April 3, 2008
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
The Cal State Northridge softball team (13-16) welcomes No. 14 Long Beach State to Matador Diamond this weekend for its 2008 Big West home opener. The Matadors and 49ers will tangle in a three-game series with league-wide ramifications at stake, playing a doubleheaders starting at noon on Saturday and a single game also starting at noon on Sunday.
Head coach Barbara Jordan and CSUN enter the weekend having taken two out three from Pacific in Stockton, Calif., to open Big West play. Senior Mercedes Lovato figured in the decision in all three games for Northridge, while junior Micah Putnam blasted a pair of home runs and collected four RBIs in the series.
Having appeared in all but one of Northridge's games, Lovato has been a reliable presence for the Matadors. She currently stands at 11-10 for the season with a 3.16 ERA and 107 strikeouts. Lovato ranks eighth in the Big West Conference in opposing batting average, having limited opponents to a .241 clip in her 28 appearances.
Putnam's ascension has been a yearly pattern at Northridge, as the junior has annually raised her batting average and productivity at the plate since arriving on campus two seasons ago. She enters the weekend one of just five players in the conference to rank in the top 10 in batting average (.328- seventh), on-base percentage (.419-ninth) and slugging (.548-seventh). Putnam has already established a new career highs with four home runs and 16 runs scored and appears on pace to set new career marks in total bases, doubles and hits.
Joining Putnam as a mainstay in the Matadors' line-up this season has been another junior, Amanda Peek, who is one of the other four players to rank in the top three in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. She leads the conference with a .551 on-base percentage and ranks second with a .457 average. Currently, Peek is one of just five players in NCAA Division I to rank in the top 10 nationally in both batting average and on-base percentage.
As a team, CSUN is hitting .254 on the season with 42 extra-base hits, including 28 doubles. The Matadors own a .958 fielding percentage and have earned three more walks than their opponents, 79-76.
With a 27-9 record, Long Beach State sits atop the Big West standings with a .750 winning percentage. Already this season, the 49ers have defeated Hawai'i, UNLV, Northwestern, Notre Dame, San Diego State and Texas A&M, plus they opened conference play with a three-game sweep at UC Davis. Kim Sowder is in her second year as head coach of the 49ers and carries a 55-34 record.
Long Beach State is the top pitching team in the Big West Conference, led by freshman Brooke Turner, who currently owns a 16-4 record with a 0.51 ERA. She has already tossed 11 shutouts and has recorded 155 strikeouts in 138 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .161 off her. The 49ers also have Bridgette Pagano, the 2007 Freshman Pitcher of the Year in the Big West Conference. Pagano enters the weekend with an 11-5 record and a 2.34 ERA. As a unit, opponents are hitting just .210 for the season against the 49ers.
At the plate, Brooke LeSage paces the team with a .326 batting average, six extra-base hits and 20 RBIs. She also leads the team with seven stolen bases in nine chances. Both Danielle Linke and Jessica Beaver have hit three home runs on the season and stand at 25 and 31 RBIs, respectively. Jennifer Griffin leads the team and the Big West Conference with 25 walks, but has also struck-out 27 times. The 49ers hit .254 as a team with LeSage as the only regular hitting over .300 for the season.
In the field, Long Beach State owns a .974 fielding percentage, the top mark in the Big West Conference. So far, the 49ers have committed only 27 errors as a team, with Jessica Beaver's 11 leading the club.
Northridge remains at home for its next series, hosting UC Santa Barbara on April 12 and 13. The Gauchos will also play three games at Matador Diamond, starting with a noon doubleheader on April 12 followed by a single game also at noon on Sunday, April 13.
