College Roundup: Stanislaus softball to host softball marathon
Cal State Stanislaus once again is the host of the largest NCAA Division II softball tournament on the West Coast – the annual Tournament of Champions to be held Friday through Sunday.
A field of 26 teams will play 77 games at three locations, and the Warriors (14-18) are assigned six games. On Friday, they’ll open against Asuza Pacific at 2 p.m. at Pedretti Sports Park, then move to Warrior Field to face St. Martin’s at 5 p.m. Stanislaus’ Saturday schedule includes games against Hawaii Hilo at Pedretti at 2 p.m. and Hawaii Pacific at Pedretti at 4:30. They’ll finish on Sunday at Warrior Field against Chaminade at 2 p.m. and Notre Dame de Namur at 4:30.
Before the week is done, Stanislaus will have played nine games. The Warriors tuned up for the tournament on Tuesday with a 3-0 and 10-4 doubleheader sweep at home over Western Washington.
Deja Guzman clouted a grand slam during the nightcap. Kyle Ragsdale (8-6) pitched Stanislaus to the win in the opener. She allowed only three hits and struck out four.
Sierra strikes fast over MJC – Sierra (24-4, 11-2), ranked third in Northern California and chasing first-place Delta in the Big 8 Conference, built a 7-0 lead over the first three innings and coasted to an 8-1 win over Modesto Junior College on Tuesday. The Pirates (7-15, 5-8), who’ve lost four of their last five, scored in the sixth – via an RBI by Jordan Barber – to avoid a shutout.
It doesn’t get any easier for Modesto, which travels to Delta for a doubleheader Saturday at noon.
Basketball
Major coaching challenge for former Warrior – Christin Gowan, the former Cal State Stanislaus standout, has accepted a major challenge for her first head-coaching job. She will try to build Southern Vermont, an NCAA Division III college in Bennington, Vt., from the bottom. The Mountaineers, members of the New England Collegiate Conference, were 1-24 last season and lost their last 21.
Gowan, an assistant coach at Occidental over the last two seasons and an assistant at Stanislaus from 2013 to ‘15, led the Warriors in assists during her playing career (2008-’11), finishing with 114 as a senior. She tops the Stanislaus record list in single-season free-throw percentage (87.5 percent in ‘08) and career free-throw percentage (79.5 percent). Her 322 career assists are No. 2 at Stanislaus since the Warriors joined the California Collegiate Athletic Association in 1998. Her 947 points are sixth-best.
Gowan led East Union High to a Valley Oak League title in 2007.
Baseball
Pirates welcome Sac – The slumping Pirates (7-15, 3-7), who’ve dropped their last seven games, meet Big 8 leader Sacramento (20-6, 11-2) – ranked second in Northern California – Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the MJC ballpark.
Modesto opened the three-game series Tuesday with a lopsided 18-6 loss at Sac. Anthony Enwiya doubled home a run in the first for a shortlived lead. Michael Maddox drove in two runs for the Pirates and Mason Washington went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
The Pirates trailed 5-3 before the Panthers pulled away with four runs in the fifth.
Track
MJC’s Holmes honored – Modesto’s Sydney Holmes has enjoyed a strong season so far for the Pirates. Holmes, the Big 8’s Female Athlete of the Week, won the triple jump at the Sequoias Relays with a meet-record 36 feet, 1/4 inch. The Pitman High grad is ranked fifth in Northern California in the triple jump and is seventh in the heptathlon.
Pust recognized by CCAA – Stanislaus State pole vaulter Ryan Pust cleared a personal-best 15-9 at last week’s Warrior Open in Turlock and was named the CCAA’s Men’s Field Athlete of the Week.
This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 3:52 PM with the headline "College Roundup: Stanislaus softball to host softball marathon."