A perfect weekend road trip
The Humboldt State softball team went to the Western Oregon Shootout last weekend with several goals in mind, and they accomplished them all, and in quite impressive fashion.
Wins for pitchers other than Lizzy Prescott? Check. Jenna Anderson and Hannah Jones each picked up a W against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Jones was particularly impressive, striking out an even dozen in a complete-game shutout of the Crusaders.
Keeping Prescott fresh for Sunday's doubleheader against the host Wolves, who are ranked eighth in the NCFA Division II poll? Check. With Anderson, Jones and Kristina Lewis getting the job done Saturday, Prescott relaxed in the dugout. Then on Sunday, she gave up just one run in 14 innings as the Jacks swept the Wolves 6-1 and 2-0. That should go a long way toward getting HSU back in the poll.
Production from the bottom half of the lineup? Check. Their five-through-nine batters hit .350 in the four games. Perhaps most significantly, catcher Marissa Slattery, a 2007 Daktronics All-American who hadn't found her groove yet in ’08, went 7-for-14 (a .500 average) on the weekend, boosting her average from .203 to .260 in two days.
And finally, a cleaner performance on defense? Check. The Jacks committed only one error in the four games. And it wasn't even by a regular fielder, it was by Prescott.
That kind of performance should demand notice from the coaches who vote in NFCA poll. The new rankings should come out Wednesday.