2.14.14

theJournal

Volume 14 Issue 12 | Friday, February 14, 2014

IFC nears final budget decision

by Laura Knudson Managing Editor

Campus shut down after snow began to fall Thursday, Feb. 6, burrying Monmouth over the weekend. Photo by Laura Knudson

Campus reopens after snowstorm hits Monmouth

by Allison Opson Clement and Laura Knudson News Editor and Managing Editor

Campus reopened Tuesday, Feb. 11 after three days of a snow-induced closure.

“I do not remember a time in recent years when we have been closed for this amount of time,” said Jay Carey, director of Campus Public Safety. He said he recalls a closure a few years ago that led into the weekend and then regular winter break, so the campus closure only lasted for a couple of days at that time.

Beverly Merriman, custodial services coordinator, agreed, saying, “This has been quite a change from the normal winter weather in our area.”

“We are not equipped to handle the amount of snow that the past few days produced,” said Tom Neal, director of the Physical Plant. “We had all hands loaded with shovels and all equipment available removing the snow and ice. We also hired a contractor to help with the parking lots.” Neal added that they appreciated the group of students who showed up to help shovel snow. see

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SNOW page 2

Olympic Opening Ceremony experiences glitch

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Students responded to preliminary 2014-2015 budget decisions made by the Incidental Fee Committee (IFC) at the first of two hearings Wednesday, Feb. 12.

IFC is responsible for setting the student fee budget for the next year.

“Currently as of preliminary decisions, the amount is roughly $4.5 million,” said Shelby Green, IFC chair.

Before the hearing, IFC held a final preliminary meeting, lasting until 3:30 a.m., where potential budget cuts and enhancements were discussed for the various IFC-funded areas. During this part of the process, IFC decided where they felt the money should go.

Enhancements are budget requests for personnel or services and supplies that an area does not currently have. With enhancement requests included, the total budget increases to $4,426,649.

“There are seven areas asking for enhancements,” Green said. “If all enhancements were approved, it would add $29 to the fee.” The fee is paid by students each term.

Concerning the IFC process, Green said, “nine students from around campus meet with area heads from Abby’s House, Access, Athletics, Childcare, Student Affairs, Service Learning and Career Development, Student Media, Campus Recreation, Werner University Center, Student Leadership and Activities/Student Activities Board, Creative Arts and ASWOU to set a fee that WOU students will be charged every term to pay for the operations of these departments.” Green added that the IFC process starts usually in October and will go through March or April.

“The IFC process is through ASWOU and our general operations account,” said ASWOU president Travis Meuwissen. He added that ASWOU Senate and the judicial administrator are there to make sure the process is fair and that decisions are made in the best interest of the student body.

“The members who sit at the table are IFC voting members, the IFC advisers, area heads and ASWOU representatives,” said Green. Anyone can attend meetings and speak.

IFC members will decide on the final budget Feb. 25. It will then move on to ASWOU Senate for approval or denial. In the event that the budget is denied, the Senate can send the budget back to IFC. If they do not agree, a joint session will be held with three student senators and three IFC members with Meuwissen as chair.

The next hearing will take place Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Pacific Room in the Werner University Center. Check-in begins at 6 p.m.

Students share ideal Valentine’s Day date PAGE 5

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News

Friday, February 14, 2014

theJournal Managing Editor Laura Knudson

Managingeditor1314@gmail.com

Copy Editor Marissa Thompson News Editor Allison Opson Clement Campus Life Editor Sara Grant Sports Editor Iain Dexter Entertainment Editor Amanda McMasters Photo Editor Tori Gannon Designers Haunani Tomas Caitlin-Marie Frost Jimmy Wilder Web Manager Jordan Salazar Student Media Advisor Shelby Case Office Phone Number 503-838-8347

Submissions The Journal encourages readers to share their opinion through letters to the editor and guest columns. Submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name. Contact information will not be published unless requested.

Unsigned submissions will not be printed and original copies will not be returned.

Letters to the editor may be up to 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 500 words. The Journal does not guarantee the publication of all letters or columns. The Journal reserves the right to edit for punctuation, grammar, and spelling, but never for content.

Please bring submissions to The Journal in Room 106 located in WUC, or e-mail them to editorinchief@gmail.com. Submissionsmust be received by Wednesday at 5 p.m. to be considered for print.

All options expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do necessarily reflect those of The Journal or WOU.

No more Frozation: location shut down

by Allison Opson Clement News Editor

The Monmouth location of Frozation Nation is now closed.

According to Frozation co-owner Lance Donnelly, there were outside reasons that it closed, and they are currently looking into options with the landlords to reopen.

“I’ve never been [to Frozation], but I hear from a lot of peple that it’s a really cozy, comfortable place to hang out, and a lot of people like it,” said freshman Alexis Suing.

“The owners of [the Monmouth] location were wonderful, served the community really well and the location was profitable,” said Donnelly.

The new downtown Salem location remains open, and will honor any promotions or gift cards that customers bring in.

“I’m so sad it got closed down,” said junior Alyssa Siebert. “I never got my punch card completely filled out. It makes me so sad.” She said she has never been to the Salem location.

“We’d love to serve everyone there,” Donnelly said.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

SNOW from Front Page

According to Merriman, the Physical Plant employees are on call in case of pipes freezing and breaking, tree limbs falling and causing damage and other issues that may arise. Public Safety officers were on duty on a rotational basis to assist students and check buildings on campus for storm damage and security reasons. Each department may also have a few designated “essential employees” in case of closures.

“Normally we make a decision to remain open, close or open late based upon the totality of the circumstances,” said Carey.

“Safety is always the first consideration,” said Neal.

“All staff are reminded that they should respond if it is safe for them to come in. Most employees that came in during the worst of the storm live in town.”

Merriman said, “Generally, the administration takes its cues from OUS [the Oregon University System] in deciding whether to close a campus, and also they usually follow whatever the public schools are doing.”

She added that if faculty call in and report that they can’t get to work, classes are canceled. This helps the administration determine whether to keep the campus open or recommend to the few faculty members who brave the elements to stay home.

“It’s a difficult choice, no doubt,” Merriman said.

Concerning travel, Carey said, “The snow is fun but drivers have a hard time seeing. Pedestrians can slip and go into the path of a vehicle which cannot always stop in a short distance due to the road conditions.”

He added, “Also be aware of hazards that could cause someone to trip, twist an ankle or worse with things that may be under the snow that they are playing in.”

In the future Carey suggests people stay informed by checking their campus emails, listening to the radio and television stations and most importantly just being careful.

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Deadline approaching for future Teach For America leaders

by Allison Opson Clement News Editor

The goal of Teach For America is to provide excellent education for low-income children, aiming to end the cycle of poverty by working towards education equality.

“So many college students tend to think that education is not a problem in this country,” said Justin Yan, director of the organizations’ recruitment for the northwest region. However, millions of students growing up in poverty lack the quality education that will allow them to succeed: just 8 percent graduate from college by age 24, compared with 80 percent of their more affluent peers.

Members of the Teach For America corps will spend two years teaching in pre-K through 12th grade in high-need areas in 48 regions nationwide.

Teach For America is looking for graduates eager to impact education equity and change future generations, said Yan: reprioritizing education to have a positive impact. They should have perseverance and grit and be good leaders, he said.

Applicants must submit an online application by one of five annual deadlines between August and February. Thursday, Feb. 20 is the final deadline for this school year.

Basic requirements are: a bachelor’s degree by June 2014 (2015 for early-application juniors), a 2.5 minimum GPA and proof of U.S. citizenship or national/permanent resident status. Current graduate students or professionals with their graduate degrees can also apply.

After applying, admissions processes include online activity, phone interviews and a final inperson interview which will last an entire workday. If accepted, preservice training begins in late May or early June 2014, and teaching begins in fall 2014. In rare cases, a one-year deferral may be requested.

Teachers receive intensive training, support and career development to help future leaders increase their impact and deepen their understanding of what it

takes to provide an excellent education for underserved children.

Submitted resumes should highlight academic and professional achievements and leadership experience, such as notable awards, extracurricular activities, work experience or team management. Short answer questions will be required, and will be thoroughly evaluated for writing ability as well as content.

No former experience in education is required. Leadership potential is evaluated based on a variety of traits. Student success provides the basis for corps member selection.

The variety of characteristics looked for in applicants include: leadership ability, strong achievement in various settings, excellent critical thinking skills, superior organizational ability, respect for and the ability to work with diverse individuals from different backgrounds, and a deep belief in the potential of all kids and a commitment to do whatever it takes to expand opportunities for students.

Personal preference, as well as need, is taken into account in determining the location to which a corps member will be sent. People aren’t going to be thrown into a situation they can’t handle, said Yan. An established career or the desire to be a teacher for life is not necessary, either. Yan said that America needs leaders who have experience teaching, and that every sector will impact education in some way, so it is good to have people connect to it early on.

Only one-third of those who complete the two-year program continue teaching for their lifetime, said Yan. One-third go into other fields related to education, such as social work, and the remainder diverge entirely.

“I never saw myself teaching,” said Yan, but it spoke to him. “It changed my priorities for my life.”

There are a variety of other ways to get involved in the education movement, including many changing internship and volunteer opportunities, which can be found on the Teach For America website, www.teachforamerica.org.

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Entertainment

Friday, February 14, 2014

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Sochi’s Olympic opening ceremony receives four rings out of five stars

by Amanda McMasters Entertainment Editor

Artist Marie Sivak’s work displayed in the Cannon Galery of Art

Memoirs of Stone The Works of Marie Siyak

by Erik McFarland Freelancer

The Cannon Gallery of Art will be displaying Marie Sivak’s mesmerizing “Tenuous” Jan. 8 through Feb. 14. Sivak gave a talk explaining her work more in-depth Feb. 5th at 3:30 p.m.

While only displaying select pieces of her work, it is nonetheless an appropriate and clear display of her talent. Combining the age-old beauty of superb stonework with the contemporary complexities of video feed to explore subjects like psychology, language, memory and personal experiences, Sivak’s art is unusual, distinct and wonderful.

Upon entering the gallery, the first thing that appears is a large brown ear, haloed by a frozen cascade of white, all hewn from stone. This piece is called “Liar’s Flourish.” To the left is a large pile of stone envelopes.

Further into the gallery, there is a piece called “Memoirs.” Made from alabaster, this piece depicts a well-used journal, with many pages bent, torn and even ripped out. Projected onto the book is a video of Sivak writing, reflecting her personal passion for writing − not professionally, or even artistically per se, but simply as a means of meditation.

Next is a piece called “Aftermath.” The miniature stone bed (based on Andrea Mantegna’s “Lamentation of the Dead Christ”), with a pillow displaying the nonsensical and troubling dream of an anonymous woman, looks comfortable enough to lay your head on.

Near the entrance of the gallery, is perhaps one of Sivak’s more abstract works. It consists of open

Photo by Tori Gannon

wooden drawers containing small tabs with letters on them, a large alabaster piece that resembles a feather and a large alabaster sphere mounted on top of a small metal pole, which displays a video of a scurrying bee, all connected by an intertwining cotton string. Initially perplexing, this piece called “Floating Remnants” or “The Lingering Sting,” is laden with meaning. It symbolizes the vexing inability to verbalize one’s thoughts and the process of deciphering one’s own feelings.

Hanging from the ceiling and nearly touching the floor in some places, is a complex interconnected array of transparent narrow cloth tubes, connecting multitudes of spherical metal nodes.

Taken as a whole, the gallery has clearly been transformed into one large, profound metaphor.

Sivak has provided a glimpse not only into the human mind, but the perhaps more dark, complicated and tenuous aspects of it in her exploration of psychology, language, memory and personal experiences.

Sivak first began exploring her artistic prowess around the age of four and never looked back.

“I cannot live without art,” Sivak said. “It became apparent that as a person I have to be creative and to express my ideas through art.” She has been inspired by a multitude of artists, including Michelangelo, Louie Bourgeois, Harriet Hosmer, Camille Claudel, Italo Calvino, Antonio Damasio, Frei Otto and many more.

“Follow David Lynch’s example and take time to daydream and meditate. Let your mind wander,” said Sivak, speaking to young aspiring artists.

“Learn how to concentrate. Don’t let the Internet ruin your life. Read books, lots of them. Most of all set aside time to do creative work and don’t let anything get in the way of that. Be disciplined.

Have integrity about your work.”

An embarrassing glitch minutes into the Opening Ceremony ruined what was supposed to be the five Olympic rings coming together, but instead was four rings and a random snowflake off to the side.

What should have been a dazzling spectacle, fell flat after the fifth snowflake refused to expand into the ring, which in turn failed to set off the pyrotechnics that would end the whole thing in fireworks.

“This is certainly bad, but it does not humiliate us,” said Konstantin Ernst, the designer of the ceremony.

As Russia isn’t the only host country to fail during an Opening Ceremony, it’s apparently becoming another Olympic tradition. Canada caught flack for their mishap in the torch lighting during the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The ceremony planned to have four torchbearers light the final Olympic torch together at the base of four large pillars. However, one of the pillars stubbornly refused to rise with its counterparts, leaving Canadian speed skater Catriona Le May Doan standing awkwardly with a torch as her three companions each got to light their pillars.

The 2014 Winter Olympic Games kicked off the opening ceremony Friday, Feb. 7 in Sochi, Russia. This year marked the 22nd Winter Games, in which 3,000 athletes from 88 nations compete in 98 different events.

Russia was chosen to host the 2014 Olympic Games in 2007, marking the first time they’ve hosted the games since the breakup of the USSR in 1991.

The budget for the Games expanded from the estimated $12 billion to over $51 billion, making it the most expensive Olympic Games in history − far outstripping the Beijing Games, which cost about $44 billion.

The Opening Ceremony took the audience on a journey of Russia’s history, told by a young girl as she sang and performed acrobatics. Ernst showed the world a highly selective trip through Russian history, skating over a few key events like Stalinist Russia, the purges and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, all of which was depicted by the young girl letting go of a red balloon.

The tradition of the Olympic torch relay started Sept. 29, 2013 for this year’s games. The torch was lit in ancient Olympia, traveling across Greece and journeying into Russia. Approximately

14,000 people carried the torch during the relay, as it traveled to 83 different cities in Russia. The Olympic torch was taken into space for the first time in history, traveling to the International Space Station and returning to Earth after five days.

The torch was then passed to Russian figure skater Irina Rodnina and ice hockey player Vladislav Tretiak, who lit the Olympic Cauldron together in the finale of the Opening Ceremony.

A year of firsts, this year’s Olympic Games also include 12 new events that have been added to the program. The new events include biathlon mixed relay, figure skating team event, luge team relay, men and women’s ski half-pipe, ski slopestyle, snowboard slopestyle, snowboard parallel slalom and women’s ski jumping.

In a show of strength, the United States arrived at the 22nd Winter Olympic Games with 230 athletes, more than any other country competing. A week into the games, the United States holds fifth place in the medals race, behind Germany, at number one, Canada, Netherlands and Norway. With a total of nine medals, the US currently holds three gold, one silver and five bronze medals.

During the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010, the United States won 37 medals, which was more than any other country that year. American athletes are favored to win medals in Alpine skiing, bobsleigh, cross-country and snowboard half-pipe events.

Olympic gold medalist Shaun White caused some ripples in the media when he pulled out of the snowboarding slopestyle event last week, receiving digs from a few Canadian competitors.

White’s reasoning for pulling out of the event was to focus on his half-pipe competition.

Considered the most dominant snowboarder of our generation, White won back-to-back gold medals on the half-pipe in the 2006 Torino Games and the 2010 Vancouver Games. During this year’s Sochi Games, White is hoping to win his third straight gold medal for the event.

As the world focuses their attention on Sochi for the next two weeks, plans are being made for the summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016, as well as the next Winter Games in South Korea in 2018.

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Campus Life

Friday, February 14, 2014

Information collected from a Western student poll

Top 3 Female Celebrity Dream Dates 1. Jennifer Lawrence

2. Jessica Alba

3. Scarlett Johansson

Facts about the day of Love • 141 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged.

• There are 119 single men in their 20s for every 100 women in the same age group.

• Women purchase 85 percent of all Valentines sold.

• 73 percent of men buy flowers on V-Day, while only 27 percent of women buy flowers.

• Over 50 million roses are given worldwide on Valentine’s Day.

Top 3 Male Celebrity Dream Dates

Have you ever broken up with someone on or before Valentine’s Day?

1. Channing Tatum

2. Zac Efron

3. Ryan Gosling

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theJournal A

Campus Life

Friday, February 14, 2014

Match the person to the quote below B C D

Travis Meuwis- Tyler Crawford, sen, Public Exercise SciPolicy & Admin- ence, Junior istration, Senior

E

Alexis Suing, Nursing, Freshman

Keri Knight, ASL Studies, Senior

Kyle Deming, Business, Sophomore

F

G

Alyssa Siebert, ASL Studies & ASL Interpreting

Jamison Miller, Communication Studies, Senior

Whose ideal date is this?

1. “My ideal date would be a full day spent together, a walk along the beach during the sunset and a night spent by a campfire.”

2. “Definitely the zoo – there’s just something about sweaty, stinky animals that sets the tone for the rest of the day – followed by a candlelight dinner… under the stars… on a yacht.”

3. “My ideal Valentine’s Day date is hanging out with friends playing burrito poker – a total Bro-lentines date. Burrito poker is where you play poker and get Muchas or Koyote’s after. The losers then all pay for the winner’s burrito. Everybody wins!”

4. “Renting a cabin at Sisters, Ore, followed up by walking the river and having a romantic homemade candlelit dinner.”

5. “Hiking Mt. Tabor, followed by a picnic and swinging on the swings at the playground.”

6. “My ideal Valentine’s Day date is a homemade cooked meal and staying in watching romantic comedies.”

7. “My ideal date would be a dinner and a movie with my girlfriend! Cliché, but so relaxing.”

A - 3, B - 1, C - 5, D - 7, E - 4, F - 6, G - 2

Answers:

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Sports

Friday, February 14, 2014

Men win two after Root debut canceled

Men’s basketball was victorious in back-to-back games against Central Washington University (CWU) Thursday, Feb. 6 and Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) Monday, Feb. 10.

The Wolves were scheduled for their Root Sports network matchup with NNU Saturday, Feb. 8. Due to weather, the game was pushed back two days, and was not televised

by Root.

Western defeated CWU in game one of the weekend 71-59, holding the Wildcats to their season-low output for the season after averaging 85.5 points per game coming into the contest.

The matchup featured one tie and one lead change for the entire game as Western led for the majority of the 40 minutes. The Wolves led 33-20 at halftime.

In the second half, CWU picked up the offense, shooting for a field-goal percentage of 54.84. Western forced mistakes from CWU, stealing the ball 14 times to the Wildcats’ four steals.

Sophomore forward Andy Avgi had 18 points and six rebounds in his second game back from injury. He was also 9-of-10 from the free-throw line while adding three steals. Sophomore guard Devon Alexander had 13 points, four steals and four assists. Junior forward Adam Hastings led the team with nine rebounds and chipped in 10 points.

Western next took on NNU after the snowstorm subsided. The Crusaders came in having lost six straight games and with a record of 5-15, but began the game strongly against the Wolves. NNU led 32-25 at halftime after shooting 43.48 percent from the field and holding Western to 32.14 percent.

“They were shooting really well from the field,” said Avgi. “We had to come out and guard them better than

how we did in the first half.”

The Wolves came back strong in the second half though, lead by four double-digit scorers. The team shot 48.28 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and outscored NNU 43-22 on their way to a 68-54 victory.

“In the first half I felt we played well, but the problems came back to that we shot about 37 percent from the field,” said junior forward Marwan Sarhan. “In the second half we got many offensive rebounds [which] helped us a lot to get second chances.”

Senior guard Rodney Webster led the team with 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half, and added four assists and five rebounds. Senior forward Mirza Sabic was strong from the 3-point line, shooting 4-of-8 from behind the arc and totaling 14 points.

“That took the edge off; there’s no doubt about it,” said head coach Brady Bergeson. “Mirza is fully capable of doing that, and it was a great lift for us.”

Avgi had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Sarhan also had 12 points and added five rebounds.

“I’ve just been out a lot and it felt good doing everything that the team needs,” said Avgi. “They needed me to score a little bit and rebound.”

With the win, the Wolves moved to 13-10 overall and 6-7 in conference and sit in fifth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.

“I really like the way our guys responded at halftime with the adjustments,” said Bergeson. “We didn’t do a whole lot different defensively, but I thought we did things just a little better.”

Western next travels to Lacey, Wash. to take on Saint Martin’s University (SMU) on Saturday, Feb. 15. The Wolves get a second chance to play on Root Sports at home against Simon Fraser University for a blackout event Feb. 26.

“SMU came [to Western] and beat us last time,” said Sarhan. “It will be tough for sure because it’s on the road, but we can win this game.”

In the last meeting against the Nanooks in Alaska, the Wolves won 81-77. Freshman guard Jordan Mottershaw had a career-high 19 points and the Wolves forced the Nanooks to 28 turnovers. Coming into this matchup, junior forward Dana Goularte was third in the GNAC in blocks per game, second in field-goal percentage and third in rebounds. She also scored 18.2 points per outing, ranking her in third in the conference.

The Wolves were 0-9 this season when trailing at halftime coming into the game against UAF, but changed their luck for the better.

Western trailed 34-29 at half but came back with a rally to end their five-game losing streak.

“Our mindset going into the second half of Thursdays game was Head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter and the bench encourage the team in their 73-47 loss to UAA. Photo taken by Tori Gannon that we have beat them before and we can do it again,” said Goularte. “We

by Rachel Shelly played with much more confidence in the second half.” freelancer

The defense held the Nanooks to just 26 percent

The women’s basketball team took on two Great shooting from the field in the second half. Goularte had 17 of Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) rivals this past week, her game-high 25 points in the final 20 minutes, while adding facing University of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF) on Thursday, 12 rebounds to get her seventh double-double of the season.

Feb. 6 and the University of Alaska-Anchorage on Monday, Senior guard Chantel Divilbiss had 16 points and sophomore Feb. 10. guard Elise Miller added two assists.

The Wolves made their definitive run to open the second half with a 14-0 start. Their biggest lead was 60-48 at 2:33 left in regulation and the Wolves coasted from there to take the season sweep over Alaska.

“We came out ready to play in the second half,” said head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter. “We were focused and determined to get the win.”

After a two-day snow delay, the Wolves finally took on UAA. In their last meeting, Western fell to the Seawolves 71-97 in Alaska.

There were six lead changes and four ties during this matchup, all happening within the first 10 minutes of the game, before the Seawolves began to pull ahead. UAA went on a 14-2 run when the game was tied at 12. The Wolves answered back with seven straight points but didn’t come within five points for the rest of the game.

“I see flashes of us executing and playing really good basketball, and I’d like to see us become more consistent,” said Howard-Carpenter.

Goularte led the Wolves with 14 points and five rebounds and blocks. Mottershaw added five rebounds while sophomore forward Kelsey Henry grabbed five steals for the game. The Wolves made 12 of 19 free throws and shot 5-of-18 from behind the arc.

“Defensively we have got to get better at closing out and not allowing middle drives,” said Howard-Carpenter. “Offensively we are getting decent looks, we just have to shoot with confidence. We have to get more mentally tough; we have to answer when teams go on runs rather than letting mistakes multiply.”

by Iain Dexter Sports Editor

Junior forward Marwan Sarhan (#33) goes up for the opening tipoff against Northwest Nazarene. The Wolves won 68-54.

Photo taken by Tori Gannon

Wolves split at home against Alaskan opponents

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Sports

Friday, February 14, 2014

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Baseball starts season 4-2, defeats nationally ranked opponent

by Iain Dexter Sports Editor

The baseball team began their season strongly with a 3-1 series win over NCAA Div. II #18-ranked California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) Feb. 1 through Feb. 3.

In game one of the four-game series, Western struggled in all facets of the game, losing to CSUMB 15-0.

The Wolves’ pitching staff gave up 15 runs on just eight hits by the Otters, but were not helped by three errors from the defense. Western put eight batters on base due to walks and plunked another six CSUMB hitters.

Senior pitcher Spenser Watkins started the game, lasting five innings while giving up five runs, with four unearned due to errors. He struck out four and walked three in his first start of the season.

“Give credit to CSUMB for the first game,” said head coach Kellen Walker. “They applied pressure and at the time we didn’t have an answer.”

The Wolves were a different team in game two of the series, limiting the mistakes on their way to a 4-3 vic-

tory over CSUMB.

The Wolves scored the first run of the game in the second inning when junior third baseman Marcus Madden picked up his first run batted in (RBI) on a single. Western scored three more runs in the sixth before CSUMB answered back with three runs of their own.

Senior pitcher Kody Stone closed out the win in the bottom of the seventh to pick up his first save of the season. Senior pitcher Matt Minnich got the victory, allowing no runs, while striking out and walking three batters.

“We got a big outing from Matt Minnich in game two and an early two-out hit from Marcus Madden that got us on the board,” said Walker. “It allowed us to take a breath and get our feet underneath us for the remainder of the series.”

The second doubleheader of the series was postponed from Feb. 2 to Feb. 3.

The Wolves won game three of the series 7-5 behind timely hitting and a strong effort from the bullpen.

Western trailed 5-1 through four innings of the game, but

scored three runs in the fifth inning after senior outfielder Daniel McNabb drove in two with a double. The Wolves continued to add runs in the seventh where they scored one run and in the eighth where they scored two more on another McNabb base hit.

Junior pitcher Zach Kayser received the victory in relief after his scoreless inning pitched while Stone picked up his second save of the season. Junior pitcher Eric Huson started the game and lasted six innings, giving up five runs, three of which were earned, with one walk and three strikeouts.

In game four of the series against CSUMB, the Wolves cruised to victory 7-1, taking the series against the nationally-ranked Otters.

Western scored two runs in the second and two more in the third before capping off the night with three runs in the fifth. McNabb was 3-for-4 in the game with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs. Sophomore first baseman Nathan Etheridge was also 3-for-4 with one run scored and two RBIs.

BASEBALL page 8

Softball competes in Las Vegas tournament see

by Iain Dexter and Tori Gannon Sports Editor and Photo Editor

While Western was covered in a foot of snow, the softball team was competing in Las Vegas for the fifth annual Desert Stinger Friday, Feb. 6 through Sunday, Feb. 8.

The Wolves came into the tournament with a record of 0-4 after being swept by the University of California, San Diego on Feb. 1 and 2.

Western took on California Baptist University (CBU) in game one of five for the tournament. The team hit well in game, scoring eight runs on 12 hits, but struggled with defense and pitching, giving up 14 runs to CBU and making five errors in the field.

Freshman second baseman Kelsie Gardner went 4-for4 at the plate with two doubles, one run scored and four runs batted in (RBIs). Junior pitcher Eryka Brill started the game and gave up seven runs, six earned, in four and one-third of an inning pitched. Freshman pitcher Sammi Cadwallader received the loss for Western as she pitched an inning and a third, giving up four runs with three earned.

In game two of the day for Western, the women lost a close 5-4 game in eight innings on a walk-off single against Minot State University.

The Wolves took the lead in the top half of the eighth inning on an RBI single by junior infielder Bridjet Box before surrendering the lead, and the win, in the bottom of the inning.

Gardner was 1-for-4 at the plate with a two-run home run in the fifth inning.

Junior pitcher Kelli Demianew started and finished the game as she gave up five runs, four earned, in seven and a third innings pitched. She threw 115 pitches in the loss with four walks and two strikeouts.

In game three of the weekend, the Wolves came to play as they cruised to victory 15-3 in five innings over New Mexico Highlands University.

Gardner was 2-for-4 in the game with another home run, two RBIs and a run scored, and junior outfielder Amanda Evola was 1-for-4 with a home run and six RBIs. Junior pitcher Jourdan Williams picked up the victory, giving up one run in four innings with four walks and three strikeouts.

“This weekend I think our team did well offensively,” said senior infielder Melanie Pfeiffer.” We also had really solid defense which I think was important for our pitchers so that they knew we had their backs.”

Senior infielder Melanie Pfeiffer swings at the pitch. Western finished 2-3 at the fifth annual Desert Stinger in Las Vegas.

Photo taken by Tim Miller

Western next took on California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and was defeated 6-5 in a tight contest. The Wolves had one hit in the game, but were able to plate five runs due to the mistakes made by CSUSB in the field.

The Coyotes had 14 hits in the game and struggled to capitalize on their opportunities until the sixth inning, where they scored four runs. All of Western’s offense came in the fourth inning on two errors by CSUSB. Demianew started the game for Western and lasted five and two-thirds with six runs allowed, five earned and three strikeouts in the loss.

“The team played really well in all of our games we just came up a little short in a few of them,” said head coach Lonny Sargent.

In the final game of the tournament, Western faced off against Black Hills State University on Sunday, Feb. 9.

The bats were again charged up for the Wolves as they connected with three home runs in their 12-9 victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Freshman catcher Raina Reece was 2-for-3 with a home run and six RBI’s. Gardner hit her third home run of the tournament

and scored two runs, while Evola was 4-for-4 with four runs scored, a double and a solo home run.

Williams was the winning pitcher for the Wolves for her second victory of the tournament. She pitched all seven innings for a complete game, giving up nine runs, with eight earned, and had three strikeouts.

“Our whole is team is doing well right now,” said Sargent.

“They all seem to be meshing together and supporting each other. Our expectations moving forward are to keep getting better every practice and game.”

The Wolves finished the tournament with a 2-3 record and are now 2-7 overall. They are next set to compete in the St. Mary’s Round Robin on Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23. Western will take on Tarleton State University in their first game. The Wolves start Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play against Montana State University on March. 5.

“For the GNAC, our goals are to have respect for the game and everything that comes with it,” said Pfeiffer. “[We want to] play with passion, give 100 percent every day and to play each game with no regrets.”

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Junior pitcher Clark McKitrick started and won the game for Western as he pitched four innings and a third, surrendering no runs on four hits while walking and striking out five batters.

“We expect to win,” said Kayser. “I think you have to expect to win if you’re going to be successful.

We’ve put in a lot of work and the guys have all made sacrifices just to make it to the season. We know that victories are earned and we expect to push each other like we have been all year to earn as many more as we can.”

The Wolves were next scheduled for a fourgame series with Sonoma State University (SSU) on Thursday, Feb. 6 and 7, but was limited to two games due to rain.

Western dropped game one to SSU 7-1 as they were limited to six hits for the ballgame. Watkins started the game for the Wolves, but was handed his second loss of the season after giving up two runs in his five innings of work.

Photo courtesy of Brett Campbell

The bullpen surrendered another four runs in the seventh inning and one more in the eighth as the Wolves dropped to 3-2 in the season.

In game two of the shortened series, Western was aided by three SSU errors on their way to a 5-3 victory. Junior outfielder Tim Rausch was 2-for-2 in the game with an RBI single in the first inning.

“Sonoma is a good team [and] they came right at us,” said Kayser. “It started a lot like the CSUMB series. We lost the first game 7-0, but we didn’t let that affect us. We came ready to go the next day and grinded out a big win against another good program.”

Senior pitcher Taylor Hetrick started the game and picked up the victory after throwing three and a third scoreless innings. The bullpen closed the rest of the game out for Western as they used five different relief pitchers to finish the game. Stone sealed the deal in the seventh inning with two strikeouts and his third save of the season.

“Our main focus is to get better each and every day and to take advantage of each time we get an opportunity to compete,” said Walker. “It’s not a ground breaking

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philosophy or statement. Coaches across the country and in all sports talk about a similar goal. It comes down to who can execute that idea the best.”

The Wolves next come home for a game against Linfield College Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. They travel to McMinnville for the second game of the series Sunday, Feb. 16.

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