Event: Cathedral City Classic
Teams: UC Davis vs. Hawai’i; Texas; Utah; Northwestern; Washington
Records: Aggies, (6-3); Rainbows, (8-3); Longhorns, (11-0); Utes, (7-3); Wildcats, (5-5); Huskies, (7-1)
Where: Big League Dreams Sports Complex – Cathedral City, Calif.
When: Friday at 10:30 a.m.; Saturday at 5:30 p.m., 8 p.m.; Sunday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m.
Who to watch: Junior Alex Holmes leads the Aggies with a 2.97 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 30.2 innings while also pacing the league with four wins.
The San Juan Capistrano, Calif. native was All-Big West Conference First Team last year and received All-Big West honorable mention as a pitcher.
At the plate, she has logged eight hits and three RBI while her .286 batting average lands her at fourth on the team.
Did you know? The Cathedral City Classic is hosted by the Oregon State Beavers.
This year the Beavers will host 22 2009 NCAA Tournament teams, seven 2009 NCAA Super Regional teams and two 2009 NCAA Women’s College World Series teams including the defending national champion.
Preview: The Aggies will head to southern California this weekend to compete in the Cathedral City Classic where the team will play five games – three of which are against nationally ranked squads.
To start the weekend, UC Davis will face Hawai’i on Friday.
The Aggies will have their work cut out for them as the Rainbows’ most recent game was a mercy-rule victory over Loyola Marymount.
On Saturday the Aggies will play a doubleheader, facing the No. 14 Longhorns and then the Utes.
Texas has yet to lose a game this year as it has posted 56 runs to their opponents’ 18 in the first 11 games.
Utah, on the other hand, lost to No. 23 Northwestern and Hawai’i in its last tournament.
The Aggies will have a chance to take on Northwestern on Sunday as the first contest of another doubleheader.
The Wildcats won’t be easy opponents as they scored 10 runs against the Utes in a five-inning game at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic.
UC Davis will then conclude the tournament against top-ranked and defending national champion Washington.
One of the Huskies’ best players, pitcher Danielle Lawrie, was named 2009 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and is among the nations top three in wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts.
– Grace Sprague
