CSUDH Softball Weekly Release
April 10, 2002

THIS WEEK IN TOROS SOFTBALL
April 12 *Chico State Dolphin Park/Carson, CA 1:30
April 13 *UC Davis Dolphin Park/Carson, CA 12:00

TOROS FACE CCAA LEADER THIS WEEKEND In order to keep postseason hopes alive, the Toros will need to be perfect in their matchups with CCAA opponents this weekend. CSUDH will first face Chico State on Friday, followed by UC Davis on Saturday. The Wildcats are currently tied for third in the conference, four games behind leader UC Davis and one game behind the second place Toros. The Aggies of UC Davis are on top of CCAA standings. They wrapped up play last week by winning the Tournament of Champions. The Aggies, who are on an eight game win streak, are ranked fifth in the nation in the the latest USA Today/NFCA Polls.

HEAD COACH JIM MAIER Head coach Jim Maier is in 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.

CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS VS. CHICO STATE This is the 33rd meeting between the two squads with the Wildcats holding a 18-13 lead over the Toros. The last time that these two teams met was on February 23, 2002, when the teams split the doubleheader. The Wildcats won the first game 5-2, but the Toros rebounded to take the second 4-0.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS The Wildcats are currently 22-18 overall and 13-11 in CCAA action. Chico State was 3-3 at the Tournament of Champions this past weekend. They are led on the season by Amy Biersch, who is hitting at an .356 clip, while Ashley Andersen is leading the squad with 20 RBI. In fact, the Wildcats have 112 RBI compared to the 83 posted by their opponents. In the circle, Katie Stokx posts an 11-9 record with a 2.12 ERA.

CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS VS. UC DAVIS This is the 27th time that these squads will be facing off. UCD holds a 21-5 series lead over CSUDH. The last time that these teams met was on February 22, 2002, with each team taking a game. The Toros won the first game 6-3, but lost the second 1-0. UCD is currently ranked fifth in the nation in the latest USA Today/NFCA polls.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES The Aggies post an impressive 30-8 overall record and are leading the CCAA with a 15-5 ledger. The went a perfect 7-0 at the Tournament of Champions to win the title. Shymala White leads the team on offense. She is recording a .377 batting average with three homeruns and 24 RBI. As a team, the Aggies are hitting at an .262 clip, with 10 homeruns. Amy Rossen is dominating in the circle, with an impressive 17-2 record and 0.85 ERA.

TOROS STRUGGLE AT TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS After winning four straight games, the Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team struggled this past weekend at the Tournament of Champions, hosted by Cal State Stanislaus. The Toros opened pool play on Friday with a 2-5 loss to Western New Mexico, followed by an 3-5 loss to St. Martins College. They were able to rebound, squeaking out a 6-5 win over Central Washington. Freshman hurler Valerie Long remained perfect on the season, improving her record to 5-0. They finished 1-2 in opening round pool play. On Saturday, CSUDH was split in action. They suffered a 1-4 setback to CS Stanislaus, before being able to post a convincing 6-0 win over Hawaii Pacific University. In the finals of the Silver Championship bracket on Sunday, CSUDH was not able to capitalize on 11 hits, and suffered a 3-4 loss to Western Washington. Freshman Janie Olivas was the highlight for the Toros in that game, as she nailed not only her first homerun of the season, but her collegiate career as well. The Toros wrapped up tournament play with an 2-4 record.

GOING...GOING... GONE Gone is the old CSUDH record for homeruns in a game set in the 2000 season by Norma Dorado. RoAna Lutz now holds the new CSUDH record for homeruns in a game with two. Lutz belted out two homeruns in the Toros 7-2 win over Tufts University at the Sun West Tournament hosted by Chapman University. In two games that day, the senior 3B nailed three over the fence to move her season total to four.

OLIVAS SENDS IT OUT Janie Olivas had a first this past weekend. The freshman 1B got not only her first homerun of the season, but of her collegiate career as well. She sent one over the fence in the Toros 3-4 loss to Western Washington. On the season, she is hitting at an .198 clip with 18 hits and nine RBI.

SHELL IS ONE OF THE BEST, BREAKS CSUDH RECORD IN DOING SO Sasha Shell is one of the best hitters in the conference. As of the latest statistics, Shell is third in the CCAA in batting average at .378. Shell is also second in the CCAA in hits with 1.23 per game. Shell has four of the team's eight triples on the season. So far this year, the CF has 48 hits, which is 11 more than any other Toro. On her career, she has 184 hits, breaking the CSUDH record of 169 career hits, that was set in the 1987-90 seasons.

TOROS ARE GETTING IT DONE AT THE PLATE The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros are strong on the offense. As a team, they are hitting at an .272 clip, with 270 hits on the season. They have tallied 31 doubles, eight triples, seven homeruns and 105 RBI. They are second in the CCAA in team batting, just trailing CS Bakersfield. The Roadrunners have played three more games than the Toros on the season.

LUTZ LOOKS TO BREAK MORE RECORDS In the 2001 season, Ro Lutz broke the CSUDH season record for RBI in a game with 34. This season, she looks to break that record again. So far this season, she has 25 RBI, which is the most on the team and fourth best in the CCAA. Lutz is also posting a .325 batting average and is leading the team in homeruns with four.

SMITH IS SAILING THROUGH Senior hurler Patrina Smith is taking care of business in the circle. Smith is 11-7 on the season with a 1.76 ERA. She holds opponents to a .219 clip, while striking out 59 batters, including 18 that she sent down looking. She is leading the CCAA in the fewest walks allowed per game with 0.77.

BEYOND HER YEARS Valerie Long is playing beyond her years. The freshman hurler has been dominating in the circle. Long is a perfect 5-0 so far this year. She has made 11 appearances, throwing for 46 innings. She is among the conference leaders in strikeouts per game with 4.26, and second in the CCAA (behind teammate Patrina Smith) for fewest walks per game with 0.91. She has allowed no triples or homeruns so far and is only allowing 0.44 doubles per game. Long also posts the fourth lowest ERA in the CCAA at 1.22.

TOROS FACE BIG SERIES WITH AGGIES Currently the Toros are in a tie for second place with CS San Bernardino. Both teams are two games behind CCAA leader UC Davis. The Toros will face the Aggies on Saturday and need to sweep UC Davis in order for their postseason hopes to stay alive. The Toros opponent on Friday, Chico State, is two games back of the the Toros and Coyotes, four of the Aggies and is in a tie with CS Bakersfield and UC San Diego.

Current CCAA Season Standings

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