ARCATA – Two home runs and almost 2,000 miles separate them, but they are eerily alike in their softball stature.
One bats .400, the other .398. One has 27 home runs, the other 25. One has 76 hits, the other has 80. One is on a team that is 52-12 on the season; the other's team is 51-12.
They are both long and lean lefties who hit fly balls farther than anyone else.
They are
Chrissy Stalf and Katie Hines – the top two home run hitters in the country. They will square off when Humboldt State (52-12) takes on Texas Woman's University (51-12) in the first game of the NCAA National Championships for both teams on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Salem, Virg.
Stalf, Humboldt's 6-1 senior, is a slugger among sluggers. She and her team lead the nation in home runs. Stalf has 27 and the Jacks have 111, both one shy of the respective NCAA Div. II single-season records. Five other Lumberjacks have 11 or more home runs.
Hines is a 5-10 junior with 25 home runs, but only two of her teammates have more than 10 home runs. Texas Woman's University is in Denton, Tex., north of Dallas. In addition to playing designated player, Hines also is an occasional pitcher for the Pioneers, posting an 11-3 record in 24 appearances.
“I am ready to play against Katie Hines,” Stalf said. “She is a good player. I am looking forward to facing her. Hopefully we can keep her from hitting any home runs.”
Jacks Travel Notes
Humboldt left Arcata Airport at 8 a.m. on Tuesday on a chartered jet provided by the NCAA. The travel time from Arcata to Roanoke, Virg., is about six hours. The schedule Wednesday includes a barbecue hosted by the James Moyer Sports Complex, practice, and a banquet for all eight teams that qualified for the championships. All-Americans selected by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association will be announced at the banquet.
On the Air
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio/KATA 1340 am and at
http://socialstreamingplayer.crystalmedianetworks.com/radio/kataam
Associate Athletic Director
Tom Trepiak will be doing the play-by-play. Trepiak did all postseason softball radio broadcasts during the 1994 and 1995 seasons when HSU finished third and second in the nation, respectively. He also did the CCAA Championships and Super Regional broadcasts this season.
A live video stream will be available at
http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2013/05/23
Live stats will be available at
http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/softball/d2
Pioneer Notes
TWU has both power and speed. Hines has 25 homers, Jordan Readicker has 21, and Kendra Sancet has 11. ... Bailey Vrazel has stolen 52 bases in 59 attempts, and has more than 200 stolen bases in her career. ... The Pioneers have a team batting average of .335. ... A three-hit complete game shutout performance by junior pitcher Brandie Lander led the TWU to a 3-0 win over St. Edward's and gave the Pioneers their first-ever NCAA South Central Super Regional Championship. Lander is 22-6 with a 1.80 ERA.
Lumberjack Notes
Dani Randall's grand slam in the 6-2 win over CSU Dominguez Hills was the team's 10th grand slam of the season. Randall joins six teammates with at least one grand slam.
Courtney Hiatt leads the team with three slams and
Julie Pena has two. The other “slammers” with one each are
Hannah Williams,
Serena Aragones,
Megan Wink, and
Cyndi Chavez. ... Randall has a hit in 20 of the last 21 games and is batting .500 (30 for 60) with eight home runs during that span. ... Hiatt has a hit in 15 of the last 16 games with a batting average of .490 (25 of 51). She has thrown out five of the last nine runners who have tried to steal. ... Four Lumberjacks have reached base in every postseason game: Stalf,
Tonya Walker, Hiatt and Williams. ... Walker and Stalf have reached base in 19 consecutive games. Stalf has reached base in 60 of the 64 games this season. ... It is Humboldt's sixth trip to the national tournament. The Jacks won the national title in 1999 and 2008.
NCAA Championship Notes
The tournament brackets can be found via this link:
http://hsujacks.com/documents/2013/5/21/Bracket_Update.pdf
The first game begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday between Central Oklahoma (47-11) and Armstrong (42-8-1). Molly (52-12) and Valdosta St. (46-11) play at 11:30 a.m., followed by Grand Valley State (44-7) and Kutztown at 2 p.m.
Valdosta St. is the defending national champion.
Humboldt will play TWU in the final game of the day at 4:30 p.m. The game will be under the lights as it will be 7:30 p.m. local time in Salem, Virg. There is expected to be thundershowers traveling through Virginia on Thursday so games could be delayed.
