PCSC CROSSOVER TOURNAMENT: Seattle U heads to Moraga, Calif. for the PCSC Crossover Tournament hosted by Saint Mary's College. The Redhawks will face Santa Clara on Friday, Feb. 24 at 8:30 a.m. and will then face Sacramento State that afternoon at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 25, they will face host Saint Mary's at 12:30 p.m., and will finish the tournament with another contest against Santa Clara on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 8:30 a.m. This will be the first time since returning to Division 1 that the Redhawks will face two of these three opponents.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: Santa Clara (1-10) started out the season with a single game at UTEP before heading to the New Mexico State Hotel Encanto Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M. They started the tournament with their first win of the season, 12-10, over St. Mary's, before falling to Ilinois-Chicago, Indiana, New Mexico State, and UTEP. Last weekend, the team headed to the Fresno State Weekend Series where they fell to Cal State Fullerton and host Fresno State in two games apiece. Most recently, they suffered a close 3-2 loss to UC Davis on Feb. 21. Stephanie Fisher leads the team with nine runs, two doubles, three RBIS, and a .400 average after starting all 11 games so far for the team.
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE: Sacramento State (4-2) started the season at the Fresno State Kick-off tournament, where, after overcoming a loss to Long Beach State in the first game, they topped UC Riverside (twice), Fresno State, and North Dakota State. Most recently, they faced San Jose State on Feb. 22 and, despite scoring three runs in the seventh inning to attempt the comeback, were defeated, 5-4. Devin Caldwell has started all six games and has recorded three runs, two doubles, and three RBIs, with a .389 average so far in 2012.
SCOUTING SAINT MARY'S: Like Seattle U, host team Saint Mary's also had a weekend off between this tournament and the last time they played. Saint Mary's (1-4) begun the season at the Hotel Encanto Invitational on Feb. 10-12 in Las Cruces, N.M. On day 1 of the tournament, the Gaels dropped two close contests to Santa Clara and UTEP. Errors plagued both teams as there were a combined 12 errors between the two and only 10 of 22 total runs scored were earned. Rebecca Sabatini hit her first homerun of the season and 12th of her career in a three-run second inning for Saint Mary's, but Santa Clara came away with a 12-10 win. In their second contest on opening day, the Gaels commited zero errors but left eight runners on base as they fell to UTEP, 6-5. On day two of the tournament, Illinois-Chicago run-ruled Saint Mary's in their first game of the day, defeating the Gaels, 11-3. In game two, after putting seven runs on the board in the first inning, Saint Mary's defeated Indiana 8-2 for their first win of the season. In their fifth and final game of the tournament, the Gaels fell to host team New Mexico State in a narrow 13-12 defeat. Michelle Mounts and Brittany Sabatini lead the team with 8 runs apiece. Mounts has also recorded six doubles and six RBIs so far this season, and Sabatini has added six RBIs and three home runs in 2012.