ARCATA – The Humboldt State Softball team hosts a three-day, six-game series against California Collegiate Athletic Association foe Cal State Monterey Bay, the first two doubleheaders counting in the league standings and the final one a non-league affair. Friday and Saturday's doubleheaders are scheduled for 1 p.m. and noon, respectively, while Sunday's competition is set for 11 a.m. …A previously scheduled series against Western Oregon has been canceled because of weather and field conditions.

Weather Report: Arcata's forecast for Friday is calling for a high of 54 degrees and cloudy. Saturday and Sunday are calling for showers with highs of 51 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: HSU head softball coach Frank Cheek is inching his way closer and closer to 1,000 wins. After last weekend's series split with Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cheek's record stands at 998-250-1, only two shy of the milestone. …With an 11-5 league mark (.688 winning percentage) and an 18-6 overall record, the Jacks are second in the CCAA behind this weekend's opponent, CSUMB. The Jacks have won eight out of their last 10 games. …In conference individual stats Marissa Slattery leads with a .494 batting average (38-for-77). Natalie Galletly (2nd), Nikki Ketteringham (4th), Geneva Perrine (6th) and Lindsay Warren (10th) all make an appearance, as HSU is the only team with more than two in the top 10. Slattery also tops the conference in slugging percentage, hits, RBIs and total bases. Ketteringham and Galletly also make multiple appearances in conference statistical categories. Nichole Parada is second in the CCAA with a 1.50 ERA, just behind Cal State University San Bernardino's Debbie Shisler's 1.38 ERA…The Lumberjacks' hitting has resulted in an impressive .362 team batting average. HSU has seven women hitting above .300, four of whom are hitting over .400. …After going 14-for-26 with a .538 BA, including four doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI in eight games last week, Slattery was named the Worth/CCAA player of the week. … Parada has improved her pitching record to 8-1, registering the Jacks only two wins against CSUDH. Perez has a 6-3 mark with a 2.22 ERA. Anderson follows with a 3-2 record and a 2.48 ERA. “Parada and Perez are both starters,” Cheek said. “Parada has the better record and is more consistent but Perez has more strikeouts.”

Opponents' Notes: Last weekend Cal State Monterey Bay took a break from conference competition to participate in the Sonoma State Invitational, playing host SSU, Chico State and Grand Canyon each twice. The Otters took a single game from Grand Canyon and Sonoma and dropped both to Chico State. CSUMB enters this weekend's series with the Jacks with a 15-15-1 overall mark and 9-3 league record. …As a team the Otters are hitting .277 with five batters hitting over .300, while their pitching tops the league with a 1.89 ERA. CSUMB also leads the CCAA with 238 hits. …Making numerous appearances in the league's statistical categories, the Otters fall just behind the Jacks in the team categories with 110 RBIs, 35 doubles and 20 home runs. …Shae Olds leads the team with a .388 batting average and Lucia Rodriguez follows with a .328 BA. Jessica Boyle guides the Otter's pitching staff with a 1.88 ERA and posts a 4-8 record. In 82 innings, Boyle has struck out 70 batters and allowed 22 earned runs off of 66 hits. Shelair Rowell holds a 7-4 mark with a 2.00 ERA and Michelle Tating has a 2.10 ERA with a 2-3 record. Jessica Moon rounds off CSUMB's pitching staff with a 1.03 ERA and 1-0 record.

Head-to-Head: The Lumberjacks hold a 10-3-1 all-time series mark with the Otters. Last season the Jacks took three out of the two team's six meetings. HSU's last win came in a 1-0 decision on March 22, while CSUMB defeated HSU in the first round of the CCAA tournament, 5-0, in the teams' last meeting.

Cheek's Thoughts: “Our lineup is pretty set. (Caitlin) Klug might move up a spot, as she had a good weekend and is now out of her slump. Perrine and Warren had great a weekend and played with heart even though both of them were sick.” … “I'll say one thing about CSUDH, it's that they never quit. They're tenacious and that's a sign of a good ball club.” … “Right now we have no relief pitcher that can close the door. When we're struggling towards the end we don't have anyone to turn to.” … “I love that we get to play CSUMB at home. A tough game, like this one will be, gets us ready for postseason. And I love that our home crowd gets to see this kind of competition.” … “It's huge that our team's hitting the ball well. We spend a lot of time in practice with hitting because that will help us win.”