Lumberjack Notes
As Humboldt State starts the second half of its season, with just about 20 games left, the Jacks find themselves in last place of the CCAA rankings. The results are uncharacteristic of the reputation Humboldt State has boasted over the past two decades under the reign of head coach Frank Cheek, but the CCAA is one of the top conferences in Div. II softball with multiple teams not only ranking in the top 25 poll, but placing high in the top 10.
The Jacks are more than capable of beating teams, especially by looking at their batting average. In 87 at-bats,
Chrissy Stalf has picked up a .379 average, including seven doubles, a triple and two home runs. Right behind Stalf is freshman center fielder
Dani Randall with a .352 average.
Randall is currently tied for third in the conference with nine doubles, tied for fourth with 31 RBIs and tied for ninth for total bases with 55. Randall has a knack for batting in runs, almost doubling the second highest Jack player's RBIs. In 88 appearances at the plate, Randall has posted 31 hits, including five home runs, and boasts the highest slugging percentage of the team (.625).
Felicia Viveiros and
Kirsten Nouzovsky have each added their fare share of home runs to the Jacks' total homers at 29. Viveiros bats at .347 and currently has 12 RBIs. Nouzovsky follows behind her with a .321 average.
Alicia Reid has also found her knack at the plate, blasting seven homers this season—including three in one weekend. Reid's home runs place her tied for fourth in the conference for homers and helped her register a .310 average with .583 slugging percentage.
Offensively, the Jacks know they can get hits, their defense, on the other hand, has been their biggest struggle. HSU has given up nearly five times as many errors as its opponents and posts a collective 6.70 ERA from the circle.
"You try every trick in the book when you're losing," said Cheek. "We're trying everything from a coaching perspective. We even pitched Stalf."
Stalf pitched three innings of the first doubleheader against UC San Diego, striking out two batters without giving up a single hit, run or walk. Cheek decided to start Stalf in the circle for the fourth game, but without warming up properly the day before to create some soreness in her arm—not to mention being out of a pitching mode since high school—Stalf couldn't continue the impressive streak.
Cheek knows his pitchers have been doing their best to keep the team in the game, it's just not reflecting in the scoreline. With the first half of the season behind them, Cheek and his team know they need to come together as a team in order to grab some much needed victories.
"We've got no place to go, but up," said Cheek.
Coyote Notes
Cal State San Bernardino comes off a split in the first part of its four-game series against Sonoma State. The series' completion was postponed due to rain, scheduled to finish after the Coyotes' series with the Jacks. ... Alex Mitchell leads the team at the plate with a .420 average off 34 hits—two doubles, one triple, two homers and 12 RBIs—placing her fifth on the conference leader board. Britney Butler bats at .347 and has already powered seven home runs on the season (tying her with Reid and fellow teammate Alyssa Flores for fourth in the CCAA). Butler's 26 RBIs put her tied for eighth among the conference's RBI leaders. ... Similar to the Jacks, the Coyotes have struggled to keep a low earned runs against average and register a 5.28 collective ERA. ... CSUSB has not yet faced a left-handed pitcher (like
Kayla Evans) and remains winless if held to two runs or less. However, if the Coyotes have played a tight defense and held their opponents to two runs or less, they have always come out with the victory.
Cheek's Chatter
"Last week CSUSB put it to Sonoma State. They hit Sonoma's top pitcher out of the box, so they've got some good hitters. ... Mitchell is a lefty and has some speed. We have to keep her off the bases. ... When you've been down, every win is a big win. We could salvage ourselves with a couple wins this weekend."
