Posted: Mar 09, 2011
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University's softball team is hosting its 2011 Bronco Softball Classic this weekend, Friday through Sunday, March 11-13. The tournament will be played at the Alden E. Oliver Sports Complex in Hayward.
"I think it will be a really good tournament and very competitive," said Santa Clara Head Coach Lisa Mize. "I want to set the bar high for ourselves and we have the goal of going 4-0. I think that is attainable, but only if we play our very best softball. We have to play solid defense, be good in the circle and come through with timely hits."
2011 Santa Clara Bronco Classic
Dates: Friday, Mar., 11, Saturday, Mar. 12 and Sunday, Mar. 13, 2011
Host: Santa Clara University
Field (5 teams): Santa Clara, UC Davis, Albany, Boise State and San Jose State
Details: Eleven games over three days, played at two different fields
Tickets: $5 general admission at the gate
Venue: Hayward - Alden E. Oliver Sports Complex
29000 Hesperian Blvd
Hayward, CA. 94545
Across Hesperian from Pepsi Cola Plant
Website: SantaClaraBroncos.com
SID Contact: Nick Mirkovich (nmirkovich@scu.edu)
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Mar. 11
4 p.m. Albany vs. Santa Clara (Field 1)
4 p.m. UC Davis vs. San Jose State (Field 2)
6:15 p.m. Boise State vs. Santa Clara (Field 1)
Saturday, Mar. 12
11 a.m. San Jose State vs. Albany (Field 1)
11 a.m. Boise State vs. Santa Clara (Field 2)
1:15 p.m. Albany vs. UC Davis (Field 1)
1:15 p.m. San Jose State vs. Santa Clara (Field 2)
3:30 p.m. UC Davis vs. Boise State (Field 1)
Sunday, Mar. 13
10 a.m. San Jose State vs. UC Davis (Field 1)
10 a.m. Boise State vs. Albany (Field 2)
12:15 p.m. Albany vs. Boise State (Field 2)
Santa Clara (3-6) enters the tournament after winning 3 of 5 at the Colorado State Classic last weekend in Fort Collins. The SCU offense – who hit just .169 through the first four games – erupted for 37 runs and 40 hits (.302 BA) in the five games in Colorado.
"We are going to build off the positives from last weekend," said Mize. "We hit well, we scored a lot of runs. We all agree that we want to sharpen up defensively. We want our pitching to be a bit more sound and keep us in ball games. But it was definitely a positive weekend for us overall and everyone wants to build off of that."
The Broncos defeated tournament host Colorado State 13-10 and twice beat Sacred Heart by scores of 7-6 and 8-6. Shortstop Jamie Wallis, who was featured in the San Jose Mercury News Wednesday, hit four homeruns on the trip. Senior pitcher Jenna Fong won all three games on the mound and junior all-conference outfielder Briana Knight upped her team-leading batting average to .381 by going 6 for 11 with two homers and five RBI.
Albany (1-4) has played five low-scoring games to open the season, suffering three 2-1 losses at a tournament hosted by Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers. The Great Danes played five times in Fort Meyers, picking up a 5-4 win against Eastern Michigan on the tournament's final day. Albany returns 15 letterwinners from last year's team that was 20-23 and 9-8 in the America East Conference.
Boise State (9-8) has won seven-straight, beating up on Southern Utah and Seattle last weekend at home. In five games (all wins) the Broncos out-scored SSU and Seattle 43-4. BSU played two one-run games against Santa Clara's Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) rival LMU, winning 2-1 and losing 4-3 during a season-opening tournament in Long Beach. BSU is hitting .320 as a team and using junior pitchers Allie Crump (6-3; 5.21 ERA) and Aubray Zell (2-1; 2.33 ERA) as their primary starters. The Broncos were 29-32 last season and third in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with a 13-8 league record.
San Jose State (9-11) is already 20 games into its 2011 schedule, playing early-season tournaments in Tempe, Stockton and Las Vegas. SJSU and Santa Clara played twice on February 20 in San Jose, which was opening day for the Broncos. SJSU won both games of the double-header by scores of 2-1 and 8-0. At the time the Spartans improved to 8-4, but have been in a tailspin ever since, losing 7 of 8. Led by fifth-year head coach Peter Turner, the Spartans were 34-25 in 2010, just the seventh time in school history that an SJSU team recorded 30 or more wins in a season. The 34 wins tied for the third highest total in school history.
UC Davis (9-9) will not face Santa Clara during the Bronco Classic, but rather will play San Jose State twice, along with single games with Albany and Boise State. The Aggies are hitting .241 as a team and are using the pitching combination of senior Alex Holmes (5-6; 3.04 ERA) and sophomore Jessica Thweatt (4-3; 4.56 ERA). Holmes is also hitting .386 to pace the offense. UCD qualified for the NCAA tournament field in 2010 after going 15-6 and tying for first in the Big West.
Directions to Alden E. Oliver Sports Park of Hayward
29000 Hesperian Blvd
Hayward, CA. 94545
From San Jose:
1 Take I-880 NORTH toward OAKLAND.
2. Take the WHIPPLE ROAD/INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY exit.
3. Turn left onto WHIPPLE ROAD.
4. Turn right onto UNION CITY BLVD.
5. UNION CITY BLVD becomes HESPERIAN BLVD.
6. Turn left onto EDEN PARK PLACE.
7. Arrive at 2580 EDEN PARK PLACE, on the left.
From West Oakland:
1. Take I-880 SOUTH toward SAN JOSE.
2. Take the INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY exit.
3.Turn right onto INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY.
4. Turn left onto HESPERIAN BLVD.
5. Turn right onto EDEN PARK PLACE.
6. Arrive at 2580 EDEN PARK PLACE, on the left.
From East Oakland:
1. Take I-580 EAST toward STOCKTON.
2. Take the CA-238 exit toward HAYWARD.
3. Merge onto I-880 SOUTH toward SAN JOSE.
4. Take the INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY exit.
5. Turn right onto INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY.
6. Turn left onto HESPERIAN BLVD.
7. Turn right onto EDEN PARK PLACE.
8. Arrive at 2580 EDEN PARK PLACE, on the left.
Friday, Mar. 11
4 p.m. Albany vs. Santa Clara (Field 1)
4 p.m. UC Davis vs. San Jose State (Field 2)
6:15 p.m. Boise State vs. Santa Clara (Field 1)
Saturday, Mar. 12
11 a.m. San Jose State vs. Albany (Field 1)
11 a.m. Boise State vs. Santa Clara (Field 2)
1:15 p.m. Albany vs. UC Davis (Field 1)
1:15 p.m. San Jose State vs. Santa Clara (Field 2)
3:30 p.m. UC Davis vs. Boise State (Field 1)
Sunday, Mar. 13
10 a.m. San Jose State vs. UC Davis (Field 1)
10 a.m. Boise State vs. Albany (Field 2)
12:15 p.m. Albany vs. Boise State (Field 2)
Santa Clara (3-6) enters the tournament after winning 3 of 5 at the Colorado State Classic last weekend in Fort Collins. The SCU offense – who hit just .169 through the first four games – erupted for 37 runs and 40 hits (.302 BA) in the five games in Colorado.
"We are going to build off the positives from last weekend," said Mize. "We hit well, we scored a lot of runs. We all agree that we want to sharpen up defensively. We want our pitching to be a bit more sound and keep us in ball games. But it was definitely a positive weekend for us overall and everyone wants to build off of that."
The Broncos defeated tournament host Colorado State 13-10 and twice beat Sacred Heart by scores of 7-6 and 8-6. Shortstop Jamie Wallis, who was featured in the San Jose Mercury News Wednesday, hit four homeruns on the trip. Senior pitcher Jenna Fong won all three games on the mound and junior all-conference outfielder Briana Knight upped her team-leading batting average to .381 by going 6 for 11 with two homers and five RBI.
Albany (1-4) has played five low-scoring games to open the season, suffering three 2-1 losses at a tournament hosted by Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers. The Great Danes played five times in Fort Meyers, picking up a 5-4 win against Eastern Michigan on the tournament's final day. Albany returns 15 letterwinners from last year's team that was 20-23 and 9-8 in the America East Conference.
Boise State (9-8) has won seven-straight, beating up on Southern Utah and Seattle last weekend at home. In five games (all wins) the Broncos out-scored SSU and Seattle 43-4. BSU played two one-run games against Santa Clara's Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) rival LMU, winning 2-1 and losing 4-3 during a season-opening tournament in Long Beach. BSU is hitting .320 as a team and using junior pitchers Allie Crump (6-3; 5.21 ERA) and Aubray Zell (2-1; 2.33 ERA) as their primary starters. The Broncos were 29-32 last season and third in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with a 13-8 league record.
San Jose State (9-11) is already 20 games into its 2011 schedule, playing early-season tournaments in Tempe, Stockton and Las Vegas. SJSU and Santa Clara played twice on February 20 in San Jose, which was opening day for the Broncos. SJSU won both games of the double-header by scores of 2-1 and 8-0. At the time the Spartans improved to 8-4, but have been in a tailspin ever since, losing 7 of 8. Led by fifth-year head coach Peter Turner, the Spartans were 34-25 in 2010, just the seventh time in school history that an SJSU team recorded 30 or more wins in a season. The 34 wins tied for the third highest total in school history.
UC Davis (9-9) will not face Santa Clara during the Bronco Classic, but rather will play San Jose State twice, along with single games with Albany and Boise State. The Aggies are hitting .241 as a team and are using the pitching combination of senior Alex Holmes (5-6; 3.04 ERA) and sophomore Jessica Thweatt (4-3; 4.56 ERA). Holmes is also hitting .386 to pace the offense. UCD qualified for the NCAA tournament field in 2010 after going 15-6 and tying for first in the Big West.
Directions to Alden E. Oliver Sports Park of Hayward
29000 Hesperian Blvd
Hayward, CA. 94545
From San Jose:
1 Take I-880 NORTH toward OAKLAND.
2. Take the WHIPPLE ROAD/INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY exit.
3. Turn left onto WHIPPLE ROAD.
4. Turn right onto UNION CITY BLVD.
5. UNION CITY BLVD becomes HESPERIAN BLVD.
6. Turn left onto EDEN PARK PLACE.
7. Arrive at 2580 EDEN PARK PLACE, on the left.
From West Oakland:
1. Take I-880 SOUTH toward SAN JOSE.
2. Take the INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY exit.
3.Turn right onto INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY.
4. Turn left onto HESPERIAN BLVD.
5. Turn right onto EDEN PARK PLACE.
6. Arrive at 2580 EDEN PARK PLACE, on the left.
From East Oakland:
1. Take I-580 EAST toward STOCKTON.
2. Take the CA-238 exit toward HAYWARD.
3. Merge onto I-880 SOUTH toward SAN JOSE.
4. Take the INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY exit.
5. Turn right onto INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY.
6. Turn left onto HESPERIAN BLVD.
7. Turn right onto EDEN PARK PLACE.
8. Arrive at 2580 EDEN PARK PLACE, on the left.
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