No. 19 CSUSM Resumes Conference Action at CSUDH
SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 19 Cal State San Marcos softball team (18-11, 6-6 CCAA) will return to its conference schedule this week, traveling to Cal State Dominguez Hill (18-10, 11-7 CCAA) for a four-game series. With rain on the horizon this weekend, the Cougars will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Thursday and a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Friday.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Cougars went 4-2 last week against non-conference opponents.
- CSUSM split its doubleheader at then-No. 20 Concordia University Irvine, taking game one 13-3 before falling 3-0 in the nightcap.
- The Cougars then headed to Turlock for the Tournament of Champions, opening the tournament with a 4-0 shutout over then-No. 16 Northwest Nazarene before following it with a 7-1 win against Hawaii Hilo on Thursday.
- After a day off, the Cougars dropped a late-night 1-0 game on Saturday to then-No. 14 Western Washington before bouncing back with an 8-0 six-inning, run-ruled victory over Simon Fraser in their tournament finale.
- Jayline Sloss and Paige Donnelly were named to the Tournament of Champions All-Tournament team.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Cougars stay steady at No. 19 for the second consecutive week in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
- CSUSM is one of four teams from the West Region featured in the Top 25 – No. 13 Western Washington, No. 17 Concordia University Irvine, No. 22 Northwest Nazarene and .
- In their first 29 games of the season, the Cougars have already tallied 17 double plays and are averaging 0.59 per game, ranking them third in Division II in both categories.
- CSUSM is tallying a CCAA-best 5.07 runs per game.
- CSUSM ranks second in the CCAA with 239 hits this season.
- The Cougars have the highest on-base percentage in the CCAA at .369.
- The CSUSM pitching staff has moved into the top spot in the CCAA with a 1.99 ERA.
- The Cougars are boasting a 2.31 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the third highest in the CCAA.
- CSUSM ranks second in the CCAA with 28 sacrifice bunts and nine sacrifice flies.
- Madison Waymire is has a CCAA-best 38 hits this season.
- Waymire's .90 runs per game rank second in the conference.
- Jayline Sloss has the conference's lowest ERA at 0.88 while Savannah Coyle ranks fifth with a 2.13 ERA.
- Sloss ranks third in the CCAA with 4.94 hits allowed per seven innings.
- Savannah Coyle's conference-high three saves rank sixth in Division II.
- Aneesa Arredondo is averaging the second-highest in the CCAA with 0.24 sacrifice bunts per game, ranking 45th in the nation.
- Jillian Albayati's three sacrifice flies lead the CCAA and rank 40th in Division II.
GAMES 30-33 | CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS | |
Dates | Thursday, March 28 - Friday, March 29 |
Times | Thursday, March 28 - 1 p.m. (DH) Friday, March 29 - 12 p.m. (DH) |
Location | Carson, Calif. |
Venue | Toro Diamond |
Records | CSUSM (18-11, 6-6 CCAA) CSUDH (18-10, 11-7 CCAA) |
Live Stats | SideArm Stats |
Live Video ($) | CCAA Network |
MIDWEEK GAME VS. NO. 22 CUI
- The Toros went 4-0 last weekend at the Tournament of Champions (TOC) with wins over Central Washington (5-1), Saint Martin's (3-2), Simon Fraser (2-1) and Western Oregon (1-0).
- CSUDH is third in the CCAA with an 11-7 conference record.
- The Toros opened conference play with series sweeps over Chico State and Stanislaus State before recording two wins in the shortened series at Sonoma State.
- CSUDH then lost four straight against Cal State San Bernardino before dropping a 3-1 series at Cal State East Bay the weekend before TOC.
- The Toros are the CCAA leaders in batting average (.304), slugging percentage (.457), home runs (22) and home runs per game (0.79).
- CSUDH's defense is the top in the conference with a 0.977 fielding percentage, ranking eighth in the nation.
- The Toros have only drawn 52 walks this season, the third lowest in the CCAA.
- CSUDH is laying down the second-fewest sacrifice bunts with 12 this season.
- Mariah Ramirez is leading the CCAA with 22 pitching appearances this season (15th in DII) and 10 home runs (19th in DII).
- CSUDH was picked to finish fourth in the 2024 CCAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll.
COUGAR OUTLOOK
- CSUSM has 14 returners for the 2024 season, including 2023 All-CCAA second-team honorees Savannah Coyle, Madison Waymire, Jillian Albayati, Paige Donnelly and Gianna Lombardi.
- The Cougars have nine newcomers this season with six freshmen and three transfers.
- Athletically, the Cougars are made up of six redshirt juniors, six true juniors, one redshirt sophomore, four sophomores and six true freshmen.
- CSUSM was picked to finish second in the 2023 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
- The Cougars' 51-game schedule includes 26 home contests, 23 road games and two neutral games.
THE EWING FILE
- 2022 CCAA Coach of the Year Stef Ewing enters her sixth season in charge of the Cougar softball season and has a 117-89 (.568) overall record as a head coach.
- Ewing and Assistant Coach A.J. Robinson were named the 2023 NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
- In 2023, the Cougars won the school's first West Regional team title and punched their ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- In her five seasons, she has coached two NFCA All-American third-team selections, 13 All-CCAA honorees (four first-team selections), a CCAA Newcomer of the Year and CCAA Freshman of the Year.
- Ewing captured her first win as a collegiate head coach on Feb. 17, 2019, as the Cougars recorded a walk-off 5-4 victory over Concordia Portland at CSUSM Softball Field.
- The 2024 squad's first win of the season was Ewing's 100th as a coach, a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Chaminade at the CUI Kickoff Classic on Feb. 2.
- She previously served as the assistant coach at New Mexico State where she helped the Aggies to three WAC Regular-Season Conference Championships and two WAC Conference Tournament Championships.
Players Mentioned
Players Mentioned
Latest Women's Softball
- Cougars’ Postseason Run Comes to EndThe Cal State San Marcos softball team (37-22) saw its third consecutive postseason run come to an end with a pair of losses to host and top-seed Western Washington (46-8) on Saturday afternoon at Viking Field. The Cougar dropped a 7-1 decision in the first game, forcing an 'if-necessary' game that resulted in a 2-1 heartbreaker.
- Cougars Advance to Championship Game with 4-3 Win Over Top-Seed WWUThe Cal State San Marcos softball team (37-20) secured its spot in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship Game in Bellingham, Washington with a 4-3 victory over host and top-seed Western Washington (43-8) on Friday afternoon at Viking Field.
- Sloss, Donnelly, Waymire Earn NFCA All-West Region NodsThe Cal State San Marcos softball team had three Cougars named to the 2024 NFCA Division II All-West Region teams, the association announced on Thursday. Pitcher Jayline Sloss and first baseman Paige Donnelly were selected to the first team while outfielder Madison Waymire received a second-team nod.
- Cougars Run-Rule Pioneers to Begin NCAA West RegionalThe Cal State San Marcos softball team (36-20) opened the NCAA Division II West Regional with a 9-1 five-inning victory over Cal State East Bay (29-23) on Thursday afternoon at Viking Field on the campus of Western Washington.
- CSUSM Faces East Bay Again in West Regional OpenerThe Cal State San Marcos softball team (35-20) will look to defend its West Regional title in the next seven days as the Cougars open NCAA postseason play against Cal State East Bay on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in Bellingham, Washington, on the campus of Western Washington.
- Cougars Earn No. 4 Seed in NCAA RegionalAs CCAA Tournament Champions, the reigning West Regional champion Cal State San Marcos softball team earned the automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional and will be the No. 4 seed as announced on the NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show on Monday morning.