CSUDH Softball Weekly Release
March 5, 2002

THIS WEEK IN TOROS SOFTBALL
March 8 Concordia Carson, CA/Toro Diamond 12:00 p.m.
March 9 CS Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA/Softball Complex 12:00 p.m.

TOROS TO HOST NON-CONFERENCE CONCORDIA The Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team will have a slight break from CCAA action as they host Concordia in a non-conference match-up on Friday at 12:00. The Toros then head to CS Bakersfield as they face the 'Runners in a conference doubleheader. First pitch in that game is slated for 12:00.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

• CS Dominguez Hills (12-9) vs. Concordia (11-6)
  Concordia: The Eagles are currently 11-6 on the season, with a couple of games this week before they meet the Toros. They are led offensively by Krista Zielke, who is batting at .500. The Eagles pitching staff is strong, with a combined 0.98 ERA. Christie Elliot is 3-1 with a 0.87 ERA.
  The Last Time We Met: These squads met four times last season, with the last time coming at the Sunwest Invitational when the Eagles defeated the Toros 4-3.
  The Series: This is the seventh meeting between the two schools with CSUDH taking all five of six games of the series.
  Maier vs. CU: Maier is 3-1 vs. the Eagles.
  Eagle Head Coach: Frank Rizzo has posted a 75-84 record in three seasons as head coach at Concordia.
• CS Dominguez Hills vs. CS Bakersfield (20-9, 7-7 CCAA)
  CS Bakersfield: The 'Runners are coming in off a split with UCSD. They have five players hitting at a .300 clip or above, with Lynn Kraftschik leading the charge at .376. Pitcher Erin Kelly is 11-5 on the season.
  The Last Time We Met: The teams last faced off on April 22, 2001, when the 'Runners posted an 3-0 shutout over the Toros.
  The Series: This is the 91st meeting with CSUB dominating the meetings 63-27.
  Maier vs. CSUB: Coach Maier posts a 3-2 record over the 'Runners.
  'Runner Head Coach: Kathy Welter has been at the helm of the CSUB softball program for 16 years and holds an 614-219-2 record.

HEAD COACH JIM MAIER Head coach Jim Maier enters his second season at the helm of the Toros softball program. Last year, in his first year as head coach, Maier led the squad to an 36-27 record, tying a CSUDH record for the most wins (36) in a season. In the tough CCAA conference, Maier guided the squad to a 16-16 ledger, good enough for a fifth place finish. Last season, Maier had three players, shortstop RoAna Lutz, outfielder Sasha Shell and pitcher Patrina Smith earn all-conference accolades. Maier picked up his first win as a collegiate coach when the Toros defeated Cal State Bakersfield 3-1 in the 2001 season opener.

A LOOK AT THE TOROS 2002 ROSTER With 11 players returning to this year's squad, including five starters, the 2002 Toros look to continue on last year's success for this season. The roster features three all-CCAA selections in 3B RoAna Lutz, outfielder Sasha Shell and pitcher Patrina Smith. Five seniors return for their final year of collegiate softball, with nine juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen making up the remainder of the Toros 2002 roster.

SHELL IS ANCHORING OUTFIELD Senior Sasha Shell is anchoring the outfield. The center fielder is getting it done with 24 putouts and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. In last weekend's action, Shell recorded seven putouts to lead all outfielders.

SMITH WINS SIXTH GAME OF THE SEASON Senior hurler Patrina Smith was at the top of her game on Friday when she threw for the Toros 3-0 shutout over top-ranked UC San Diego. Smith is 6-2 overall with a 2.25 ERA. She has made 11 appearances, throwing for 64 innings. She has allowed 50 hits and 21 runs, but has struckout a team-leading 28 batters. Last season, the CCAA honoree was 16-14 overall and posted an 1.39 ERA.

TOROS ARE HITTING BETTER THAN THEIR OPPONENTS So far this season, the Toros are edging out their opponents in the offensive game. They are outhitting their foes 126-121 and are posting a slightly better batting average, .249 to .233. They have also recorded one more triple than the teams that they have faced, but are behind in doubles and homeruns.

BRINGING THEM IN Senior RoAna Lutz is bringing the runs in. The 3B is 19 of 60 so far this season, with a team leading eight RBI. Lutz is posting a .317 batting average, with two doubles and a triple so far. In 2001, Lutz had 34 RBI.

TOROS STILL WAITING FOR HOMERUNS CSUDH is still waiting for their first homerun of the 2002 season. The closest that they have come to that is the only triple on the season by Sasha Shell. CSUDH and Sonoma State are the only two teams in the CCAA without an homerun. Cal State Stanislaus leads the nine-team conference with 11 homeruns on the season.

WOLTZ HELPS TOROS TO THE WIN Junior Courtney Woltz has been struggling at bat for the Toros this season, mustering a .222 batting average. But this weekend, Woltz stepped up and helped the Toros to a 3-0 shutout over CS San Bernardino with a double in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was her second double of the season.

LUTZ PICKS UP FIRST TRIPLE OF THE SEASON RoAna Lutz picked up her first triple of the season this past weekend. The senior 3B tripled to center field in the bottom of the fourth inning, but no Toro was able to bring her home as she was left on base in the Toros 0-1 loss to CS San Bernardino.

TOROS INFIELD LETS NOTHING BY The Toros defense is doing its job. The CSUDH infield has recorded 241 assists on the season. The Toros are one of the top fielding teams in the conference. RoAna Lutz is leading leading the team with 56, while sophomore 2B Danielle Proctor is not far behind with 48. In the Toros last four games, she had a total of 14 assists, including eight in the Toros shutout of UC San Diego.

LONG THROWS FOR FIRST WIN OF COLLEGIATE CAREER Freshman Valerie Long threw for the first win of her collegiate career on Saturday, as she led the Toros to a 3-0 shutout over CS San Bernardino. Long went the distance, giving up four hits while facing 26 batters.

GETTING CAUGHT It finally happened, Sasha Shell, the top base stealer not only on the team but one of the top in the CCAA as well, finally got thrown out in an attempt to steal second base in the Toros matchup with UC San Diego. Before that point, Shell was a perfect nine of nine in steal attempts.

Current CCAA Season Standings

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