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ARCATA, Calif. – Humboldt State softball begins a new season Friday, May 1 in Stockton, Calif., as it aims to win its third straight California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament title. First pitch against Sonoma State is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Arnaiz Stadium.
Fans can watch and follow the Lumberjacks live throughout the tournament. All HSU softball postseason games will be broadcast on ESPN 92.7 FM/1340 AM and audio will be streamed live via the link above. The Jacks' CCAA Tournament games will also be streamed live with audio via the link above the preview.
After clinching the No. 2 seed last weekend, the Jacks must quickly forget the fanfare of Senior Day and a 1-3 record versus Cal State Monterey Bay and focus on the Seawolves.
"Sonoma is going to bring a balanced attack with solid pitching, hitting and speed on the bases," said HSU Head Coach
Shelli Sarchett. "Our goal is to keep their speed from reaching base. We have got to keep their power hitters off balance and keep them thinking. I think our pitchers are good enough to be able to do that. Our pitchers will have to mix things up. This is a good league with smart hitters, and you have to be able to keep them off balance."
The Jacks wrapped the regular season against the conference's top teams – tournament representatives Chico State and Cal State Monterey Bay. On the flip side, the Seawolves have faced the CCAA's worst teams, and they saw their share of struggles against San Francisco State and Cal State Stanislaus.
Sonoma's success can be attributed to three all-conference talents – outfielders Ancia Purdy and Keeley Ray, and pitcher Amanda Llerena. Purdy and Ray rank No. 1 and 2 in conference batting average with a .476 and .469 average, respectively. Ray has also reached base in every game (55) this season. Llerena is the CCAA's strikeout leader (200) and ranks second with 23 wins. The Sonoma ace has won her last five decisions.
The Green and Gold split its regular season series with Sonoma, and the Jacks went 0-2 on day one and 2-0 on day two. Llerena tossed a complete game against HSU in the series opener and yielded five earned runs on eight hits. She pitched 1.2 inning in the nightcap and picked up her second save of the season. The Jacks pounded out 11 earned runs on nine hits and defeated Llerena in game three and topped her again in a relief appearance in the series finale.
HSU's day two sweep of Sonoma began a 17-game winning streak, which ended during the Chico series. The Jacks have won three of their last eight games and are hoping a meeting with the Seawolves will spark another winning streak that will lead to their third conference tournament championship.
Last season
Hannah Williams was the Jacks' most valuable player in tournament play, and Sarchett expects several players to step up this weekend.
"I think
Tiffany Hollingsworth or
Dani Randall will come up big for us this weekend," said Sarchett. "They are both due. Tiffany is our No. 3 hitter, a run producer and a team leader. Dani is our senior leader and one of our top power hitters. We need those two to come through with runners on base."
Driving in base runners was an obvious problem during the last homestand, but Sarchett points out that in order to repeat last year's success the Jacks will have to cash in with runners in scoring position.
"We have to execute with people on base. It's as simple as that," said Sarchett. "We are not always getting people on base, but when we are getting people on base we need to execute. We need the batter that is coming up to bat to relax and not put all of the pressure on their shoulders. They need to go out there and have the faith that they worked hard and have done everything they need to do to prepare themselves for this moment."
