April 28, 2005
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Briefly
LMU (32-16, 14-2 PCSC) needs just one win this weekend to clinch its second PCSC championship in two years, and the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. The Lions head north to face off with second place Sacramento State (28-21, 10-5 PCSC) in a four-game series starting on Saturday at noon. LMU is 2.5 games ahead of the Hornets in the conference standings, and has won six of the last eight meetings between the schools over the last two years.
About LMU
The Lions swept four games last weekend, putting on a home run clinic against a team that had allowed just two home runs coming into the weekend. Danielle Kaminaka hit .400 with two home runs, a triple and a double on the weekend, and Kayla Meeks and Tiffany Pagano each picked up a pair of wins in the circle.
Series Sweep on Senior Day
LMU honored its nine seniors on Sunday, Apr. 24 with a ceremony before game two of the doubleheader. Those nine seniors, plus two freshman, led the Lions to a 7-0 win to sweep the series against San Diego. All nine started and played the entire game. Lauren Hiramoto went 3-for-4 in her first start of the season, and Emily Foltz moved from first base into the pitching circle in the seventh inning to complete the shutout.
Playing the Best, Beating the Best
The Lions played their toughest non-conference schedule in school history, and finished non-conference play with an outstanding 18-14 record. LMU recorded an impressive 4-1 win over then-#24 Arizona State on March 14th for its first win over a ranked opponent this season. LMU has lost to just four teams that have not appeared in this season's top-25 rankings or received votes in the polls.
Going, Going, Gone
When the latest NCAA statistics came out this week, the Lions were ranked 9th in the nation, averaging 1.06 home runs per game. Every LMU player with at least 10 at-bats has hit a home run, led by Danielle Kaminaka with nine. The 2005 squad features three of LMU's top home run hitters in school history- Kaminaka (1st, 44), Lisa Abbott (4th, 22), and Emily Foltz (5th, 18). In addition, six other players have at least six career home runs.
Lions Among Nation's Leaders
When the NCAA stats came out on Wednesday, LMU was ranked among the nation's top teams in several categories. Freshman Kayla Meeks is 12th with a 0.87 ERA. Senior Danielle Kaminaka is 14th in the country, averaging 0.67 walks per game. LMU's powerful offense averages 1.06 home runs per game, good for 9th. The team's 66.7 win percentage is 47th in the NCAA.
Threepeat for Pineda
Sophomore Margo Pineda was honored as the PCSC Player of the Week for the second week in a row, and the third time this season on April 18th. Against the Broncos, Pineda hit a blistering .462 with a 1.231 slugging percentage. She was 6-for-13 with three home runs and a double. She also scored four runs and had four RBI. Her solo home run was the difference in LMU's 1-0 win in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. In game one of Sunday's doubleheader, she hit two home runs. In the series finale, she drove home LMU's only run for a 1-0 win. Pineda hit .571 to lead LMU to a four-game sweep of Saint Mary's that put LMU in first place in the PCSC. She drove in three runs, and had a home run and a double for the week. She was also honored on Feb. 28th. The infielder hit .455 in the tournament with a two-run home run and a double. She led the team with four RBI. Pineda made the most of her first career start against Notre Dame. She went 1-for-4 against the Irish, but hit a two-run home run and drove in another run to help LMU record a 7-0 win. She finished the weekend by going 2-for-3 against the #1 team in the nation, California. She had a double, an RBI, and a run scored in her first career start at third base.
Breaking Records
Danielle Kaminaka entered the 2005 season in the top five of several LMU career lists, and has continued to climb as the season rolls on. In the series against Santa Clara, she became the leader in both doubles and walks. Earlier in the year, she broke the LMU RBI and runs record. She entered the season as the career home run hitter, and has added to that with nine more homers this season. She needs just one walk to tie the single season record for walks with 33.
Hornish Hits
Caylin Hornish leads the team in batting average and is one of LMU's most consistent hitters. She has had hitting streaks of nine and seven games this season. She leads the team with nine doubles, and has hit five home runs this year. The senior catcher has reached base in all but eight games, and leads the conference in runners picked off at eight. She has thrown out runners trying to steal ten times this season, and has only committed three errors.
Pagano Pitches No Hitter
Tiffany Pagano threw her first career no-hitter in LMU's 1-0 win over UC Santa Barbara on March 23rd. It was LMU's first no-hitter since May 5, 2002 when Sami Strinz pitched a 1-0 no hitter against Portland State. Pagano faced just two batters over the minimum. She allowed a walk, and the LMU defense made one error. The win was Pagano's fourth shutout of the season and her ninth complete game.
"Cook"ing at the Plate
Tracy Cook was LMU's biggest power threat for a 18 day span in March. Between March 5th and March 23rd, the freshman hit .353 with six home runs, four doubles, and an .824 slugging percentage. She had 17 RBI in 17 games. She recorded seven multi-hit games, and four multi-RBI games. Against Eastern Illinois, she hit two home runs.
Meeks Does it All
Freshman Kayla Meeks has been one of LMU's top contributors at the plate and in the circle. Her 0.87 ERA leads the team and the PCSC, and is 13th in the nation. She has a 13-4 record with 11 complete games, and five shutouts this season. At the plate, she is contributing as well. She is hitting .295 with four home runs and four doubles. When she is the starting pitcher, she hits even better. In her 15 starts this season, she is hitting .326. Three of her four home runs have come in games when she is the starting pitcher. Incidently, she has a 0.76 ERA in games that she has started in the circle.
Abbott At It Again
Lisa Abbott is a four year starter for LMU, and continues to be one of LMU's most consistent offensive threats. She leads the team with 14 multi-hit games, and is among the team's top hitters with a .285 batting average. Despite being the leadoff batter, she is third on the team in RBI with 26. She is tied for second on the team with seven home runs.
Lions Repeat Sweep of Weekly Award
LMU swept the PCSC weekly awards on March 9th and again on April 25th as Danielle Kaminaka won the Player of the Week honor and freshman Tiffany Pagano was named the Pitcher of the Week. The first time, Kaminaka hit .421 with two home runs, 6 RBI and a .789 slugging percentage. She had hits in all but one game on the week. Pagano was spectacular in the circle, going the distance in all three starts, and recording two shutouts. She was 3-0 on the week with a 0.61 ERA. She allowed just two runs on the week in an extra inning game against Cal Poly after pitching seven scoreless innings.
In the second sweep, Kaminaka hit .400 with a 1.300 slugging percentage to help LMU to a four-game sweep of San Diego. Pagano was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 12.0 innings pitched.
Looking Ahead
If the Lions win the PCSC, they await the NCAA Selection Show to find out where they will play their first ever NCAA Tournament game. The selection announcement is on Sunday, May 15th between 4:30pm and 5:00pm PST on ESPNews. The field is divided into 16 4-team regionals. Each regional winner will face another regional winner in a three-game Super Regional. The eight winners of the Super Regionals will go to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, OK. The first day of regionals is Friday, May 20th.
A Look At This Week's Opponent
Sacramento State: The Hornets sit in second place in the PCSC with a 10-5 record. They took two of three games from Portland State last weekend before game four of the series was cancelled due to rain. SS is led by Lindy Winkler who is hitting .377 with eight doubles. She is Sac State's only batter hitting over .300. Brianne Ferguson leads the pitching staff with a 15-9 record and a 1.17 ERA. Her ERA has dropped to 1.06 in PCSC play. The Hornets have a team ERA of 1.89.
