Also, former Lady Baler Kristen Archuleta was recently named
first team in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference after she
batted .302 (54 of 179) for the Roadrunners this past season
HOLLISTER
Former Lady Baler J.C. Clayton and the BYU softball team will play in the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in program history on Friday, and the team’s first game will be televised live on ESPN2.
The Cougars, after winning their regional tournament in Austin, Texas, last weekend, will travel to play No. 10 Arizona (46-11) in a best-of-three series on Friday at 4 p.m. The game, which is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2, will also be simulcast on ESPN3.com.
Game 2 of the series is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, with Game 3 to follow, if necessary. Saturday’s games will be televised on ESPNU.
The Super Regional is new ground for the BYU softball program, which had qualified to the NCAA softball tournament’s first round for six straight years but had never been able to advance to the second round, otherwise known as the Super Regional.
But the Cougars managed to reach the second round after they posted a 3-0 record in Austin, Texas, last weekend. BYU opened the four-team tournament with a 1-0 win over East Carolina, then upset No. 7 Texas 9-8 before upending East Carolina a second time by an 8-3 margin in the championship.
Clayton, who led the Cougars at the plate by going 8 of 10 with three runs scored and an RBI, was 4 of 5 in the title game against East Carolina with an RBI and two runs scored. She even connected on the game-winning sacrifice fly against Texas.
Recently named Freshman of the Year in the Mountain West Conference, Clayton is a 2009 graduate of San Benito High.
Archuleta earns first-team honors
Kristen Archuleta, a 2006 graduate of San Benito High School and starting second baseman for the Cal State Bakersfield softball team, was recently named first team in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference, according to the school’s website.
A senior, Archuleta was third in the conference with 11 home runs, and was second on the team in that category behind only Ryane Petersen. Archuleta also finished fourth in the PCSC with 42 RBI, fifth with 98 total bases, and turned a league-leading 13 double plays while playing second base.
Archuleta batted .302 (54 of 179) for the Roadrunners this past season with 30 runs scored and a .939 fielding percentage.
CSUB finished its first season of Division I conference play with a 9–11 record in the PCSC, 22–34 overall.
