PORTLAND, Ore.—After closing out non-conference play on a high, Lewis & Clark College softball is set to play the heart of their Northwest Conference schedule over the next five weeks. The River Otters, who won 60 games over the past two seasons, are looking to send their nine seniors out on a high this Spring.
NWC PRESEASON POLL
Lewis & Clark received a program-record three-first place votes and 45 total points, to finish narrowly behind NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll favorite Linfield University. The Wildcats, who won the NWC Regular Season and Tournament Titles in 2025, garnered 47 points and five first-place votes. The two teams have finished first and second in the conference in each of the past two seasons.
George Fox University (36 points) and Pacific Lutheran University (30) rounded out the top-four in the poll. The Bruins and Lutes finished third and fourth in the NWC last season and Lewis & Clark split the regular-season series with both teams. Willamette University (25), Pacific University (17), Whitworth University (17) and the University of Puget Sound (seven) rounded out the poll.
EARLY SEASON RECAP
Lewis & Clark has faced one of, if not the most challenging non-conference schedule in program history to start the season. The River Otters have played three nationally-ranked squads, four 2025 NCAA DIII Tournament teams and six programs that won at least 24 games and qualified for their conference tournaments to start the season. After a 1-5 start, Lewis & Clark has won eight of their last 10 games, to improve to 9-7 overall.
Pitching and defense have been the keys to Lewis & Clark's success thus far. The River Otters rank 46
th in NCAA DIII in shutouts (three), 84
th in earned run average (2.91), 71
st in fielding percentage (.962) and 69
th in double plays (five). Offensively, six regulars are hitting .300 or above and the River Otters lead the conference with 15 sac bunts.
KEY RETURNERS
Lewis & Clark brought back 17 of their 24 players from last year's team that set the program record for overall (32) and conference victories (21). The 2025 team made it to their second-straight Northwest Conference Championship Series and earned the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. The River Otters defeated Chapman University 7-4 (eight innings) in their NCAA Opener - to post their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
Lewis & Clark returns senior All-Region shortstop
Emily Patton and five other NWC All-Conference honorees from a year ago. Patton carved out a spot on the NWC First Team and the All-Region Third Team after setting new career-highs in hits (50), runs (36), runs batted in (27), total bases (58), walks (12) and stolen bases (15-16). Seniors
Gina Ozuna (2B) and
Madison Scroggins (LF) each earned spots on the NWC Second Team. Ozuna posted 15 extra-base hits and set the program record for runs scored in a single-season last Spring (42). Scroggins finished the 2025 season hitting .366 with 41 hits, 23 runs scored and 21 RBI. Juniors
Harper Campanella (3B) and
Makena Dahir (OF/DH) also were named to the NWC Second Team. The duo combined for 75 hits and 50 RBI as sophomores.
Softball also brings back their top-three pitchers from the 2025 season. Senior
Maggie O'Leary was named to the NWC All-Conference Team for a second-straight year in 2025. O'Leary set the program-record for wins in a single-season (21) and recorded over 100 strikeouts (104) in a single-season for a second-straight year. The senior posted a 3.60 ERA in 157.1 innings. Fellow senior
Charlize Pope and junior
Ryan Jurischk served as the team's number two and three pitchers in 2025. Pope registered nine wins and 49 strikeouts in 76.1 innings. Jurischk appeared in 22 games and recorded a 4.34 ERA in 51.2 innings.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- This year's senior class ranks among the top classes in program history for wins. The ten-member class has posted an 88-55 record over the past three-plus seasons (66.2 winning %). The Class of 2025 owns the four-year record with 95 wins across four seasons.
- Lewis & Clark owns the longest home winning streak in all of NCAA DIII. Softball went 16-0 at the Huston Sports Complex in 2025 and they have won their first six home games to start the 2026 season. Their 23-game, home winning streak ranks third across all three levels of the NCAA behind only NCAA DII Pittsburgh State University (30 games) and NCAA DI University of Oklahoma (26 games).
- O'Leary, who already owns the career program record for wins (44), saves (seven) and strikeouts (297), is closing in on a pair of program records. The senior sits tied for second all-time in career shutouts (five) and needs one more to tie Liz Coburn ('2001). She is also just 14 appearances away from tying Madison Hollenbeck ('15) for the program record for career pitching appearances (106).
