By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University returns the top six hitters for 2022 as the Bearcats enter the 2023 softball season. Leading the way is Marykate DeLuca (Sr., C, San Diego, CA/San Diego International Studies) after topping the Bearcats with a .356 batting average last year despite missing nine games due to an early-season injury.
The Bearcats start the season on Saturday, Feb. 4 with two games at the Willamette University Softball Field against Eastern Oregon University. The doubleheader with the Mountaineers is set to get underway at 11 a.m. (PST). Later in the season, Willamette will play 28 games in the Northwest Conference, with four games each against the other seven teams.
"The team has a more defined culture this year," Willamette Head Softball Coach Paige Hall said. "The girls are excited to compete and do whatever it takes for the team. We've spent a lot of time this offseason preparing for the regular season and what kind of team we want to be."
DeLuca was chosen Honorable Mention All-NWC last spring. In addition to hitting .356, she ranked first on Willamette's offensive chart with 19 RBIs and four sacrifice flies. She scored eight runs, blasted three doubles and one home run, and walked eight times. She had a .425 slugging percentage and a .394 on-base percentage. She played in 29 games with 26 starts. On defense, she achieved a 1.000 fielding percentage with 31 putouts, three assists, and no errors.
In three years with the Bearcats, DeLuca has registered a .295 career batting average. She has earned a .994 career fielding percentage with 139 putouts, 23 assists, and one error.
Also among Willamette's top six returning offensive threats are Carrie Dose (Sr., 1B/P, Eugene, OR/Churchill HS/Buena Vista Univ.), Cora Erickson (Jr., C, Issaquah, WA/Issaquah HS), Mia Lund (Jr., UT, Omaha, NE/Westside HS), Gianna Marchese (Grad., 3B/1B, Seattle, WA/Bishop Blanchet HS/St. Martin's Univ.), and Brianna Majors (Sr., SS/2B, San Diego, CA/Cathedral Catholic HS).
Dose hit .346 with four doubles in 2022 while seeing action in 22 games with 17 starts. She accumulated a .407 on-base percentage and was 3 for 5 on stolen bases. Erickson followed with a .338 batting average and provided seven RBIs.
Lund was a key player for the Bearcats with a .336 batting average, three home runs, a team-high 17 walks, and a .430 on-base percentage that led all players with at least 38 at bats. Her success at the plate gave her the opportunities to finish the year 24 of 24 on stolen bases. She contributed 71 putouts and one assist in the outfield. She competed in all 38 games with 36 starts.
In two seasons, Lund has .339 career average to go along with 51 runs, 12 doubles, three triples, and four home runs. She has a .417 career on-base percentage and is 44 for 45 on stolen bases.
Marchese batted .271 last year while producing eight RBIs. Majors achieved a .262 batting average with a team-leading 11 doubles and one home run. She walked 123 times and was 24 for 25 on stolen base attempts. Majors has played in 85 games in her career with a .305 overall batting average, 25 doubles, three triples, and five home runs.
A key newcomer for the Bearcats on offense is Julia Koorn (Jr., 1B/3B, Purmerend, Netherlands/Arizona Western College). Koorn will add to Willamette's offensive lineup and can contribute at either corner of the infield on defense.
Returning pitchers for Willamette are Jordyn Johnson (Jr., P, Winslow, AZ/Winslow HS), Kenna Davis (So., 3B/SS/P, Alameda, CA/Alameda HS), along with Dose, Faith Collar (So., P/UT, Portland, OR/Roosevelt HS), and Samantha Loomis (Grad., P, Camarillo, CA/Adolfo Camariollo HS/Marymount Univ.). Johnson ranked first on the pitching staff with 105 innings pitched and 76 strikeouts, while Davis tossed 73 innings and registered 44 strikeouts. Dose pitched 3 1/3 innings, Collar threw 30 innings, and Loomis saw limited action with 4 2/3 innings in the circle. Overall, the Bearcats struck out 146 batters in 251 2/3 innings.
Willamette has added first-year pitchers Abigail Loomis (P/OF, Canby, OR/Canby HS) and Mia Rogers (2B/SS/P, Sammamish, WA/Skyline High School). Both were strong pitchers for their respective high schools. Loomis was chosen Second Team All-Three Rivers League, while pitching 155 of Canby's 173 innings and attaining a 1.98 earned run average with a 15-10 record and 213 strikeouts. Rogers was named Honorable Mention All-King County as a first-year and a senior pitcher at Skyline. She also set the school record for hits on offense in a season and tied the school record for doubles.
Last year, the Bearcats battled significant injuries to several key players and concluded the season with a 9-29 overall record, including 6-22 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette was successful on 91 of 104 stolen bases.
