Toros Dip to No. 18 in NFCA Poll With Showdown Against No. 4 CSUMB Set for This Weekend

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- After dropping 3-of-4 to the defending NCAA Champion UC San Diego Tritons last weekend, the Toros fell 13 spots to No. 18 in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.

This weekend's opponent in Cal State Monterey Bay jumped two spots to No. 4, with Chico State holding steady at No. 9 and UC San Diego moving up one spot to No. 21.

With last week's series loss, the Toros dipped into a 3-team tie for second place in the CCAA behind the Otters, just percentage points ahead of Chico State and UC San Diego.

CSUDH is led by its junior aces in the circle in Lauren Harper and Stephanie Jimenez, who place in the top 10 in all pitching categories, with one at least sharing the league lead in six categories.

Offensively, this year's success has been a team effort, one that boasts four regulars batting over .350.

Jessica Hall leads the quartet with her .429 average, also pacing the Toros in hits and runs scored. Christina Chavez (pictured) follows at .394, and leads the team in home runs and RBI, with Stephanie Jimenez at .383 knocking 6 double sand 13 RBI and Veronica Vazquez at .352 chipping in 32 hits, 2 triples and her first home run this season at UCSD on Saturday.

Defense has been another key in CSUDH's hot start as the Toros have committed just 22 errors compared to 54 for their opponents.

The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches, two representing each of the eight NCAA regions.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association is the professional growth organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play. In 1997, the Association's membership reached the 2,000 mark, and today there are more than 4,300 members.

This weekend's showdown will be broadcast live on the Toro Sports Network at www.GoToros.com/live.

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