April 19, 2012

LOS ANGELES - The Lions' quest for back-to-back Pacific Coast Softball Conference Coastal Division titles gets to easier this week as LMU travels to take on current division leader San Diego in a four-game series. The teams square off Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22 at the USD Softball Complex with both doubleheaders beginning at noon.

LMU enters the week carrying a 29-16 overall record and 7-5 mark in PCSC play, good for third place in the Coastal Division with eight games remaining. The Lions took care of business last week, taking three of four games from Sacramento State. Their 7-5 record puts them three games back from division leader San Diego (10-2). Saint Mary's sits in second place at 8-3, 1.5 games back from the Toreros.

In their final games at Smith Field, it was the seniors who led LMU past the Hornets last weekend. Kelly Sarginson had three home runs on the weekend and Sam Fischer added two, including a walk off grand slam in the series finale. Fischer entered the weekend tied with Sarginson for the LMU and PCSC single-season home record (18) and left with sole possession of the mark. She now has 20 for the season, with at least eight games remaining.

After going 3-for-6 with two home runs, five RBIs and 11 intentional walks against Sac State, Fischer reclaimed the No. 1 national rank in batting average (.513) and also moved into the No. 1 position for on-base percentage (.655). She also ranks No. 2 in home runs (20), and slugging percentage (1.162), third in walks (.98 per game), fourth in home runs per game (.44) and 10th in RBIs per game (1.22).

San Diego is 23-14 overall, having won 12 of their last 15 games. In PCSC play, the Toreros took three of four games from Cal State Bakersfield, three of four from Saint Mary's and, most recently, earned a four-game sweep of Santa Clara. They hit .284 as a team and have four players batting over .300. Lauren Tomey leads the way with a .371 average. She has 43 hits, including four doubles, three triples and four home runs. Taylor Hensely is the Toreros' home run and doubles leader with seven and 12, respectively.

San Diego pitchers Cassidy Coleman (1.80) and Jenny Lahitte (2.00) hold down the PCSC's No. 1 and No. 2 ranks for ERA. In 22 appearances, Coleman is 10-4 with six complete games and one shutout. She has recorded 119 strikeouts to go along with 61 walks allowed. Lahitte is 11-7 with nine complete games and five shutouts. She ranks second in the PCSC with 133 strikeouts.

The Toreros represent the opponent LMU has the most all-time match-ups against at 138 meetings dating back to 1983. The Lions hold a 77-61 edge in the series, having gone 37-25 at home, 28-31 at USD and 12-5 at neutral sites. Recently history has swung back and forth between the two programs as USD took three of four games against LMU in 2010 before the Lions earned a four-game sweep last spring.