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Show WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15,2011 Softball continued from page ... on the mound for the Wildcats. Clark earned her 10th win of the season. She is the third pitcher in WSU history to reach double digit wins. In the second game Saturday, the Wildcats fell behind 3-0 early in the game. The team rallied back with a 3-2 score in the top of the third inning. The momentum didn't last long because the Bears scored six runs and took a 9-2 lead. After seven full innings of play, the final score was 12-4. On Sunday the Wildcats split another set of games. The Wildcats fell 13-6 in the opening game. Silva went 3-4 in the first game with Clark. Center fielder Erika Dixon and third baseman Lyndsey Minnich each had two hits. Minnich had her third home run of the se- C areer con tinued from page ... ries. WSU outhit NCU 1211. "The games we lost, we had the same amount of hits as the other team; we just didn't string our hits together as well, and that hindered us this weekend," Minniear said. The second game proved to be more victorious for the 'Cats as they held the Bears to a 3-1 win. Clarke went 3-3 at the plate, including a double. Minnich earned her 40th RBI of the season. "This puts us in the thick of things, and the girls are excited for the next series," Johnson said. Clark said that although the team excelled offensively, it struggled defensively. "Our defense struggled in some of the games," Clark said. "We were off. That is something we want to improve for next week, to have stronger defense, to go with our strong hitting." WSU continues conference play this weekend against the University of Seattle, Friday at noon and 2 p.m. at the Wildcat Softball Complex. "We want to come out on top this weekend and get at least 3-4 games, especially on our home field," Minniear said. Clarke agreed the upcoming home games are a big deal for the team. "We want to do well because they are home games and conference games. It will be a huge step for us," Clarke said. Comment on this story at wsusignpost. corn. The Phillies are still the class of the NL East, but a couple of teams should close that gap in 2012. Expect the Braves to bounce back. Atlanta has some good young pitching, which is starting to mature. I'm not as high on the Marlins as most people are after all the changes that took place in Miami over the offseason. I'm also not sold on Jose Reyes as a difference maker (neither are the Mets). Division Champs: Phillies FARRs JEWELRY 0 NL Wildcards Farr Better Quality....Farr Better Price! The Braves should be one of the wildcards to come out of the National Washington Blvd. Ogden Ut (801) 621-7666 www.farrsjewelrycom 10% off on bridal settings purchase upon presentation of valid school I.D. Goldenwest Anytime, Anywhere ■ C ..a.. AT&T BlackBerry Home Mobile Banking ATM/Branch locations Free ATMs CU Service Centers Contact us About us Transfer Mon( .4T\ Graphs E 5 D RT Y * 2:43 PM GWCU oldenw Credit U Mobile Banking Messages Accounts Welcome to the Goldenwest Credi VV .1.; irt iffl1:2 ma& asswiessaw 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. o e ankibg l Locations the NABC. This season, he was named the MVP of the Big Sky and the District VIII Player of the year, leading the Wildcats to a 25-7 overall record and a 14-2 Big Sky record. He led the nation in scoring for most of the season and is currently second in the country with an average of 24.5 points a game. That's the best single season average in school history. Lillard scored in double figures for all 32 games for the Wildcats. He scored 20 or more points 22 different times, over 30 in eight different games and over 40 in two games. He also earned Big Sky player of the week five different times and National Player of the Week in January. He ranks 12th in the nation for free throw percentage after shooting 88.7 percent this season. He is 15th in the nation for 3-pointers per game after he made 94 this season. In his career with the Wildcats, Lillard has appeared in 103 games and started 98. He is second in WSU history in career scoring with a total of 1,934 points, which is also fifth in Big Sky history. He is WSU's career leader in 3-pointers with 246 and free throws made with 520. Lillard said his favorite thing about playing at WSU was the team was more of a family than a team. "We have always been a family on this team," Lillard said. "Everybody gets excited about winning a game, and that says a lot about how we are together as a team." League. However, their lack of run production is a major problem that only a healthy Jason Heyward can fix. As for the other wildcard from the NL, I like the Diamondbacks out of the West. It is a very top-heavy division, and Arizona should be able to feed off of its bottom half. Wildcards: Braves, Diamondbacks tin Verlander will lead the rotation again, but don't expect him to have the year he had last year. I know, I know, you can't really expect anyone to have the type of year Verlander had last year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Verlander drop off in 2012. Some advanced statistics are pointing toward a little luck in his 2011 campaign. However, the Tigers are the class of an otherwise very weak division, so expect Detroit to run away with the Central quite easily. Division Champs: Tigers Division winner: Yankees American League West The top six teams in baseball may all be in the American League, and a trendy pick to sit at the top of that list is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With the additions of Pujols and pitcher C.J. Wilson, the Angels' lineup changes dramatically. A lineup that was full of single's hitters and few run producers is now maybe the best run producer of our generation in the middle of it. Pujols adds a whole new dimension to the lineup, but the additions of him and Wilson are overshadowing maybe the most key addition Los Angeles gets in 2012: Kendrys Morales. Morales, when healthy, is an MVP-caliber player. The Rangers are incredible, but I'm buying the Angels . . . mostly because we didn't even mention their starting rotation which may be the best in the American League. Division Champs: Angels American League Central Accounts Graphs With the addition of Prince Fielder, the Tigers are a trendy pick to win the Central and for good reason. Fielder adds protection to Miguel Cabrera, who is the best hitter in the game in my opinion. Last year's AL MVP Jus- Locations U User setup F After two successful seasons with the Wildcats, Lillard faced his first serious injury. He broke his foot in the ninth game of the 2010-11 season. He received a medical redshirt on the season because he played less than 30 percent of the year. During those nine games, Lillard averaged 19.7 points and shot nearly 44 percent from the field. "I had never been hurt before, and it was tough," Lillard said. "My recovery was way better than I had expected." He earned All-American honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He is one of 15 to earn this honor and one of three not from a power conference. He is the first player in Big Sky history to earn the All-American honor from Comment on this story at wsusignpost. corn. M LB continued from page ... Take her for a Bride! 2466 7 THE SIGNPOST G X C V space American League East This division should carry on its legacy as the toughest in baseball, this year with a surprise contender. You heard it here first, so don't be surprised when you see the Blue Jays in the mix for the division late in the summer. I don't think the Jays will win it, however. I still think the East belongs to the Yankees. They have the deepest pitching staff, and their lineup is loaded once again. New York should be worried about its age, though. 2012 may mark the beginning of the end for aging players like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Mark Teixera is also trending downward, and there are many indications that that is not going to change. Boston and Tampa Bay shouldn't be too far behind either. The Rays have a rotation that is second to none in the game, and let's not forget that for the middle four months of 2011, the Red Sox were the best team in baseball . .. and it wasn't even close. AL Wildcards Nothing has changed for Boston, except that they are now healthier. With how bad the September collapse was in 2011, you can't forget that one win amidst Boston's dismal start to the season, and that team which was built for the playoffs could have made a deep October run. The Rangers have not changed much either, though the loss of Wilson will hurt. The pitching rotation will have a few of its youngsters get exposed in 2012 (my guess would be Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis). Wildcards: Rangers, Red Sox. Playoff Predictions: National League Wildcard Playoff: Diamondbacks over Braves ALDS: Phillies over Diamondbacks ALDS: Giants over Reds ALCS: Phillies over Giants Playoffs: League American Wildcard playoff: Red Sox over Rangers ALDS: Red Sox over Tigers ALDS: Angels over Yankees ALCS: Angels over Red Sox World Series Angels over Phillies. I know, this bandwagon has been really easy to jump on, but the dynamics of this Angels team has completely changed. Like I said earlier, the X-factor for Los Angeles is going to be Kendrys Morales if he stays healthy. Comment on this column at wsusignpost. corn. Free Mobile Banking Apps Mobile Banking from Goldenwest makes your wireless device even more helpful. All you need is a Blackberry, Android, or iPhone mobile device with online access to discover a whole STUDENT SUMMER SPECIAL Hurry! 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