SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Getting set for their second home tournament in as many weeks, Santa Clara softball will host the 2015 Santa Clara Marriott Invitational beginning Fri., Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. vs. Howard. Santa Clara faces NO. 17 Washington Sat., Feb. 28 at 12:15 and Howard at 2:30. They finish the tournament Sun., March 1 at 12:15 vs. Washington. Last week Santa Clara opened its home schedule with a thrilling 5-4 walk-off win vs. Seattle. The Broncos are 3-12 on the season.
"It was great to be home and have all our Bronco fans out to watch the team on the home-opening weekend.," said Santa Clara head coach Lisa Mize. "Our team was thrilled to have the new dugouts and batting cages. We're going to clean up our mistakes from last weekend and move forward."
Santa Clara is hitting .259 (108-417) as a team with 11 home runs, one triple, and 18 doubles. They post a 4.72 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 44 walks in 99.1 innings. The Broncos have been outscored 78-48 this season.
Cassandra Padilla leads the team with a .357 (15-42) batting average. She has two home runs, five doubles, five RBI, and a team-high 10 runs scored. Breezy Bernard is hitting .349 (15-43) with six doubles and four RBI. Gianetta France leads the team with five home runs and 13 RBI while hitting .292 (14-48). She has added a double and six runs scored. Geenamarie Bonilla is hitting .298 (14-47) with two home runs, a double, seven RBI, and seven runs scored.
Ciara Gonzales has thrown a team-high 43.2 innings with 17 strikeouts and seven walks. Gonzales has appeared in 12 games with seven starts and three complete games. She is 3-5 with a 3.21 ERA. McCall James has thrown 26.2 innings as a true freshman over eight games and three starts with a complete game. James has struck out 14 against 11 walks. Briana Rios has tossed 17.0 innings in seven games and three starts. She has struck out six. Micaela Vierra has appeared in six games and made two starts while throwing 12.0 innings with 10 strikeouts.
Washington is 14-3 on the season and 3-0 on the road. The Huskies are hitting .363 (174-480) as a team with 33 doubles, five triples, and 24 home runs. They post a 3.37 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 43 walks in 108.0 innings. They have outscored their opponents 133-66.
The Huskies have three batters hitting over .400. Kylee Lahners leads the way with a .489 (22-45) average and has hit four home runs with three doubles, 15 RBI and 15 runs scored. Taylor Van Zee is batting .455 (25-55) with a team-best seven doubles to go with 18 RBI, three home runs, and 20 runs scored. Trysten Melhart is hitting .429 (12-28) with a double, three RBI, and nine runs scored. Courtney Gano leads the team with seven home runs and 22 RBI while adding three doubles, a triple, and 12 runs scored behind a .353 (18-51) average.
Hailey Bator is 7-1 with a 2.70 ERA in a team-high 33.2 innings. She has struck out 16 with 12 walks in 11 games with four starts. Kasey Stanchek has appeared in nine games while making five starts with one complete game. In 32.1 innings she has fanned 24 and walked 11 with a 4.11 ERA. Casey Stangel leads the team with a 2.02 ERA in 27.2 innings. She has appeared in eight games with six starts and one complete game.
"We are thrilled to play a ranked team like Washington," said Lisa Mize. "I believe you have to play the best to be the best. Right now every game we play is to prepare ourselves for the WCC and playing Washington does just that."
Howard is 1-6 on the season and 0-3 on the road. The Bison are hitting .277 (53-191) as a team with 10 doubles. They post a 6.40 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 20 walks in 42.2 innings. They have been outscored 63-39.
Imani Ballard leads the Bison in hitting with a .455 (10-22) average. She has one double, four RBI, and five runs scored. Milan Poindexter is batting .421 (8-19) with a team-high six RBI and seven runs scored. She has added one double. Alex Flynn hits .353 (6-17) with four runs scored and two RBI.
Flynn has thrown a team-high 21.1 innings over five games and three starts. She has 16 strikeouts and five walks while posting a 4.85 ERA and 0-3 record. Janessa Flynn has appeared in six games and made four starts with a 9.00 ERA and 1-3 record. In 14.0 innings she has stuck out six and walked four.