SOFTBALL ENTERS FINAL WEEKEND OF THE YEAR WITH PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS ON THE LINE
4/30/2008
THIS WEEK
The Sacramento State softball team (28-19, 10-6) will travel to San Diego (16-36, 3-13) this weekend for a four-game Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) series with the Toreros. The two teams will play doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday at noon, and the series will mark the regular season finale for both squads.
The series is easily the biggest of the season for Sacramento State as the team still has an opportunity to win its first PCSC championship since the league began play in 2003. The winner of the conference’s regular season crown receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals (May 16-18), a place the Hornets have been twice (1993, 1995) since joining the Div. I ranks in 1990. Sacramento State has finished second in the league standings each of the last three years, including a 14-6 finish in 2006 that saw the team miss out on a postseason berth by just one game.
Entering the final weekend of the series, a total of four teams (Saint Mary’s, Sacramento State, Loyola Marymount and Portland State) still have an opportunity to finish first in the league standings as only two games separate the teams. Saint Mary’s is all alone in first place with an 11-5 record, while Sacramento State and Loyola Marymount are one game back at 10-6. Portland State is two games behind with a 9-7 mark.
Sacramento State will face a San Diego team that remains in last place in the conference standings with a 3-13 record, and has lost five straight and 10 of its last 12. Loyola Marymount will travel to Saint Mary’s this weekend, and Portland State will travel to Santa Clara (5-11).
Should the Hornets finish the season tied atop the conference standings with either Portland State or Saint Mary’s, Sacramento State would win the tiebreaker and advance to the NCAA Regionals. However, Loyola Marymount owns the tiebreaker with the Hornets should the two teams finish tied for first.
Should the Hornets win the PCSC, it would mark the first time the team has won a conference championship since joining the Div. I ranks in 1990. The team has four second-place finishes (1993, 2005, 2006, 2007), but has yet to win a league crown. Sacramento State was an independent from 1990-92, a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1993-96, a member of the Big West Conference from 1997-02, and the PCSC from 2003-pres.
CONFERENCE TIEBREAKER BREAKDOWNS
Below is what needs to happen this weekend that would allow the Hornets to win the conference championship and receive the automatic berth into NCAA Regional play:
• Sacramento State sweeps San Diego, 4-0, AND Loyola Marymount OR Saint Mary’s DO NOT sweep their series against each other.
• Sacramento State goes 3-1 against San Diego AND Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary’s split 2-2.
• If Sacramento State wins two games or less this weekend against San Diego, the team would be mathematically eliminated from winning conference.
TEAM RECORDS SET THIS SEASON OR WITHIN REACH (previous or current record in parenthesis)
Batting average - .302 (.286 in 2006)
On-base percentage - .366 (.355 in 2006)
Slugging percentage - .436 (.415 in 2006)
Hits - 397 (417 in 1992 and 2006)
Runs - 245 (250 in 2006)
Home Runs - 32 (32 in 2006)
Doubles - 62 (71 in 2006)
RBIs - 216 (220 in 2006)
Total Bases - 573 (604 in 2006)
SINGLE-GAME RECORDS SET THIS SEASON (previous or current record in parenthesis)
Hits - 19 vs. Portland State - April 13, 2008 (16, three times)
Doubles - 7 vs. Portland State - April 13, 2008 (5, two times)
Walks - 12 vs. UAB - Feb. 22, 2008 (10 vs. Miami University - 3/18/06)
INDIVIDUAL CAREER RECORDS SET THIS SEASON (previous or current record in parenthesis)
Home Runs: Jamie Schloredt - 24 (previous record was 13)
RBIs: Jamie Schloredt - 108 (previous record was 93)
Batting Average: Jamie Schloredt - .364 (current record is .358, set by Lindy Winkler)
Walks: Jamie Schloredt - 72 (previous record was 58)
Stolen Bases: Hilary Johnson - 40 (previous record was 32)
INDIVIDUAL SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS SET THIS SEASON OR WITHIN REACH (previous or current record in parenthesis)
THIS WEEK
