March 10, 2010
Complete Weekly Release
DIAMOND DEVIL INVITATIONAL - Tempe, Calif.
Friday, March 12
Pacific vs. Nebraska (2010 - 11-10), 12:00 p.m.
Pacific vs. No. 8 Arizona State (2010 - 17-2), 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 13
Pacific vs. No. 23 BYU (2010 - 15-4), 10:30 a.m.
Pacific vs. Nebraska (2010 - 11-10), 12:30 p.m.
Tigers Head To Tempe For The Diamond Devil Invitational:
Hitting the road for the their third straight weekend, the Tigers head south to Tempe, Ariz. to take part in the Diamond Devil Invitational hosted by Arizona State. As with all their tournaments this season, the Tigers have a tough weekend in store as they face off against a pair of top-25 ranked teams in No. 8 Arizona State and No. 23 BYU while also playing a pair against the always strong Nebraska Cornhuskers. In the Sun Devils, Pacific faces its third top-10 ranked team of the year as Arizona State enters the week at 17-2 overall. All 19 games for the Sun Devils have come at home this year as they have hosted three straight tournaments heading into the week. For the Cougars, a 15-4 record on the year has them in the polls after taking on some of the top talent in the nation including picking up a pair of wins over No. 19 Texas A&M last week. Nebraska enters the week at 11-10 overall after starting the season receiving votes in the top-25 polls.
Long Weekend Leaves Pacific with Two Wins:
Looking to continue their upsetting ways from a week prior, the Tigers got a couple of shots against the top-25 last week at the DeMarini Tournament, but came away empty handed with losses against No. 3 Florida and No. 20 North Carolina. To open the tournament, the Tigers found themselves outslugged by the Gators, giving up three home runs and with it seven of their 12 runs relinquished in a 12-3 loss. Despite the rough beginning, Pacific recovered with a 2-0 shutout of Indiana to close out day one. Brittany Hendrickson did the damage for the Tigers as she accounted knocked home both runs for the tigers with a two-out triple in the fifth. Day two would not be as kind for the Tigers as they suffered a pair of losses including a close 3-1 loss to the Tar Heels. Pacific had its chances throughout the game but struggled to bring home the runs including leaving the tying run at second in the seventh. After the Tar Heels, Oregon State handed the Tigers their second loss of the day, pounding out seven runs to take a 7-2 win. Finishing strong, the Tigers had a repeat performance against Northwestern, downing the Wild Cats for the second straight week, this time 2-1 behind a masterful performance from Gabby McDaniel in the circle. In all, McDaniel allowed just three hits in the game to pick up her second victory.
Pierce Finding Her Groove At The Top Of The Lineup:
After batting in the No. 9 spot for the Tigers last season, junior Lindsey Pierce has found a comfortable new home at the top of the Tigers' order this season, proving to be at ease as the Tigers' newest table-setter. After a tough start in the season opener, Pierce responded with a six game hitting streak that was finally broken against No. 9 Oklahoma at the Cathedral City Classic. Despite the one game set-back, Pierce leads the Big West in hitting at .452 (.549 on-base %) having pounded out a team-best 19 hits in 42 at bats. In addition to her hitting, on the base paths Pierce has tallied two stolen bases in three attempts and accounted for a team-best nine of the Tigers' 34 runs on the year.
Tigers Leading With A watchful Eye:
With the season well underway and a month into action, the Tigers have proven to be a tough group to strike out as they are No. 1 in the Big West Conference in strikeouts at the plate having gone down on strikes just 58 times this season. The next closest team, Long Beach State, has struck out 72 times this season while the worst in the conference, Cal State Fullerton, has gone down on strikes 113 times. Having been to the plate 414 times in 15 games, Pacific has posted a strike out once in every 7.14 at bats. In comparison, Cal State Fullerton posts a strike out once in every 4.06 at bats.
Small Ball The name Of the Game:
With the Tigers near the top of the conference in hitting at .256 on the year, every chance to move a runner into scoring position has been a welcomed opportunity. With runners on, the Tigers have posted a league-high 14 sacrifice bunts and slaps throughout the season, led by freshmen Nikki Armagost and Megan Hom who each have three on the year, ranking tied for No. 2 in the conference. In addition, Pacific has added five sac flys to their total, bringing the number of sacrifice hits to 19 on the season. Armagost has two while senior Kellee Wilson has also added two, both tied for the conference lead.
Stormy Weather Wreaking Havoc:
Through the first month of the 2010 softball season, the Tigers have seen their early season schedule hampered by stormy weather. Having stayed in California for the entire opening month of the year, the Tigers had expected to get away with just a few rain delays and postponements. However, with 19 games scheduled, Pacific has had four games rained out and delayed. Against local competition, the Tigers have rescheduled their contests against San Jose State (April 8) and Saint Mary's (April 13), but against out of state foes like Oregon, the Tigers have lost their scheduled contest.
Freshmen Powering Pacific's Rebuild:
After posting just a 17-33 mark a year ago, the 6-9 Pacific Tigers are showing signs of a recovery and their talented newcomers have been a large part of it. At the dish, freshman Megan Hom is second on the team in batting (.354)and hits (17) while leading the team in steals (4). Three weeks ago she earned Player of the Week honors, marking the first Tiger to earn a weekly award this season. In the circle, Nikki Armagost has proven to be the real deal after one-hitting No. 22 Northwestern en route to picking up Pitcher of the Week honors two weeks ago. Defensively, Megan Allen and Amy Moore have added a spark in the field with Allen playing both at third and short while Moore has split time behind the plate with senior Karie Wilson.
Aside from the efforts of Armagost, Baylor transfer Shaina Brock, another new Tigers, has emerged as the No. 1 pitcher. She is 3-4 with a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings. She also has posted 36 strikeouts against just 13 walks while only 12 of the 42 hits she has allowed have gone for extra bases.
Double Watch In The Middle:
Batting back-to-back in the heart of the Tigers' order, junior Nicole Matson and senior Kellee Wilson are both steadily creeping up on the top-10 for doubles in Pacific's history. Entering the week, Wilson has tallied 25 doubles (threeshy of tying for No. 10 all-time). On the year, Matson has posted three doubles while Wilson has caught up to the injured Matson posting her third last week. The all-time mark is held by Barbara Moody (2000-03) who finished her career with 69 doubles.
In addition to doubles, Matson is looking to make her mark even further into the Tigers' record books as she sits in the top-10 all-time for home runs at No. 8 with 13. After blasting her first of the season last weekend, Matson need just two more to tie for No. 7 all-time, a mark held by former Tiger all-around great, Brandee McArthur (1996-99). The all-time mark is held by Jennifer Curtier (2004-07) who finished her storied career with 42 round-trippers.
Armagost Nabs Pitcher Of The Week Honors With Stellar Outing:
Not to be outdone by her fellow classmate, freshman Nikki Armagost (Andover, Kan.) took home the Tigers' first Big West Pitcher of the Week Award of the 2010 season for her performance during the week ending on February 28. The award was the Tigers' second weekly award in as many weeks after freshman Megan Hom (Irvine, Calif.) was named the field player of the wee. In addition, Armagost becomes the first Tiger pitcher to win the award since former Tiger Chelsea Engle (Folsom, Calif.) took home the honor on April 9, 2007.
To earn the award, the freshman proved that her first start of her career two weeks prior against No. 21 Fresno State was not a flash in the pan as she dominated the No. 22 ranked Northwestern Wildcats to pick up a 4-2 win at the Cathedral City Classic. The victory was the first of Armagost's career.
Against the Wildcats, Armagost was on top of her game, giving up just one hit through the first five innings of work while getting into little trouble. However, a string of wildness in the bottom of the fifth cost the freshman her shutout bid as she walked three in the inning and ended up giving up an unearned run. She gave up another unearned run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Northwestern tried to rally, but Armagost was able shut them down without further damage.
In seven complete innings, Armagost allowed just one hit, a single to the second hitter of the game, while striking out four. For the season, Armagost leads the Tigers' pitching staff with a 0.50 ERA in two appearances, having thrown a pair of complete games while giving up just one earned run. She has struck out 10 in her 14.0 innings of work while allowing just five hits.
Hom Picks Up First Player of The Week Award:
Just two weeks into her collegiate career, freshman Megan Hom (Irvine, Calif.) has had no trouble adjusting to the college game as she earned her first career Big West Player of the Week award for the week ending on February 21. The award was the first of the season for a Tiger and the team's first since junior Nicole Matson (Castaic, Calif.) earned the award on March 2, 2009.
Hitting in the No. 2 spot for the Tigers, Hom's phenomenal weekend helped guide Pacific to its first two wins of the 2010 season as the Tigers downed Santa Clara, 5-0 & 6-0 in double-header action on Saturday, February 20. In the two games against the Broncos, Hom picked up six hits in just eight at bats (.750 avg.) as she collected six consecutive hits in her first six at bats. While on base, Hom put herself in position to score for the Tigers as she notched three of Pacific's 11 runs of the weekend. Additionally, she picked up her first career RBI and first career double.
Tigers Slotted 7th In Preseason Poll:
Looking towards the new 2010 softball season which starts in two weeks, the Pacific softball team was picked seventh in the annual Big West coaches poll as announced on Tuesday, February 2. After an injury riddled season in 2009 in which the Tigers went 3-18 in conference play and finished in eighth place, Pacific returns to the field eight letterwinners and five starters from last season. Joining the eight returning letterwinners, the Tigers have brought in five freshmen, one sophomore walk-on and a junior transfer from Baylor University.
No Breaks In Store For Pacific In 2010:
Continuing the trend that marks a Kolze-coached team, the Tigers enter 2010 with one of the toughest schedules in the country. Heading into the year, the Tigers are slated to take on 17 teams that are either inside of, or receiving votes in the preseason top-25 softball polls of the NFCA and the ESPN/USA softball. Of the nine teams in the top-25 to start the season, the Tigers will face four top-five teams in No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Arizona State and No. 10 (NFCA) Stanford and (ESPN/USA) Oklahoma. Most of the Tigers' top notch opponents will come in tournament play when the Tigers take part in the Palm Springs Classic, DeMarini Tournament, Diamond Devil Invitational and the Stanford Tournament. Prior to the tournaments, the Tigers kick off the season on Saturday, February 13 at Fresno State when they take on the No. 24 ranked Bulldogs as well as Sacramento State in doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday.
After putting the tournaments behind them, Pacific will head into Big West Conference play, where they will look to get back into the fray for the conference title. The Tigers begin conference play at Long Beach State on Friday, March 31, to face a 49er squad who received votes in the preseason polls. Pacific will take on four teams receiving votes in the preseason polls in conference action as Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly all enter the season looking to crack the top-25. Pacific finishes its regular season against Cal Poly on May 14-15, as it takes on the defending Big West champion Mustangs at Bill Simoni Field.
Five Sign For 2011:
Pacific softball head coach Brian Kolze has announced the signings of five student-athletes to national letters of intent for the 2011 season during the early signing period that ended on Wednesday, November 18. The Tigers have added Megan Foglesong (Valencia, Calif.), Gabby Goyette (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), Taylor Petty (New Caney, Texas), Kelsey Rodriguez (Chandler, Ariz.) and Tori Shepard (Lodi, Calif.).
