WWU’s senior tandem of Makinlee Sellevold and Emily Benson were named to the NFCA All-West Region team. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
Benson and Sellevold Named NFCA All-West Region
May 13, 2019
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior softball players Emily Benson and Makinlee Sellevold were selected to the 2019 National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s (NFCA) Division II All-West Region team.
Benson was a first-team pick at first base to complete her sweep of All-West Region honors after being named the West Region Player of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). Benson also earned second-team NFCA honors as a junior in 2017. Sellevold was a second-team selection for the second time in her career, also earning all-region honors as a junior in 2017.
Benson (West Richland, WA) was one of 13 first-team selections to the NABC West Region team, and is one of 25 finalists nationally for the NFCA National Player of the Year award. Benson set a WWU single-season record batting .448 (56-for-125) in 2019, also recording program records for on-base percentage (.567), slugging percentage (.896), OPS (1.463) and home runs (14). In addition to her All-Region honors, Benson was selected as the GNAC Player of the Year.
Sellevold (Everett, WA/Cascade) was a second-team NFCA All-West Region selection as a pitcher/utility player. During her senior season in 2019 she went 16-12 with a 2.70 ERA (68 ER, 176.1 IP) in the circle in 2019, making 31 pitching appearances and 28 starts. The 31 appearances tied for 4th-most in a season in WWU history, with 28 starts the 3rd-most and 176.1 innings pitched the 4th-most.
At the plate, the unanimous First Team All-GNAC pick batted .311 (42-for-135) with 26 runs scored, 7 doubles, one triple, 3 home runs and 24 RBI.
In her four-season WWU career (2015-17, 2019), Sellevold set program records in wins (57), appearances (112), pitching starts (94) and innings pitched (609.1), ranked 4th with 378 strikeouts, tied for 2nd with 58 complete games and tied for 10th with 7 shutouts. At the plate she was a career .331 hitter (180-for-543) with 63 extra-base hits.
Benson is the third First Team NFCA West Region selection in program history, joining Alexie Levin in 2014 and Carlie Richards in 2017.
The Vikings finished the 2019 season with a 27-18 record, tying for the 10th-most wins in the 27-year history of the program. First-year head coach Sheryl Gilmore led the Vikings to a 16-12 record in GNAC play, tying for 4th place in the conference standings.
-- WWU Softball --
