Toros Softball Begins Quest for NCAA Post-Season Glory on Thursday as Far West Region’s No. 4 Seed
CSUDH faces CCAA-foe and No. 5 seed Cal State Stanislaus at 2:00 p.m. on Roadrunner Softball Complex, hosted by Cal State Bakersfield
May 8, 2006

Carson, CA -- The 14th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team will make its fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Far West Region playoffs, it was announced this morning by the NCAA Regional Tournament Committee. The Toros, who enter the regional as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 seed Cal State Stanislaus Thursday at 2:00 p.m., are riding a four-game win streak, and ended the regular season at 42-9 overall and 21-7 in the CCAA Conference, good for a runner-up league finish.

The double-elimination tournament, which pits the top eight teams from the California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference (CCAA) the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and the Pacific West Conference (PacWest), begins this Thursday at the Roadrunner Softball Complex, located on the campus of CCAA Champion Cal State Bakersfield.

The Toros, currently ranked No. 14 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), dropped to the No. 4 spot after being swept by No. 20-ranked San Francisco State, but rebounded to defeat Sonoma State and Cal State Stanislaus in the final two double-headers last week.

Against Thursday’s opponent Cal State Stanislaus, whom the Toros bested in all four contests played during the regular season, Cindy Perry-Brown (Victorville, CA/Silverado HS) stroked 8 hits in 14 at-bats with five stolen bases, while Kate Groden (San Pedro, CA/San Pedro HS/SE Missouri Univ.) slugged 2 home runs, scored 7 runs and drove in 6 in the wins, boasting a whopping 1.200 slugging % as the Toros’ offense outscored the Warriors 21-5. In the circle, Jackie Miller (Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS/CS Stanislaus) recorded two wins and a save against her former team, allowing no runs and just 3 hits in 14.0 innings of work, while Kristine Minter (Chula Vista, CA/Hampton University) and Amy Thomas (Barstow, CA/Barstow HS) notched one win apiece as CSUDH’s hurlers enjoyed a 1.04 ERA compared to 5.60 for CSUS.

In the regular season, seniors Perry-Brown, the 2005 CCAA MVP and holder of 15 CSUDH records, and Groden, the CSUDH career leader in doubles and RBIs, have combined for 125 hits, 81 RBI and a .387 batting average, while Miller, Minter and sophomore Thomas form a lethal 1-2-3 trio, combining for a 1.45 ERA while limiting opposing batters to a miniscule .194 batting average against. Those pitching numbers were bolstered considerably by Minter’s first career no-hitter on April 20 at CSUSB, and by Miller, who has allowed just 7 hits in her past three games, fanning 17 batters against just one walk.

On Thursday, top-seeded Humboldt State will face 8th-seeded Hawaii Pacific in Thursday’s final game at 4:30 p.m., which follows 3rd-seeded San Francisco State versus 6th-seeded Hawaii-Hilo in the 9:00 a.m. opener, and 2nd-seeded CSUB vs. 7th-seeded Seattle University in Game 2 at 11:30 a.m.

The Toros will be looking to build upon the previous two years’ playoff experiences when they won one game (2004) and two games (2005) in the post-season, their first such victories in the program’s history.