CSUN Hosts No. 2 Oklahoma; Dartmouth; And CBU

Softball Notebook

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.-- CSUN in conjunction with Loyola Marymount hosts its second tournament of the season this weekend. The Matadors take on Dartmouth (12:15 p.m.) and No. 2 Oklahoma (2:30 p.m.) on Friday.

Dartmouth is off to a 2-8 start. The Big Green lost to then No. 1 Florida State 8-4 last Sunday as part of a 0-5 stint at the UCF Invite. Tessa Grossman (.382) is the team's leading hitter. Madie Augsto has a team leading 18 strikeouts. This is the first time that CSUN and Dartmouth are playing softball against each other.

Oklahoma is ranked second in both Top 25 polls this week as the Sooners are 20-2. Shannon Saile was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday, Saile opened her week with a win against McNeese on Tuesday, tossing the first 4.0 innings and striking out seven. She then combined on a shutout on Friday night against RV/No. 25 Northwestern, closing the final 2.0 frames.

The junior wrapped up the week by earning two saves in one day, sealing the Sooners' wins against Drake and Grand Canyon on Saturday. Overall, Saile did not surrender a run, finishing as one of three conference pitchers with a perfect 0.00 ERA on the week. Saile struck out 20 batters in her four appearances, good for a conference-leading average of 14.48 strikeouts per seven innings pitched this week. The right-handed pitcher currently leads the nation with 13.1 strikeouts per seven innings.

Senior infielder Sydney Romero, junior left-handed pitcher Giselle Juarez and sophomore utility player Jocelyn Alo are among the 50 student-athletes on the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. All three Sooners were named NFCA First Team All-Americans in 2018.

This is the 16th time that CSUN and OU are playing with the Sooners leading the all-time series 9-6.

On Saturday at CSUN, Cal Poly will play California Baptist (10 a.m.) followed by the Mustangs playing Dartmouth at 12:15 p.m. The day concludes with California Baptist playing Dartmouth at 2:30 p.m.

CSUN welcomes California Baptist to Northridge on Sunday for a doubleheader beginning at 10:30 a.m. In their first season as a Division I member, CBU is 8-13.

Kellye Springstead became the first California Baptist player to earn a Western Athletic Conference weekly award when she was named the league's Pitcher of the Week on Monday.

Springstead struck out 24 batters and walked just four last week. She scattered 28 hits over 29 innings and gave up just three earned runs, without allowing more than one in any start.
Halie Rosario leads the team in hitting (.382), home runs (3), and RBI (11). This is the first time that CSUN and California Baptist are playing softball against each other.
Anchored by Brandon Marcos, the CSUN Sports Network presented by Dignity Health has coverage all weekend long with audio broadcasts. The OU game will also feature a video stream.

CSUN's (11-12) Megan Stevens was named Big West Softball Field Player of the Week Mar. 11.

The Rancho Cucamonga native hit .579 (11-for-19) with four home runs, four doubles, and 15 RBI as the Matadors went 5-1 last week. CSUN outscored the opposition 40-13 for the week. Stevens drove in at least one run in all six games. She had a 5-RBI performance in an 11-3 win over CSU Bakersfield, finishing the game 3-for-3 with two homers and four runs scored. She had three more hits, including a double, against Northern Kentucky in the opener of the Silicon Valley Classic II.

Stevens doubled twice more in a 7-1 win over Weber State, and then went yard in back-to-back victories over tournament co-hosts San José State and Santa Clara. Her four home runs on the week gave her six for the season – the third-most in the Big West.

After a 3-0 week, Jillian James is up to fifth in Division I in strikeouts with 115. Her 9.4 strikeouts per seven innings is the 24th best in D-1 this week. Her 3.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio is the 97th best nationally this week.

~www.GoMatadors.com~

CSUN Hosts No. 2 Oklahoma; Dartmouth; And CBU

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Players Mentioned

Jillian James

Megan Stevens