March 6, 2006

Seattle, Wash. - Sophomore Jerrica Castagno was outstanding in the circle for the Santa Clara softball team this past weekend at the Stacy Winsberg Tournament and for her efforts, she was named the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Pitcher of the Week today. This is the first weekly honor for Castagno.

Despite going 2-3 during the three-day invitational, Santa Clara garnered two wins with Castagno in the circle - a 7-0 triumph over South Bay rival San Jose State and a 7-3 victory against Cal Poly. The 5-9 Redwood City, Calif. native went a combined 17.1 innings over the weekend and struck out 12 batters on her way to a 1.62 earned run average. Her top game came against San Jose State when she allowed just four hits in the complete game.

Santa Clara currently owns an overall record of 7-11 this season and returns to action on Thursday when No. 12 Arizona State visits Marsalli Park for a 6 p.m. showdown. Then on Friday, Santa Clara will participate in the NIST-Twins Creek Tournament, hosted by San Jose State, and will face Colorado State at 3 p.m. and No. 8 California at 5 p.m. to kick off the three-day tournament.