at Willamette after six seasons as an assistant coach at Lewis & Clark College.

Willamette returns the top six hitters on last year's offensive chart based on batting averages. Leading the way is Vanessa Almaraz (Sr., OF, Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley HS), who topped the Bearcats with a .321 batting average in 2019. She led the team with 24 RBIs. She also scored 18 runs, while hitting five doubles, one triple, and three homers.

Jocelyn Glasgo (sr., P/OF, Rochester, WA/Tumwater HS) hit .315 last year with a team-high 27 runs to go along with 18 RBIs. She belted 13 extra-base hits on six doubles, two triples and a team-leading five homers. She made 27 appearances and 14 starts as a pitcher, and finished the year with 48 strikeouts in 86 2/3 innings. She was chosen Honorable Mention All-NWC.

Payten Healy (So., SS, Crescent City, CA/Del Norte HS) had a strong season as a first-year player last spring. She batted .312 with 19 runs and 16 RBIs. She ranked first on the team with nine doubles, and also hit one triple and four home runs.

Almaraz, Glasgo, and Healy provided exceptional leadership on offense. They combined for 64 runs, 58 RBIs, 20 doubles, four triples and 12 homers. Glasgo achieved a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on defense with 27 putouts 24 assists and no errors. The trio also excelled on the basepaths, as Almarez went 16 for 19 on stolen bases, Glasgo was 19 for 22, and Healy was perfect at 14 for 14. Overall, the Bearcats were successful on 106 of 126 stolen-base attempts (84.1%).

Glasgo enters her senior season with impressive career stats. She owns a .358 career batting average with 50 runs and 49 RBIs, as well as 14 doubles, seven triples and nine homers. She is 37 of 41 on career stolen bases. She also has 32 career walks and has been hit by pitched 22 times. Her successful batting has provided her with a .602 career slugging percentage and a .482 career on-base percentage. Overall, she has seen action in 91 games with 85 starts. As a pitcher, she has made 65 appearances, including 29 starts.

Other top returning hitters are Kelsey Wong (So., UT, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), Cassie Cosler (So., 1B, Albany, OR/West Albany HS) , and Bailey Hillmick (Jr., DP/UT, Athena, OR/Weston-McEwen HS). During the 2019 season, Wong hit .291, Cosler registered a .286 average, and Hillmick batted .257. Wong and Hillmick each drove in 15 runs, while Cosler earned 12 RBIs. Wong connected for five doubles and two triples, Cosler pounded out six doubles, and Hillmick smacked four doubles and four homers. On defense, Cosler led the Bearcats with 225 putouts.

Three players with limited at bats in 2019 also return with solid batting averages. Maya Shipway (Sr., 1B, Bothell, WA/The Bear Creek School) and Olivia Scott (Sr., OF, San Francisco, CA/Lowell HS) each batted .333, while Danielle Koontz (So., OF, Cupertino, CA/Monta Vista HS) batted .320 and was 8 for 10 on stolen bases.

"Returners have a lot of great leadership and I am confident that they will help guide this team to success this year," Hall said. "They have stepped up and taken ownership of identifying who they are, and I am excited to see what this season holds for us."

Willamette's roster features 14 returning players and 10 newcomers, including nine with first-year eligibility. Several of the newcomers will compete for playing time, led by Brianna Majors (Fy., 2B/SS, San Diego, CA/Cathedral Catholic HS). Majors was the team MVP at Cathedral Catholic High School as a freshman. She helped her team win Western League Championships in 2017 and 2018, plus an Open Division CIF Championship in 2017. Cathedral Catholic was the open Division CIF runner-up in 2018.

"We are very excited at the potential of this year's team and what this team has the capability of accomplishing," Hall said. "We have a lot of new faces that will be seeing the field early and stepping into starting positions. We are particularly excited about Brianna Majors, who has great range at second base with a consistent bat. I think she will do great things for us this year." 

After playing at Warner Pacific on Wednesday, the Bearcats will meet the Knights again on Saturday, Feb. 15 in a doubleheader at the WU Softball Field. First pitch on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. (PST).