Lady Jackets Hit the Road for Big West Region Test (Mar. 30, 2004)

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings softball team begins the stretch run of its 2004 season this weekend at the largest NCAA Division II tournament in the West Region when the Yellowjackets play at the Easton Tournament of Champions in Modesto, Calif., on April 2-4.  The Yellowjackets are scheduled to face Chico State, Cal State-Dominguez Hills, San Francisco State and Grand Canyon in round robin play on Friday and Saturday.  Sunday’s games are bracket elimination games based on seeding from the first two days.

“This tournament will give us a good chance to see where we stack up against the rest of the region,” said Yellowjacket head coach Jeff Aumend.  “Dominguez Hills is one of the top teams in the region, and Chico State won the national title a few years ago.  San Francisco State is really improved, and beat Hawaii-Hilo twice on Monday.  Even Grand Canyon, who’s a first-year program, has come out of the blocks and had a great start to the season.”

MSU Billings, winner of its last four games, will take a 13-22 overall record into the tournament.  Shortstop Cami Rainey (Jr., Terreton, ID) leads the team in batting average (.347), home runs (3) and slugging percentage (.537).  Her batting average ranks her seventh in the Pacific West Conference.  She is also ranked fifth for slugging percentage, second for home runs, third for runs scored (18), second for doubles (9), first for total bases (51) and first for sacrifice bunts (7). 

Outfielder/third baseman Sara Hanley (Jr., Kalispell, MT) is batting .330 with 16 runs scored and 11 RBI.  Her batting average ranks tenth in the PacWest and she leads the league in total hits.  Hanley also has a team-best .364 on base percentage.

Pitcher/infielder Joey Ehnes (Jr., Great Falls, MT) leads the team in RBI (20) and runs scored (22).  She leads the PacWest in both categories, and ranks third for doubles (8).  On the mound, Ehnes is 10-13 in 25 appearances.  She has struck out 155 batters in 138 innings of work, more than doubling the previous school single-season record for strikeouts.  Her 2.23 ERA ranks seventh in the PacWest and she is second for strikeouts, opposing batting average (.221) and appearances.

“It would be nice to see Joey and Cami have a good weekend,” said Aumend.  “They’re both having good years and this will be their best chance for regional exposure.”

Chico State enters the week with a 15-17 overall record.  The Wildcats are led by Kamala Kiffe, who is batting .396 with three home runs, 17 RBI, and a team-high 19 runs scored.  Kristen Paese is 7-7 on the mound with a 2.74 ERA and 59 strikeouts.

Cal State-Dominguez Hills, ranked in the NFCA top 25 to begin the season, is 19-13-2.  The Toros, who are currently ranked in the NCAA West Region top 10, have three players hitting over .300 led by Cindy Perry’s .389 average.  Perry also leads the team with 24 runs scored.  Lisa Grove is batting .301 with a team-best 17 RBI and three home runs.  CSUDH has three pitchers with sub-2.00 ERAs, and the Toros have only allowed opponents to hit .198 against them.

San Francisco State just completed a two-game sweep of Hawaii-Hilo, who defeated the Yellowjackets four times in February.  The Gators have won five of their last six games and are 16-18 overall.  Rachel Darrow is batting .277 and leads the team in RBI (16) and runs scored (16).  Sonja Garnett has a 1.19 ERA and a 10-9 overall record.  In 141 2/3 innings, she is holding opponents to a .194 batting average.

Grand Canyon is off to a 14-10 start in its inaugural season.  Former Arizona State All-American Ann Pedersen is the Lopes’ head coach after spending seven years as an assistant at ASU.  Three players are batting over .300 for GCU.  Kristen Swetel is hitting .325 and leads the team in runs scored (11) and RBI (12).  Swetel also has a 1.12 ERA and a 6-5 record on the mound. 

Complete tournament schedules, results and stats for the Easton Tournament of Champions can be found on the website of the host school, Cal State-Stanislaus (www.warriorathletics.com).  

The Yellowjackets will return to Cenex Stadium for an Easter weekend PacWest doubleheader with Hawaii Pacific.  Game times are scheduled for 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. on April 10, and noon and 2:00 p.m. on Easter Sunday.