ARCATA – The Humboldt State softball team returns home to host Cal State Dominguez Hills for California Collegiate Athletic Association play Friday and Saturday. Friday's first game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and Saturday's first pitch is set for 11 a.m.

Weather Report: Friday's forecast is a high of 57 degrees and mostly sunny. Saturday is calling for a few showers (30 percent) with a high of 52 degrees.

Live Stats: Follow all home games at the HSU Softball Field by accessing the live stats component by going to: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/humboldt/softball/.
 
Lumberjacks Notes: Humboldt State head softball coach Frank Cheek is only four wins away from collecting his 1,000th win after his Lumberjacks swept their four-game series with Chico State this Monday and Tuesday. Cheek has a 996-248-1 overall record (.801 winning percentage). …The Jacks are in a three-way tie with Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State Dominguez Hills for the CCAA No. 1 slot with a league mark of 9-3 (.750 winning percentage) and a 16-4 overall record. …HSU's hitters hold a collective .372 batting average, while their opponents are hitting .243. Marissa Slattery leads the team with a .508 BA (33-65). Nikki Ketteringham (.432 BA) continues her hitting streak recording at least one hit in seven consecutive games. In five of the seven games Ketteringham has recorded two or more hits. Slattery is on a six-game hitting streak, while Natalie Galletly (.444) has registered a hit in five out of the past six games. Freshman Sammi Gilbert has started four of the team's past five games, and is now second on the team with a .462 BA (6-13), with two home runs and five RBIs. …The team's number one and two pitchers are Gracie Perez and Nichole Parada, respectively. Perez holds a 6-2 mark with a 1.52 ERA. She's recorded 42 strikeouts and has given up 11 earned runs in 50 2/3 innings. Parada leads the pitchers with a 1.37 ERA and 6-1 record making an appearance in 41 innings. Jenna Anderson has a 3-1 record with a 2.69 ERA. She's second on the team with 12 strikeouts, appearing in 26 innings. As a team, HSU holds a 1.92 ERA, whiles its opponents have a 6.54 ERA.

Opponents' Notes: Riding a seven-game winning streak, CSU Dominguez Hills holds a 14-8 overall mark. CSUDH has lost to Montana State-Billings three times, Sonoma State and Grand Canyon twice each, and once to CSU Monterey Bay. …Emiley McEwen leads the team with a .456 batting average (26-57), 20 runs batted in, six homers, four doubles and two triples. Khryssi Steele (.328), Katie Garcia (.310), Kristin Tanaka (.323) and Katie Jordan (.313) round off the team's offensive threat, while Regina Farfan is the team's primary pitcher. Farfan has posted an 8-5 record with a 2.00 ERA. She's started 18 of the team's 22 games, completing 18. In 91 innings pitched, Farfan has struck out 34 batters and gave up 91 hits and 14 walks. …Kaci Carroll is CSUDH's No. 2 pitcher with a 5-2 record and 1.51 ERA. In three starts and 15 game appearances, she's struck out 20 and given up 32 hits in 46 1/3 innings. Tanaka (2.10 ERA) and Wendy Espindola (2.33) complete the Toros' pitching staff. …Head coach Jim Maier is only four wins away from earning his 300th coaching win with a 296-174-2 record.

Head-to-Head: HSU holds a 21-10 all-time series mark with CSUDH. Last year the Jacks posted a 2-4 record against the Toros. CSUDH swept HSU on its home field early in the 2008 season, before HSU could avenge the losses by defeating CSUDH, 8-1, in the semifinal round at the West Region Tournament, May 10.

Cheek's Thoughts: "As far as I was concerned we were always on top and I was never worried," Humboldt State's head softball coach Frank Cheek mentioned when asked about being back on top of the league in a way three-way tie. "I knew our young pitching staff would mature with experience.  We will continue to improve in this category with every game.  Perez had surgery on December 14 on both knees.  She will continue to improve as she gets into playing shape. Anderson and Parada are gaining confidence." ... "CSUDH is more than capable of beating us all 4 games. We must play well in order to beat them. Their pitching is solid and they are hitting .271 as a team, which is sufficient to beat us with good pitching." ... "The plan is simple to win. We just got off two four game series and during that time, we learned about our team and individuals learned about their strengths and weaknesses. We have established a pitching order with Anderson in relief that seems to be paying us dividents."