March 13, 2006
Santa Clara, Calif. - After surviving a rain-filled weekend at the NIST-Twin Creeks Tournament, the Santa Clara softball team is hoping for better weather for their midweek contests against North Dakota State and Miami (Ohio) at Marsalli Park. Santa Clara (8-15) and North Dakota State will square off in a doubleheader on Tuesday, followed by a Wednesday afternoon game with Miami (Ohio). Game times for the twin bill are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m., with a 3 p.m. start time for Wednesday's contest.
The Bison (4-14) also had a difficult weekend at the NIST, forging a 0-4 record over the weekend. Lynnae Foshag will attempt to lead North Dakota State past their losing record against Santa Clara, as she is the team's top offensive threat with 13 hits on the year, including two doubles. Kellie Cantrell and Casie Conrad both have 10 hits on the season, tied for second best on the squad. Amber Garrett has pitched a team-leading 53.1 innings, while fanning 37 batters. Head coach Darren Mueller has been at the helm of the softball program for five years and has an overall record of 155-73 while at North Dakota State.
"Despite its record this year, North Dakota is a good program and played well this past weekend against some strong teams. I expect the Broncos to come out and play hard after some tough losses," said head coach Steve Rianda.
The RedHawks enter Wednesday's game on a six-game losing streak, including a 0-5 record at the recently completed Stanford Classic this past weekend. Miami (Ohio), who sports an overall record of 12-13, will look to get back on track on Tuesday as it faces No. 6 California in a non-conference match. Halle Popson leads the offense with a .441 batting average and 26 hits, including a team-leading six homeruns. Bianca Paz and Leslie Macedo are tied for second on the team for hits, with 17 on the year. Courtney Salmon is Miami's top gun in the circle, with a 6-6 record and a 3.21 ERA. She has also struck out 89 batters in 2006. Angie Jacobs is in her eighth season with the RedHawks and has compiled an overall record of 163-224-1.
"Miami is coming off a tough weekend at Stanford. They were in a similar situation our games at the NIST, where we both lost games that we could have won," stated Rianda. "This will be a good series that we need to come out and fight for every out."
