FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fred Baer
(650) 483-3733
baerf@smccd.edu

CSM Softball Paces State with 20 Wins; 15 HR’s & Much More

Following a spectacular 8-victory, 76-run start to the month, College of San Mateo’s softball team is in full ”March Madness” form, leading the state’s 85 community college teams in most categories.

The Bulldogs (20-2) became the first team to reach 20 wins — following a Sunday sweep of visiting Feather River College, 8-0 and 4-3. CSM (20-2) ran its litany of 5-inning mercy rule blankings to seven with the 8-0 first game victory —  totaling a “perfect” 72-0 run advantage. Feather River (1-13) spoiled that slightly by making the nightcap a bit closer — scoring a pair of runs on a seventh inning homer before reliever Brittany Prock closed it out.

It has been home run month, however, for state leader (with 15) San Mateo. Riley Donovan’s 2-run fifth-inning shot in Sunday’s first game was the sixth home run just this month for the Bulldogs. Aubrie Businger ended that contest a few minutes later with a bases loaded grounder that scored Ally Sarabia to make it an 8-0 finale.

Donovan, the freshman catcher from Half Moon Bay, went 4-for-5 on Sunday and 5-for-7 on the weekend. She had two doubles and scored four times, raising her season batting average to .377.  Sarabia, another former HMB player, had a pair of hits, including a double, on Sunday.

Amanda Ubois-Weitenhagen has been the main reason for CSM’s recent homer outburst, with four in March, including rare back-to-back grand slams. The frosh rightfielder from Redwood High is now hitting .426, with a team-leading .766 slugging average.

Kaylyn Sterling, a freshman from Mercy (Burlingame), had a 5-for-7 weekend to raise her team-leading batting average to .478. Hailey Hiett had her second straight impressive weekend with five hits, scoring four times. The sophomore second baseman out of Santa Clara High had four hits and scored four runs the first weekend of March and is now batting .333.

CSM TOPS STATE IN 9 MAJOR CATEGORIES: Coach Nicole Borg’s San Mateo team leads all California CC teams in the following categories, in addition to the 15 homers and most wins (22):
–Runs scored (167), hits (195), total bases (288), stolen bases (86 – with 47 in March), walks (72), hit by pitch (17), and shutouts pitched (11). CSM pitchers have the lowest batting average against (.170), while its batters rank No. 2 in team batting average (.362) and slugging percentage (.534). The Bulldogs also rank second in ten more team categories, including doubles (38), triples (5), total extra base hits (58), and RBI’s (133).

Sophomore Emily McAdams (from Sequoia High) paces San Mateo pitchers with an 11-1 record and a league-leading 87 strikeouts (No. 3 in the state).

SAN MATEO NO. 1 IN NORTH: CSM continues as the top ranked team in Northern California in both the Massey Ratings and the CCCAA coaches poll. The state No. 3 Bulldogs are the only team to defeat defending state champion and top-ranked Mt. San Antonio College (13-1). CSM and Mt. SAC both have pacesetting 13-game winning streaks.

San Mateo is off to a 2-0 start in Coast North Conference play, including an 8-0 (5-inning) early first place showdown at Foothill. All other Coast North teams have already lost a game.