Toros Tabbed Ninth in NCAA D-II Far West Region Softball Poll
April 12, 2007

Carson, CA -- Despite dropping three of four games last week on Toro Diamond, Cal State Dominguez Hills remained amongst the top 10 in the first ranked NCAA D-II Far West Region poll of the year, checking in at No. 9 as announced by the NCAA this morning.

Currently at 21-21, 9-13 CCAA, this year’s squad welcomed eight freshmen and seven transfers to open the year, and is led by lone senior Araceli Martinez (Downey, CA/Warren HS), juniors Bri Mahr (Fullerton, CA/Cypress College) and Jennifer Martinez (La Habra, CA/Cal State Long Beach), and freshmen Katie Jordan (Huntington Beach, CA/Marina HS), Jennifer Frazier (Buena Park, CA/John F. Kennedy HS) and Jodi Nakawatase’s (Long Beach, CA/Millikan HS).

Offensively, Nakawatase and Frazier have combined for 25% of the team’s total hits and 26% of the extra base knocks, and 23% of the squad’s RBI. Additionally, the phenoms have made 40 and 41 starts, respectively, in the team’s 42 games, while fellow freshman Jordan leads the team with a .382 batting average and 27 runs scored, giving head coach Jim Maier a solid foundation for the future.

Senior Martinez, meanwhile, has tallied 29 hits and a team-high 23 RBI for the Toros in her final year in Cardinal & Gold. In addition, she has garnered 23 walks against just 12 strikeouts, a walk-to-strikeout ration of 1.9-to-1. Junior Mahr, meanwhile, has a solid .343 batting average with 36 hits while starting 38 games in right field.

Jen Martinez, a junior transfer from Cal State Long Beach, has been the primary threat in the circle with a 16-16 record in 35 starts, logging 208.0 innings and 80 strikeouts and allowing opponents just a .274 batting average against.

The top eight teams in each region qualify for the NCAA postseason, with the winners of each region earning a berth in the World Series from May 17-21, played in Ashland University’s Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.

Here is the complete list of teams included in the Far West Region in ranked order:

1. Humboldt State (CCAA)
2. Cal State Stanislaus (CCAA)
3. Hawai’i-Hilo (Pac West)
4. UC San Diego (CCAA)
5. Hawai’i Pacific (PacWest)
6. Seattle University (GNAC)
7. San Francisco State (CCAA)
8. Western Washington (GNAC)
9. Cal State Dominguez Hills (CCAA)
10. Cal State San Bernardino (CCAA)

The Toros play out the rest of their CCAA Conference schedule on the road, beginning with a twinbill at UC San Diego on April 14, before traveling to Cal State Stanislaus the weekend of April 20-21, and to Cal State San Bernardino on April 27-28.