SAN FRANCISCO – The SF State softball team will host Bay Area rivals Cal State East Bay for the final four contests of the 2015 season starting Friday at 1:00 p.m. The series will conclude on Saturday starting at Noon, Saturday will also be senior day, the Gators will say farewell to three exceptional student-athletes in a pre-game ceremony.
The Gators enter Friday's contest with an overall record of 11-37 and are 6-26 in the CCAA. Last weekend, SF State went 1-3 against Sonoma State splitting Friday's double header. The 5-2 win in the second game of Friday's twin billing was the first win of the year for the Gators on Friday.
As a team, SF State is hitting .259, averaging 2.77 runs per contest. Leading the team at the plate is freshman
Sara Higa, who is batting .321 on the year going 34-for-106. The 34 hits is tied for fourth on the team. She also clubbed her eighth double of the year.
Jennifer Lewis and
Courtney Gravel are sitting second and third in average for the Gators. Lewis leads the team with 42 hits and 13 extra base hits, she's clubbed nine doubles, a triple and leads the team with three home runs.
Since being moved to the leadoff spot 16 games ago, Gravel has hit .291, going 16-for-55 with 11 runs scored. Her 40 hits on the year is second only to Lewis, for her career she has 188 hits which is currently fifth all-time and is 11 shy of tying fourth-all time. Gravel is also ninth all-time in at bats (593), tied for fifth in runs (90), and tenth all-time in doubles (23).
Fellow senior
Lucy Fernandez clubbed her 28
th career double last weekend, putting her tied for seventh all-time. Her 75 RBI has her three shy of tying for 10
th all-time. Her 34 hits is two shy of her career-high of 36 set last season.
Selina Rodriguez will finish her two year career on Saturday as well. In two seasons, she has recorded 61 hits and is a career .272 hitter. In 35 games this season she's scored 12 runs and drove in 10. She clubbed her first career home run on Mar. 21 against Cal State San Bernardino.
In the circle, the Gators pitching staff sports a 4.67 ERA, in 311.2 innings they have surrendered 431 hits, 250 runs, 208 earned with 118 strike outs to 118 walks.
Megan Clark leads the Gators with a 3.41 ERA, in 129.1 innings pitched she has allowed 169 hits, with a team-high 45 strike outs. Last weekend, the Gators had two strong pitching performances out of the pen.
Lindsey Cassidy pitched two scoreless frames and
Aryn Guzman was electric in five innings of relief on Saturday.
Cal State East Bay enters this weekend's series with an overall record of 25-22, in the CCAA they are 13-19. As a team, they are hitting .275 and averaging 4.48 runs per game. The Pioneers boast some serious pop in their lineup, they have hit 48 home runs on the year, 14 coming from senior utility player Jaynie MacDonald, and she also leads the team with 40 RBI.
In the circle, the Pioneers sport a staff ERA of 3.38, in 310.1 innings pitched they have surrendered 379 hits, 150 earned runs with 126 strike outs to 103 walks. Sierra Clark leads the Pioneers with a 12-10 record, in 148.0 innings pitched she sports a 2.74 ERA and has 68 strike outs.
There will be live stats for all four of this weekend's games.
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Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
