July 14, 2005
Complete Final Release in PDF Format
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Briefly
The 2005 LMU softball team wrote its name in the record books, becoming the first Lion softball team to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Lions earned the bid as champions of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference, finishing with a 16-4 record in conference play and a 34-20 overall record.
About LMU
The Lions clinched the PCSC Championship with a 4-3 win over Sacramento State on Saturday, April 30th. Casie Phillips drove in Margo Pineda in the top of the 7th inning for the go-ahead run, and Tiffany Pagano pitched a scoreless 7th to secure the conference title. LMU finished 2.5 games ahead of Sacramento State for its second PCSC title in three years. Now in its third year of existence, 2005 is the first year that the PCSC champion earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. In the postseason, LMU took a 1-0 lead on UCLA in the first inning, but the Bruins came back for the 6-1 win. LMU fell in the elimination game to UNLV, 6-1.
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 18-16 record. The Lions played 15 games against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament. 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, and the Lions took two of three from Notre Dame. The other NCAA Tournament teams that LMU faced this season are #2 California, #4 Texas, #5 Texas A&M, #7 UCLA, #9 Northwestern, Cal State Fullerton, UNLV and Long Beach State. LMU lost to just five teams that did not appeared in this season's top-25 rankings or receive votes in the polls.
Going, Going, Gone
When the final NCAA statistics came out, the Lions were ranked 16th in the nation, averaging 0.98 home runs per game. Every LMU player with at least 10 at-bats has hit a home run, led by Danielle Kaminaka with 10. The 2005 squad features three of LMU's top home run hitters in school history- Kaminaka (1st, 45), 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 after LMU's final regular season games, the Lions were ranked among the nation's top teams in several categories. Freshman Kayla Meeks is 15th with a 0.99 ERA. Senior Danielle Kaminaka is 22nd in the country, averaging 0.63 walks per game. LMU's powerful offense averages 0.98 home runs per game, good for 16th.
Meeks Named to All-Region Team
Kayla Meeks was the only non-Pac-10 player named to the Pacific Region team, earning second team honors as a utility player. The pitcher/right fielder broke the LMU single season ERA record, finishing the season with a 0.99 ERA, and hit .287 at the plate.
Lions Dominate PCSC Postseason Honors
LMU had nine players honored when the conference announced its end of the year awards. For the first time, LMU players were named the Player and Pitcher of the Year in the PCSC. Additionally, Gary Ferrin earned his first PCSC Coach of the Year award. In a team dominated by nine seniors, it was a sophomore and a freshman that earned the top honors. Sophomore Margo Pineda was named the Player of the Year after hitting. 426 in PCSC games. Freshman Tiffany Pagano was named the Pitcher of the Year, finishing with a 0.50 ERA and a 7-1 record in conference games. Danielle Kaminaka, the 2004 PCSC Player of the Year joined Pineda and Pagano on the PCSC First Team. Caylin Hornish, Emily Foltz, Brittany Bassett and Kayla Meeks earned second team honors, while Casie Phillips and Lisa Abbott were named honorable mention. LMU led all teams with nine selections.
Pineda Picks Up Final LMU Honor
Sophomore Margo Pineda was named the final LMU/Enterprise Rent-A-Car Student-Athlete of the Month for April/May. She hit .405 to help lead the Lions to the PCSC Championship and the program's first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She was named PCSC Player of the Year following the regular season. In April and May, she went 30-for-74 with six doubles and four home runs in 23 games. Pineda had a 17-game hitting streak to end the regular season which was snapped in LMU's first NCAA Tournament game. She rebounded with a 2-for-3 performance against UNLV, driving home LMU's only run of the game. Pineda was a hero many times over in PCSC play, driving in the game-tying and game-winning runs in the bottom of the ninth inning against Saint Mary's. She also scored the game-winning run against Sacramento State to clinch the PCSC Championship. Her solo home run was the difference in LMU's 1-0 win over Santa Clara on April 16th, and she drove in the game-winning run in the 1-0 win over the Broncos the next day. She was named PCSC Player of the Week twice in April, and three times for the season. Pineda led the conference in batting average (.426) in PCSC play, and led LMU in hitting overall with a .351 average.
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.
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 continued to climb the charts as the season rolled 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. See page 8 of this release for a full update of the LMU record book.
Hornish Hits
Caylin Hornish led the team in batting average for almost the entire season and was one of LMU's most consistent hitters. She had hitting streaks of nine and seven games this season. She led the team with nine doubles, and hit five home runs in 2005. The senior catcher reached base in all but 10 games, and led the conference in runners picked off at nine. She threw out runners trying to steal 12 times this season, and committed just four 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 0.99 ERA led the team and the PCSC, and was 15th in the nation. The 0.99 ERA was the lowest single season ERA in LMU history. She finished with a 13-4 record with 11 complete games, and five shutouts this season. At the plate, she contributed as well. She hit .287 with four home runs and four doubles. When she is the starting pitcher, she hits even better. In her 17 starts this season, she hit .311. Three of her four home runs have come in games when she is the starting pitcher. Incidently, she has a 0.92 ERA in games that she has started in the circle.
Abbott At It Again
Lisa Abbott is a four year starter for LMU, and was one of LMU's most consistent offensive threats. She led the team with 15 multi-hit games, and was among the team's top hitters with a .286 batting average. Despite being the leadoff batter, she was fourth 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.
About the PCSC
The NCAA Division I Management Council Administrative Committee announced the approval of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) for Division I conference membership in women's softball on October 17, 2002. PCSC play began on April 5, 2003. The conference is comprised of six schools: Sacramento State, Loyola Marymount, Portland State, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, and San Diego. Prior to joining the PCSC, the schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference, Western Intercollegiate Softball League, and Big West Conference for softball league play. A new conference must meet a number of criteria set by the NCAA to earn an AQ, most notably completing two seasons of play. With both the 2003 and 2004 seasons under its belt, the PCSC became eligible for the AQ in 2005. The champion is based on regular season play. LMU finished 2.5 games ahead of second-place Sacramento State with a 16-4 record.
