ARCATA – The Humboldt State softball team takes a break from California Collegiate Athletic Association play this weekend with a trip to Turlock to compete in the Tournament of Champions (TOC), hosted by Cal State Stanislaus. The Jacks open tournament play with competition against Dixie State, No. 3 in the west region, at 9:15 a.m. and will follow with a 1:30 p.m. game against Hawaii Pacific, No. 2 in the west region. Saturday the Jacks will face Chaminade, Grand Canyon and Notre Dame de Namur at 9:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Depending on its record in pool play, HSU will advance to the Sunday's gold, silver or bronze bracket. Monday at 10 a.m. the Jacks will play a doubleheader against Grand Canyon University in Turlock.

Weather Report

The forecast for Turlock this weekend is calling for sunny skies and highs in the low 70's.

Live Stats

Follow along with this weekend's games at the tournament by accessing the Jacks' live stats component by going to: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/humboldt/softball/.
 
Lumberjacks Notes

After going 4-1 this past weekend the Lumberjacks improved their overall mark to 25-8 and moved to 17-7 in league play. …HSU has taken the TOC crown the past four years with hopes of fighting for its fifth consecutive title this weekend. “Winning the (TOC) title four consecutive times is phenomenal,” Humboldt State head softball coach Frank Cheek said. “This year we're not an overpowering team like we have been in the past. We now work for everything we get. This week we have to play hard. Dixie State and Hawaii Pacific are two great teams and we have to play them back-to-back. If we can beat those two teams then I think are spot at No. 1 in the west region will be solidified. This will be a big weekend for us.” …Marissa Slattery continues to guide the team with a .472 batting average, and Natalie Galletly has improved her average to .455, a .013 jump from last week. Galletly finished last weekend's play with a .533 BA. …The Jacks have won seven of their last nine games. Lindsay Warren is on a seven-game hitting streak, driving in 13 runs with nine hits, including two doubles and two home runs. Galletly and Nikki Ketteringham are the other two Jacks on hitting streaks with six. Galletly has collected nine hits, six RBIs and five runs and Ketteringham has tallied eight hits and three runs. …Gracie Perez earned all four of the Lumberjacks' pitching wins this past week, while starting three games. Perez finished the weekend with a 1.17 ERA to improve her season ERA to 2.42 and an 11-3 record. She picked up her second Worth/CCAA Pitcher of the Week honor after her impressive weekend. …As a team, HSU is hitting .348, while its opponents are batting .273. The Jacks are averaging 6.1 runs per game, while their opponents are averaging 3 runs per game. In the circle, HSU holds a 2.58 ERA, while its opponents possess a 6.00 ERA.

Opponents' Notes

Dixie State enters the TOC with an overall mark of 28-6. The Red Storm have won seven of their last 10 games. DSU has dropped one game to Eastern New Mexico, Hawaii Hilo, and BYU Hawaii and three games to Hawaii Pacific. DSU has three batters hitting over .300, three batting in the .400's, as Haley Schumers leads the Red Storm with a .417 BA (40-for-96). As a team they are batting .332 and holding their opponents to .217. In the circle, DSU turns to Brittnie Whipple and Lauren Folta as they hold a 10-1 and 9-1 record, respectively. The team ERA is 1.75. …Hawaii Pacific holds a 25-5 overall record, winning 10 of its last 12 games. The Sea Warriors have dropped one game to Simon Fraser, Lock Haven and Dixie State and two games to Grand Canyon. HPU has nine batters hitting over .300, three in the .400s and two in the .500s. Krystal Plunkett is leading the team with a .536 BA (52-for-97). As a team HPU is hitting .351. In the circle the Sea Warriors have a combined ERA of 1.23, led by Courtney Kessell and Sherise Musquiz. Kessell holds a 1.08 ERA with a 12-3 record and Musquiz possess a 1.13 ERA and 12-2 mark. …Chaminade holds a 5-25 overall mark, defeating Hawaii Hilo once, Notre Dame de Namur twice, and BYU Hawaii three times. The Swords are hitting .209 with Keli-Grace Kaowili-Saniatan topping the team with a .292 BA. In the circle Chaminade looks to Kasy'e Lalau (4.53 ERA, 4-11) and Chelsi Walls (5.85 ERA, 1-14). …With a 27-17 overall record, Grand Canyon enters this weekend winning seven of its last 10 games. Randi Johns guides the team with a .443 BA (54-for-122), as the team bats .346, with seven players hitting above .300. The 'Lores have a pitching staff of three, Natasha Dypchey, Sam Tiefenthaler and Jessica Palma, who combined hold a 3.82 ERA. …After going 1-for-5 last weekend, Notre Dame de Namur holds a 8-21-1 overall record, taking its lone win of the weekend against Chico State, 9-6. The Argonauts are hitting .232 as a team, with Lindsay Crist leading the team with a .423 BA. In the circle, NDNU looks to Michele McMahon (5.07 ERA, 5-7), Kristina Sewell (4.22 ERA, 2-9) and Brittany Cowart (6.06 ERA, 1-3).

Head-to-Head

This will be the Jacks' first meeting with Dixie State and Chaminade. …HSU holds a 12-3 all-time series record against Hawaii Pacific. The Jacks' last meeting with the Sea Warriors came in a 4-3 win, March 30, 2008, at the Tournament of Champions. …HSU leads Grand Canyon 4-1 in the all-times series with the Jacks' last win coming in a 4-1 decision, March 5, 2006. …After last week's 8-2 victory over Notre Dame de Namur, HSU leads the all-time series 21-2.

Cheek's Thoughts

“SFSU is a good team,” Cheek said. “Their record is not indicative to their hitting.” … “(Gracie) Perez stepped up this weekend, pitching back-to-back games against San Francisco State.” … “Last week was definitely a very good week for us,” Cheek said. “We had great plays and hit the ball well.”