Feb. 22, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Briefly
LMU's brief home stand got even shorter with the cancellation of Wednesday's game against UCLA due to rain. Weather permitting, the Lions will return to action this weekend at their third tournament of the season, at San Diego. The Lions will play Marshall and Colorado State on Saturday before concluding the weekend against Nevada and UC Riverside.

Follow The Lions Live On The Web!
All LMU home games will be available for fans on Gametracker through the LMU website at www.LMULions.com. Select road contests can also be followed on Gametracker. Notice will be given for these games.

Media Guide
The 2008 LMU softball media guide is available for download at www.LMULions.com. This is the only source of copies for the guide.

LMULions.com Gets Facelift
Be sure to visit www.LMULions.com for all the up-to-date information on the Lions. The site recently underwent an overhaul and visual upgrade. Log on for the latest news, stats, scores, photos, and player bios for your Lions.

Last Week Recap: Tysdal Leads LMU Sweep of Northern Colorado
Junior Chelsie Tysdal continued her assault on Northern Colorado pitching, hitting three home runs and driving in seven as LMU swept its home opening double header, 8-0 and 10-1 over the Bears on Monday. Two days after homering in LMU's 10-2 win over the Bears at the UC Riverside Tournament, Tysdal stayed hot, combining to go 5-for-7 with the three home runs, seven RBI, and three runs scored. She also drove in the game-ending runs in both of LMU's run-rule victories.
In the opener, LMU jumped in front in the first inning through junior Kirsten Slouber's soft infield single and tripled its lead in the fourth with a two-out rally that led to a pair of runs. Tysdal started and ended the inning that brought the game to a conclusion. She led off the fifth with a solo home run and then, eight batters and three runs later, walked with the bases loaded to bring the run-rule into effect. In between, the Lions got run-scoring singles from junior MiaSarah Cesena and Slouber. Sophomore starter Melissa Dykema (4-2) allowed only four hits while striking out six in her third complete game of the season.
Northern Colorado opened game two with a run in the top of the first but after that it was all LMU. Tysdal stayed hot with a two-run homer in the bottom of first to give the Lions the lead and they added three more in the second and another in the fifth. In the sixth, Slouber and Charpentier led off with back-to-back singles before sophomore Christine Foley drove them in with a single. Needing one run to end the game, Tysdal launched her team-leading fifth home run over the wall in left-center field.
Senior Tiffany Pagano (4-1) scattered four hits and struck out six in her fifth complete game of 2008.

About the USD Tournament
LMU is making its fifth appearance at the USD Tournament, having previously participated in 1998 (4-1), 1999 (5-1), 2000 (1-2), and 2007 (1-2).
Overall, the Lions are 11-6 at the tourney.
Marshall (5-6)
The Thundering Herd has dropped six of its last eight after opening the season 3-0. Marshall went 2-3 last weekend at the Auburn Tiger Invitational and was 3-3 the week before at the Red/Black Showcase at the University of Georgia.
This will be the first time LMU and Marshall have played since 2001. Marshall leads the series 3-1.
Colorado State (9-1)
The Rams have won seven straight after sweeping its five games last weekend at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces Classic in Las Cruces, NM. Prior to that, they went 4-1 at the Cathedral City Kickoff in Palm Springs, CA.
Colorado State has won all four meetings against the Lions, all at neutral sites. They last met in 2006.
Nevada (9-3)
Nevada is on a five-game winning streak following a midweek doubleheader sweep at Sacramento State. The Lions opened at the UCLA/Cal State Fullerton Freeway Series, where they lost to UCLA and Oklahoma but beat then-#21 Fullerton, Santa Clara, and UC Santa Barbara. Last weekend, the Wolf Pack went 5-1 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, AZ, upsetting then-#1 Arizona.
Nevada has won all four of its games against LMU, the last coming in 1987.
UC Riverside (2-7)
UCR went 1-3 at its own TEN Construction Tournament last weekend, including a 3-0 Sunday loss to LMU. The Highlanders opened at the Cathedral City Kickoff in Palm Springs, going 1-4.
LMU's win on Sunday at UCR gave them a 22-16 edge in the series. The Lions and Highlanders will play once more, at the UTEP Tournament March 1.

Dynamic Duo
In senior Tiffany Pagano and sophomore Melissa Dykema, the Lions have arguably the best pitching combination in all of Division I. Last season, the pair combined for all 47 LMU victories and were one set of five teammates nationwide to win 21-or-more games. This year, only two teams return a pair of 20-game winners.
Neither has disappointed coming out of the gates in 2008. Dykema is 3-1 over the season's first weekend and Pagano was 1-0 with a 0.94 ERA. Both were virtually un-hittable as Dykema set a new single-game record with 16 strikeouts against Rhode Island and Pagano twice had a dozen strikeouts in the season's opening weekend.
In Riverside, Pagano tossed three complete games and twice struck out nine without issuing any walks (Northern Colorado and UC Riverside).
Together, the duo each has four wins and has combined to strike out 91 batters in 75.2 innings while holding opponents to a batting average below .200 (.177 for Pagano, .194 for Dykema).

Pagano Ties PCSC Record
On Tuesday, senior Tiffany Pagano tied the PCSC record with her 11th career Pitcher of the Week honor, moving her into first place alongside Jamie Forman-Lau of Santa Clara (2003-04) for most in conference history. Over the weekend, Pagano tossed three complete games, going 2-1 and picking up both of LMU's wins at the TEN Construction Tournament in Riverside, CA. After dropping Friday's opener to Creighton, she bounced back with a complete-game four-hitter against Northern Colorado in which she struck out nine and walked none to earn the 50th victory of her career. She also struck out nine without issuing any walks in her shutout of UC Riverside Sunday, this time conceding just two hits to improve to 3-1 on the season. Her strikeout-walk ratio for the week was 21-2 in 19 innings.

ESPN.com Shows Some Lion Love
In his season preview on ESPN.com, columnist Graham Hays listed LMU as one of the top mid-major programs to keep an eye on in 2008. Hays wrote, "Coach Gary Ferrin's team lost a lot of offense with the graduations of Margo Pineda and Kylie Conroy, but Christine Foley (.416, 37 RBI) returns to anchor the batting order and Tiffany Pagano and Melissa Dykema return to the circle after 200-strikeout seasons. Pagano, in particular, has the potential to shine on the national stage as a senior if she cuts her walk rate. In the elimination game against the Bruins last season, Pagano showed what she can do when she's in control, striking out six and allowing just four hits and two walks in a complete-game win."

Hot Start
LMU's 8-3 start to the season is the second-best 11-game start in program history, trailing only last year's 9-2 opening. Should the 2008 Lions win their next game, they will match that squad's 12-game start and two more wins will set the mark. Looking ahead through the weekend, by the time LMU returns from San Diego, it will know how it matches up against the program record for a 16-game start, with the 1996 team going 11-5 was the sixth time they had won their first three games of the season and the 4-1 start over the first five games was tied for the second-best five-game start in school history. The Lions previously started 4-1 in 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2004 and set the record with a 5-0 start in 2001.

Slouber Sets the Table
You would want your leadoff hitter to get on base and, so far, junior Kirsten Slouber has obliged. The 2007 All-PCSC First Teamer has hit safely in each of the season's first 11 games and is second among regulars with a .455 average while leading the team with 20 hits and five stolen bases (in five attempts). She has delivered multiple hits in a game seven times, tops on the team. She is also tied for the team lead with eight runs scored.

Tysdal Tees Off
Thanks to her performance against Northern Colorado over the weekend, junior Chelsie Tysdal is now hitting .600 (6-for-10) with four home runs and nine RBI in three games against the Bears this season. Tysdal, and the Lions, will face UNC once more, on February 29 at the UTEP Tournament.

Dykema, Slouber Earn PCSC Honors
On the heels of its best start to the season since 2004, LMU swept the first weekly Pacific Coast Softball Conference honors of 2008. Junior outfielder Kirsten Slouber was named the conference's Player of the Week while sophomore Melissa Dykema took home the Pitcher of the Week award.
The Lions' leadoff hitter, Slouber set the table all weekend at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, UT, collecting at least one hit in all five games, including four outings with multiple hits, and hit .455 overall (10-22) to lead the PCSC in batting average and hits through the opening weekend. Dykema was clutch on the mound, picking up three of LMU's four wins and finishing the weekend 3-1 with a 3.20 earned run average. She came off the bench in the opener against Southern Utah, pitching three innings of one-hit relief to gain the win in 12 innings. In her first start of the season, Dykema dominated Rhode Island, setting a new LMU single-game record with 16 strikeouts and taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning before settling on a one-hitter. She was dynamite off the bench again the following day against Wisconsin, tossing 3 1/3 innings of relief as LMU again won in extra innings. For the week, she threw 15.1 innings, striking out 24 and walking seven.
This is Slouber's second career Player of the Week honor, having been previously recognized for the week ending March 13, 2006. Dykema won the Pitcher of the Week honor twice last season, on February 13 and March 6.

LMU Receives Votes in Preseason Poll
For the first time in program history, LMU opened its season receiving votes in the national poll. LMU received eight votes to finish 13th among "Others Receiving Votes", translating to a ranking of 38th in the preseason NFCA Top 25 poll, released January 24. The Lions claimed their third PCSC tile in five seasons in 2007 and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional, hosted by UCLA.

Lions Preseason Favorites in PCSC
LMU was picked to repeat as Pacific Coast Softball Conference champions in the preseason coaches poll. The Lions received 34 total points and four of the six first-place votes. Sacramento State, the 2007 conference runners-up, received the second-most number of points, 27, including one first-place vote. Portland State was third with 23 points, followed by Saint Mary's (17 points) and San Diego (14 points). Santa Clara received the other first place vote and was picked sixth with 11 points. Voting was conducted by the head coaches of each conference school, with six points awarded for a first-place vote, five for a second, and so on.

Freshmen Come Through
Head Coach Gary Ferrin started three freshmen in the season opener and they responded with Priscilla Satete driving in the year's first run and Amy Charpentier providing the walk-off hit against Southern Utah.
Through the season's first 11 games, Charpentier leads the rookies with a .371 average and has drawn a team-high six walks. Brittany Mayers has started eight games and is hitting .269 while Satete has seven starts.
Added into the mix is classmate Alex Mead, who came off the bench against Northern Colorado to go 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI.

Cook Out for the Year
LMU's offense suffered a blow during the fall season when senior Tracy Cook went down with an elbow injury. The infielder will miss all of the 2008 season and the Lions will miss her power (15 career home runs, 70 career RBI).