ARCATA, Calif. - In what proved to be a preview of this weekend's California Collegiate Athletic Association series, No. 9 Humboldt State will seek the same success against rival Sonoma State.

     Already scheduled for the upcoming four-game set, the Lumberjacks and Seawolves started the series early. The two CCAA foes played in the Tournament of Champions Gold Bracket Championship contest last Sunday where HSU registered a 4-0 shutout.

Live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/sonoma/softball/

Live video: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sonoma-state-softball
 

HSU enters key CCAA series in league stretch run

     Beginning the final three weeks of the regular season, HSU begins the last three CCAA weekend series with key four-game set at Sonoma State in Rohnert Park.

     The Seawolves will play host on Friday starting at 1 p.m. and Saturday with an 11 a.m. first pitch for the two doubleheaders.

     The two started what will be five games in a row against one another in the Tournament of Champions title game.

     In the CCAA ranks, HSU sits in third place at 18-6 with a four-game lead on fourth-place Sonoma State (14-10). UC San Diego (17-3), which plays at San Francisco State, and Cal State Monterey Bay (16-4) are the top two teams. Fifth place Chico State (13-11) plays at Cal State Monterey Bay, while Cal State San Bernardino (12-12) plays at Cal State East Bay (9-15).
              

HSU drops one spot in Top 25 after Tournament of Champions title

     After recording a 6-1 record and winning the Tournament of Champions last week and claiming 10 wins in its previous 11 games, HSU dropped one more spot to No. 9, its season-low rating, in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Top 25 poll.

     HSU fell to No. 8 last week after having its first week of the season and now dropped on more spot following its weekend title.

     West Texas A&M (36-4) earned the first unanimous No. 1 rank and seventh week in a row atop the ratings.

     Tampa (27-4) did not play last week, but moved up one place to No. 2, while St. Mary's (Texas) at 40-5 jumped two spots to No. 3. 

     CCAA member Cal State Monterey Bay (35-5) off its 17-game winning streak leaped to No. 4 from No. 15. Emporia State (33-8) rounded out the top five at No. 5.

     UC San Diego (28-7) sits at No. 15 as the third CCAA ranked program. Sonoma State received five votes in the Others Receiving Votes.
 

Jacks grabs fifth Tournament of Champions title and first in six years

     Over the weekend, a familiar school claimed the 2014 Tournament of Champions championship title – Humboldt State. 

     After posting four wins in five games last Friday and Saturday, the Jacks won Pool C to qualify for the Gold Bracket. HSU posted five runs in the first two innings to take early control against Dominican in the semifinal, before winning 9-2. The Jacks' Liz Perez spun an impressive five-hitter and second shutout of the weekend, 4-0, over Sonoma State for the title and first championship since 2008.
 

Perez earns Tournament of Champions MVP

     In the middle of an impressive run of production in the circle, sophomore pitcher Liz Perez earned the Tournament of Champions Most Valuable Player award. Over 24 innings of work, the second-year Jack allowed only one earned run for a 0.29 ERA with four walks to 30 strikeouts. Perez held opponents to a .209 batting average (17-for-81) with 16 of the 17 hits being singles. She also recorded back-to-back shutouts with a four-hit outing over Saint Martin's (1-0), before the five-hitter versus Sonoma State in the championship contest.

     Over her last five appearances and 31 innings, Perez has a 0.23 ERA to drop her season ERA down to 1.97. She is now 10-4 with 71 strikeouts in 88.2 innings.
 

Randall and Williams All-Tournament honors

     A team has more success when its number four and five hitters of the lineup produce quality numbers. This is what happened with HSU's Hannah Williams and Dani Randall last weekend as both were named to the All-Tournament of Champions team.

     No. 5-batter Randall recorded a 12-for-24 line over seven games for a .500 average. The junior scored five runs and hit one double and a home run with eight RBIs. Her big hit came in the form of a bottom of the first-inning three-run homer in the championship game. Randall has raised her average 93 points to .384 with hits in 19 of the last 20 contests and 15-straight games.

     No. 4-hitter Williams went 8-for-21 (.381) with two RBIs and four walks last weekend with hits in six of seven games.
 

Jacks series vs. Seawolves

     HSU holds a 105-27 overall series Sonoma State after taking Sunday's Tournament of Champions championship game, 4-0.

          2013 Meetings: HSU won 5 of 6

Apr. 7 at Tournament of Champions - HSU 1-0

Apr. 12 at HSU - Gm. 1: HSU 4-3 / Gm. 2: HSU 6-2

Apr. 13 at HSU - Gm. 3: HSU 6-1 / Gm. 4: SSU 17-3

May 4 at CCAA Tournament - HSU 4-2

Scouting Sonoma State (30-12/14-10 CCAA):

     The Seawolves had their 14-game win streak snapped Sunday...SSU has won 20 of its last 23 games dating back to March 14.

     SSU won the 2012 season series, 3-1, in Rohnert Park.

     • OF Meg Konieczka leads CCAA with 63 hits, 13 HR and 44 RBIs, while 2nd in average (.453) and slugging percentage (.849)

     • P Amanda Llerena holds an 18-7 record and 1.93 ERA including the most strikeouts (153) and strikeouts/game (6.41) in the league.

 

-GoJacks-