May 4, 2004
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Cardinal Close Out Regular Home Schedule: The sixth-ranked Stanford softball team (40-13, 10-5 Pac-10), close out their home regular season schedule this weekend. The Cardinal will host No. 8 Washington (34-12, 8-5 Pac-10) on Friday, May 7, at 7 p.m. then take on No. 3 UCLA (34-7, 7-6 Pac-10) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 9.
Sunday's game versus the Bruins will be televised by CSTV.
With six conference games remaining in 2004, the Cardinal have already surpassed their number of wins from 2003 (7-14). With the current 21-game league schedule, the most Pac-10 wins for Stanford came in 2001, when they went 11-10.
With a 40-13 record in 2004, the Cardinal have now notched 40 or more wins in the last seven seasons.
Last Time Out: The Cardinal went 2-1 last week on a road trip to the Arizona schools. Stanford defeated ASU, 7-6, then split with Arizona (L, 0-4/W, 2-1) ... Leah Nelson hit .571 for the weekend (4-of-7) while Lauren Lappin hit .400 ... Dana Sorensen went 2-0 including a two-hit win over No. 1 Arizona on Sunday.
About Washington: The Huskies (34-12, 8-5 Pac-10) are led by Kristen Rivera (.420/50 H/17 HR) and Dominique Lastrapes (.354/56 H/34 R) ... In the circle, Ashley Boek is 23-7 overall with a 1.61 ERA and 229 strikeouts ... Tia Bollinger is 11-5 with a 2.58 ERA and 106 K's ... Stanford won both of the earlier meetings this year in Seattle (W, 12-9/W, 3-2) ... The Huskies hold a 24-11 advantage in the overall series with Stanford.
About UCLA: The Bruins (34-7, 7-6 Pac-10) are led by Stephanie Ramos (.380/49 H/11 HR) and Caitlin Benyi (.354/45 H/27 RBI) ... In the circle, Keira Goerl is 20-5 with a 1.18 ERA and 181 strikeouts while Lisa Dodd is 13-2 with a 0.74 ERA and 72 K's ... Stanford won the earlier meeting with UCLA in Los Angeles, 1-0 ... The Bruins lead the all-times series with the Cardinal, 27-7..
Up Next: The Cardinal close out the regular season at the Oregon schools, facing Oregon on May 14 and Oregon State on May 15 (doubleheader).
Sorensen Named Pac-10 Pitcher Of The Week: Senior Dana Sorensen was tabbed Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for April 27- May 3, Commissioner Tom Hansen. Sorensen, from San Diego, Calif., earns her second Pitcher of the Week honor in a row. Sorensen went 2-0 over the week, picking up road victories over Arizona State (7-6) and No. 1 Arizona (2-1). Sorensen pitched a two-hit gem over the Wildcats on May 2 allowing only one run on two hits with six strikeouts against the No. 1 team in the nation. For the weekend, she notched 13 strikeouts in two games over 12 innings of work.
Stanford Selected As 2004 NCAA Regional Site: The NCAA announced its eight regional sites for the 2004 NCAA Championships and Stanford was one of three Pac-10 schools selected. The eight regional sites, with host institutions are as follows: Tucson, Arizona (University of Arizona); Waco, Texas (Baylor University); Los Angeles (University of California, Los Angeles); Tallahassee, Florida (Florida State University); Athens, Georgia (University of Georgia); Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan); Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska, Lincoln); and Stanford, California (Stanford University). Each regional field will feature eight teams, playing a double-elimination format. All regional games are scheduled to be conducted Thursday, May 20, through Sunday, May 23.
Sorensen Continues Winning Way: Senior pitcher Dana Sorensen (San Diego, CA) has already left her mark on the Cardinal record book. Sorensen holds the school record for career victories with 96 and career strikeouts with 1,058. She also holds the top three spots for lowest ERA in a single season. Her 1,058 K's ranks third in the Pac-10 in career strikeouts surpassing Arizona's Jennie Finch who has 1,028. Sorensen became only the fourth pitcher in conference history to reach 1,000 K's. She is 25-7 on the year with a 1.32 ERA and a team-leading 262 strikeouts. Her 25 wins in 2004 ranks third on the Cardinal single-season list while her 262 K's ranks third.
Around The Pac-10: Freshman Jackie Rinehart is seventh in the conference in batting average (.378), 10th in stolen bases (12) and fourth in hits (65) ... Sophomore Catalina Morris is first in triples (6) and hit by pitches (8) and fifth in runs scored (41) ... Katherine Hoffman is tied for fifth in sac bunts (9) and sixth in stolen bases (18) ... Leah Nelson is tied for third in sac flies (3) ... Jessica Allister is first in doubles (18), tied for ninth in RBI (39) and tied for fifth in HBP (5) ... Lauren Lappin is second in triples (4) and tied for sixth in doubles (12) ... Senior Dana Sorensen is second in strikeouts (249), tied for first in saves (5), second in innings pitched (211.2), second in wins (25), third in appearances (38) and fourth in opponent batting average (.166).
Catch Me If You Can: In 53 games this season, the Cardinal are 54 of 72 in stolen bases with junior outfielder Katherine Hoffman leading the team with 18 on the year. Jackie Rinehart has 12 and Catalina Morris has 10. Nine different players have at least one stolen base on the Stanford team. Hoffman's 18 stolen bases puts her fourth in the Cardinal single season record book while Rinehart's 12 ranks sixth.
This and That: Lauren Lappin is currently on a 10-game hitting streak ... Jessica Allister's 200 career hits ranks fifth in the Cardinal record books ... Jackie Rinehart leads the team with 17 multiple hit games ... Allister tops on the squad with 10 mulitiple RBI games ... Stanford is 9-2 in night games this season ... Rinehart has occupied the lead-off spot in the lineup in all 53 games for the Cardinal ... Sorensen is one of six Pac-10 pitchers this year to record a no-hitter.
Notes From The Dugout: Jessica Allister's 26 career homers ranks third in the Stanford record book ... Freshman Jackie Rinehart leads the team with 65 hits ... Sophomore Catalina Morris six triples this season breaks the school record for triples in a single season (her career total is now eight, which ties her for third in career triples on The Farm) ... The Cardinal have outscored its opponents 199-100 ... Morris also leads the team in hit by pitches with eight ... The Cardinal have outscored its opponents 29-5 in the second inning ... Senior pitcher Dana Sorensen leads the staff with a 1.32 ERA and is 25-7 in the circle with 5 saves ... Stanford has posted 22 shutouts this season ... The Cardinal have played 12 games where they have collected 10 or more hits (season high was 14 vs. CS Northridge) ... Morris leads the team with 41 runs scored.
Home Sweet Home: Stanford will be spending a lot of time in the friendly confines of the Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium during the 2004 season as they host four tournaments on the Cardinal campus. The team opened the year with two home tournaments in February and host two more in March before conference play began.
Head Coach John Rittman: Cardinal head coach John Rittman, now in his eighth year on The Farm, will be an assistant coach for the 2004 USA Softball team, set to compete in the Athens Summer Olympics. Rittman has compiled a 332-158-1 overall record at Stanford. He has led the Cardinal to six consecutive NCAA postseason appearances during his tenure.
Top That...: The Stanford softball squad will once again face one of the toughest schedules in the nation as all eight conference teams are ranked in the preseason top 25. Four Pac-10 teams are ranked in the top five (UCLA, California, Arizona, Washington). In addition, the Cardinal will take on #6 Alabama, #16 CS Fullerton, #21 Fresno State and #22 Oklahoma State.
Pac-10 Preseason Coaches Poll: After winning the national title last season, UCLA has been selected by the Pac-10 Conference softball coaches as the Conference's top team in 2004. The Bruins received 48 points, including six first place votes. In second place, Arizona, last year's Pac-10 Champion, earned 44 points, including the other two first place votes. California finished third with 36 points, while Washington and Stanford finished fourth and fifth with 30 and 22 points, respectively. Rounding out the rest of the poll was Arizona State with 19 points, Oregon with 13 and Oregon State with 12 points.
Lappin Tabbed Alternate For 2004 USA Softball Team: Sophomore Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, CA) was one of three alternates chosen for the 2004 USA Softball Team set to compete in Athens, Greece this summer at the '04 Summer Olympic Games. The 19-year-old Lappin makes her first appearance among the national team ranks. During the 2003 season, the shortstop/catcher led the USA Softball Elite squad to the gold medal at the Canada Cup and a sweep of Olympic bronze medalist Australia in the Pacific Challenge.
TV Time: The Stanford softball team is slated to appear on CSTV on May 9 as the Cardinal game versus UCLA will be televised. Stanford's May 14 game at Oregon will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on FOX Sports Net.