Softball Moves Up Three Spots to No. 15 in This Week's NFCA Poll

Junior Jessica Hall has been one of the the offensive catalysts for the Toros this year

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- After sweeping both games of the series-shortened weekend hosting No. 4 CS Monterey Bay, the Cal State Dominguez Hills softball team moved up three spots to No. 15 in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.

This weekend's opponent in Sonoma State was the final of nine schools to receive a vote in the "Other Votes Received" category, with Chico State moving to No. 6 to lead the West Region schools, UC San Diego moving up to No. 14 and CSUMB dropping to No. 19.

With last week's sweeps, the Toros also reclaimed the top spot in the CCAA after holding it all but one week this season.

CSUDH is led by its junior aces in the circle in Lauren Harper and Stephanie Jimenez, who place in the top 6 in all pitching categories in the CCAA, with one at least sharing the league lead in five categories.

Offensively, this year's success has been a team effort, one that boasts five regulars batting at least .350.

Jessica Hall (pictured) leads the quartet with her .423 average, also pacing the Toros in hits and runs scored. Christina Chavez follows at .384 and leads the team in home runs and RBI, with Veronica Vazquez at .361, Jimenez at .358 and Khryssi Steele at .350.

Defense has been another key in CSUDH's stellar season as the Toros have committed just 22 errors compared to 56 for their opponents.

Nationally, the team ranks 12th in fielding percentage, 17th in win-loss percentage and 21st in ERA in the NCAA, while Harper ranks 4th in hits allowed per seven innings and 8th in strikeouts, with Jimenez sitting 8th in saves and 11th in shutouts.

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 final CCAA series against the Seawolves will be broadcast live on the Toro Sports Network at www.GoToros.com/live. Friday's game one begins at 1 pm, while Saturday is set to start at 11 am, with the "Senior Day" ceremony occurring in between the two games.

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