ARCATA – The Humboldt State softball team travels to the Bay area this week to face Notre Dame de Namur and San Francisco State. The Jacks' Thursday non-league competition against the Argonauts will be played at 1 p.m. on College of San Mateo's field due to NDNU's poor field conditions. It is undecided is the teams will play a single game or doubleheader. HSU will then travel 30 minutes north for a four-game California Collegiate Athletic Association series against San Francisco State, Humboldt State's head softball coach Frank Cheek's alma mater. Friday and Saturday's first pitches are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively.

Weather Report

The forecast for Thursday's doubleheader in San Mateo is calling for a high of 70 degrees with mostly sunny skies. Friday and Saturday's forecast in San Francisco is calling for sunny skies with highs of 67 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

This past weekend coach Cheek amassed his 1,000th win in day one of the Jacks' four-game series with Cal State Monterey Bay. After a 3-1 series mark against the Otters, the Lumberjacks maintain their position at the top of the league standings with a 14-6 (.700) mark and improved their overall record to 21-7. …Marissa Slattery and Geneva Perrine are both on a six-game hitting streak. During the past six games, Slattery has driven in 13 runs while slugging four home runs and two doubles. Perrine has registered one double and one homer during her streak. …Slattery continues to lead the team in hitting with an impressive .500 BA (45-for-90) and Natalie Galletly follows with a .442 BA (38-for-86). …For the second consecutive week, Slattery has earned the Worth/CCAA player of the week honors after posting a .538 average (7-for-13) with a double, three home runs and nine RBIs. …The HSU pitching staff endured a frustrating weekend of surrendering 14 home runs. Nichole Parada finished the weekend 2-1 to improve her record to 10-2 on the season, but her ERA jumped to 2.56. Gracie Perez registered the weekend's first win and now is 7-3 on the season.

Opponents' Notes

Notre Dame de Namur enters this weekend with an overall record of 7-17-1 and a 0-10 Pacific West Conference record while struggling through a 14-game losing streak. The Argonauts have taken two wins each from Cal State Monterey Bay and Bethany College, while taking one apiece from Cal State San Bernardino, Adams State and Regis University. Last weekend NDNU dropped doubleheaders to Sonoma State and Grand Canyon, both on the road. …The Argonauts are hitting .233 as a team, with Lindsay Crist leading the team with a .440 BA. Carli Leary is second on the team with a .278 hitting percentage. Crist leads the team with 14 stolen bases on 17 attempts, 33 hits, 14 runs, seven doubles and four triples. …In the circle, NDNU looks to Michele McMahon to guide the team with a 3.80 ERA and 4-5 record. In 66 1/3 innings pitched, McMahon has struck out 30 batters and given up 34 earned runs on 96 hits. Kristina Sewell is just as familiar with time in the circle with a .413 ERA and 2-7 mark. Sewell leads the team with 47 strikeouts. …San Francisco State resumes CCAA play after last weekend's trip to Phoenix, Ariz., where it played a four-game series with Grand Canyon University and finished the trip 3-1. The Gators improved their overall mark to 13-14 while holding steady at eightth in league standings with a 5-11 record. SF State took three games from Cal State Stanisaus and one from UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino, for its CCAA victories. …The Gators have a team batting average of .283, with four starters hitting over .300. Danielle Chapman leads the team with a .348 BA and 31 hits. …Ashley Jackson is the Gators' top pitcher with a 7-5 record and 2.06 earned run average, starting 12 of her 13 game appearances and completing six. In 74 2/3 innings pitched, she's given up 22 earned runs, while fanning 41 batters and walking 31. Leading the team with three saves is Vanessa Truan with a 2.47 ERA and 2-3 mark.

Head-to-Head

HSU leads NDNU with a 20-2 all-time series mark. The Argonauts picked up both of their wins last year, defeating the Jacks in Belmont, 6-3 and 7-6, March 2, last season. The Jacks' last wins against the Argonauts came in 2007 when they earned with 6-1 and 11-2 decisions. …Last year HSU went 4-1 with SFSU to improve its all-time series mark to 90-23. The Jacks swept the Gators at home, with the latest win coming in a 6-2 decision, Feb. 9. The Gators' lone victory over the Jacks was at the Best of the West.

Cheek's Thoughts

“I've never seen the ball hit well over the fence as many times as last weekend,” Humboldt State head softball coach Frank Cheek said. “Both teams hammered the ball and (CSU Monterey Bay) put on a hitting display. We were fortunate to escape with three wins.” … “What's been saving us this season is our hitting,” Cheek said. “We're averaging six runs a game. But even though we are fortunate to be hitting well, our opponents are hitting well too, with a .273 percentage. Some of our players haven't reached their hitting peak, while others, like Slattery, are there.” … “I always like to go play at (SFSU) and I always like to beat them on their own field,” Cheek said. “This series will boil down to if we can out hit them.”