April 18, 2000
This Weekend: The ninth-ranked Stanford softball team (34-11, 3-8 Pac-10) will look to end its two-game Pac-10 losing streak, but extend its 15 game-win streak against non-conference opponents. Stanford will face fifth-ranked Fresno State in a doubleheader at Bulldog Diamond at 6 p.m. on Wed., April 19 at Bulldog Diamond. The Cardinal and Bulldogs last met in the second game of the 1999 NCAA Regional in Fresno, a game the Bulldogs won 5-2. The Cardinal will resume Pac-10 Conference play on Sat., April 22, when California visits the Stanford Softball Complex at 2 p.m. Stanford and Cal have split its two prior meetings of the season, with both teams earning victories on their home fields.
Big Hitter: Sophomore OF Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, CA/Camarillo HS) continues to position herself to repeat her freshman performance that landed her first team All-American honors as a freshman. This season, Mendoza has raised her batting average to .465 (67-144), and when combined with last year's .415 BA, makes her the Cardinal career leader with a .466 average. Mendoza has also established herself as the most prolific power hitter in Cardinal history, smacking 16 home runs in less than two season. The closest players are junior 3B Jenni Shideler (San Jose, CA/Leland HS) and sophomore 1B Sarah Beeson (Tucson, AZ/Canyon Del Oro HS) with 8 home runs. Mendoza is in the top five in five other Stanford career records and is on pace to break four Cardinal season records. Mendoza earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors after the Cardinal trip to Arizona and recorded a 19-game hit streak earlier this season.Non-Conference Streak: The Cardinal has posted a 31-3 record against non-conference opponents this season. Currently Stanford is on a 15 game win streak that dates back to a 7-0 win over UMass at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. on March 4. The Cardinal last suffered a non-conference loss at the NFCA Leadoff Classic against then fifth-ranked Oklahoma, an 8-0 five inning game, this season. During the streak, Stanford has outscored its opponents 65-13, while compiling seven wins at home and four on the road and at neutral sites.
Can It Get Any Closer: Pac-10 Conference games have been a little to close for comfort for the Cardinal this season. Of the 11 conference games played by Stanford, eight have been decided by 2 or fewer runs. Against the Oregon schools last week, Stanford came away with a 3-2 victory over Oregon State, but dropped 3-1 and 3-2 decisions to Oregon. Besides the win over OSU, Stanford won close games against No. 8 Cal (2-0) and at No. 2 Arizona (4-3).
Ranking Review: Stanford remained at No. 9 for the second consecutive week in the April 12 USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 with a 33-9 record and eight wins over ranked opponents. The Cardinal began the 2000 season ranked 21st and has appeared in the top 25 of every regular-season poll since early in the 1998 season, reaching a high of No. 7 during 1999. Pac-10 teams hold four of the top five spots in the poll, and seven of the top 12. All eight Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top 22 in the latest poll and the conference has gone 247-44-1 (.846) against non-league opponents this season.
Cardinal Chronicle: Jessica Mendoza leads the team in multiple hit games with 19, followed by sophomore 1B Sarah Beeson (Tucson, AZ) and Robin Walker with 15 apiece... Mendoza and Walker each have games in which they had four hits... Beeson has 12 games this season in which she has totaled two or more RBI, including four 3 RBI games and two 4 RBI games... Mendoza currently leads the team with a eight game hit streak... Ramona Shelburne was placed in the leadoff spot in the batting order for the first time this season against Oregon. The moved drpped Kellie Wiginton to the five spot in hopes of better run production at the middle of the order.
Sorensen's Story: On a pitching staff that features four freshmen, Dana Sorensen (San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS) is beginning to separate herself from the rest of the group. Sorensen has pitched 141.0 innings and is already third in wins (17-5) and fourth in strikeouts (113 K) on the Stanford career-lists. Her 1.24 ERA is currently tied for the Cardinal single-season record with Becky Blevins' mark set in 1998. Sorensen has pitched a team-leading eight complete games in 26 games started and is holding opponents to a .196 batting-average. In the Pac-10, Sorensen has the ninth lowest ERA.
Homecoming: Senior C Kellie Wiginton (Fresno, CA/Bullard HS) and freshman OF Cassi Brangham (Clovis, CA/Clovis HS) will have a chance to play in their hometowns this week when the Cardinal faces fifth-ranked Fresno State on the road. At Bullard High School, Wiginton earned all-league, all-section and all-America honors in her final three seasons, leading the team to the 1993 league and section championship. Brangham, from nearby Clovis High School, earned NFCA All-America honors and twice reached All-West Region All-America status.
Scouting Fresno State: The Bulldogs are ranked fifth by the NFCA and have a 42-9 record (8-0 Western Athletic Conference) for the season. Fresno State is led by All-America IF Lovieanne Jung, who is hitting .377 (58-for-154) and All-America P Amanda Scott, who has a 25-3 record with a 0.40 ERA. The last meeting between the two schools took place at the NCAA Regionals last year in Fresno, with the Bulldogs walking away with a 5-2 victory. Versus the Pac-10 this season, Fresno State has a 1-8 record with the lone victory coming against UCLA, 1-0, at the Hallowell Classic in Fresno on March 12. Fresno State is 22-2 at Bulldog Diamond and are coming off their 10th appearance in the NCAA Women's College World Series. Fresno State has won 19 consecutive games after taking four games at Hawaii this past weekend.
Last Week Review: Stanford posted a 1-2 record last week in Pac-10 Conference games. The Cardinal started off the weekend at the Stanford Softball Complex with a victory over 14th-ranked Oregon State 3-2, before falling to 23rd-ranked Oregon 3-1 on Saturday and 3-2 on Sunday.* vs. #14 Oregon State: The Cardinal used a seventh inning rally to makeup for a game-tieing home run OSU's Shelly Prochaska in the top of the inning. Senior C Kellie Wiginton (Fresno, CA/Bullard HS) singled and reached second on an error to lead off the inning and advanced to third on sophomore SS Robin Walker's (La Palma, CA/Mater Dei HS) groundout. Intentional walks to sophomore OF Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, CA/Camarillo HS) and sophomore 1B Sarah Beeson (Tucson, AZ/Canyon Del Oro HS) loaded the bases with one out. Freshman 2B Maureen LeCocq (Woodland Hills, CA/Chaminade HS) struckout before freshman OF Cassi Brangham (Clovis, CA/Clovis HS) singles to drive in Wiginton from third. Freshman P Dana Sorensen (San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS) earned the victory, allowing 10 hits and two runs while striking out four batters. Mendoza gave Stanford a one-run lead with a two-run home run in the fifth inning.* vs. Oregon (4/15): Stanford stranded 14 base runners in its 3-1 loss to Oregon in the first game of the series. The Cardinal left the bases loaded in the third and sixth innings and two runners on base in the second, fourth and fifth innings. The Cardinal scored its lone run of the game in the fifth inning when Oregon walked Maureen LeCocq with the bases loaded allowing Jessica Mendoza to cross the plate. The Ducks scored all three of their runs in the second inning.* vs. Oregon (4/16): Stanford took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on consecutive hits by Robin Walker, Jessica Mendoza and Sarah Beeson and a sacrifice fly to left field by Kellie Wiginton drove in the first run. The Cardinal held the lead until the fifth inning, when the Ducks took advantage of two Cardinal errors and then added two hits to tie the score 2-2. In the seventh inning, Oregon hit three consecutive, one-out singles to score the go-ahead run. With two outs in the seventh, junior OF Ramona Shelburne (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real HS) singled and Walker drew a walk, but the rally was crushed when Mendoza groundout to second base.
Head Coach John Rittman: Year four of the John Rittman era began on Jan. 29. Rittman has led the Cardinal to a 142-74-1 (.657) record through three-plus seasons. He posted his 100th career victory on April 1, 1999, 16-0 over Utah State. Rittman earned a 7-3 win over Utah State on Feb. 27 of this year in his 200th game as a head coach. Rittman took over a Stanford program that had never had more than 24 wins in a season and directed the team to 30 wins, and its first-ever winning record, in his rookie campaign. Rittman's squad has won at least 40 games in each of the past two full years, advancing to the NCAA tournament each year. The Cardinal had never been ranked before, but Rittman has seen his team climb as high as seventh in the NFCA coaches poll, one year ago, and attain a current national ranking of No. 9.