May 7, 2002

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University softball team will be looking to improve on last year's second-place finish at the annual Western Intercollegiate Softball League Tournament this weekend, hosted by Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Calif.

The Broncos will open the tournament with a 9 a.m. game against Loyola Marymount (33-33) at SMC's Cottrell Field. Santa Clara will immediately play its second game of the tourney against San Diego (14-36) at approximately 11 a.m.

Santa Clara will return to action Saturday with a 1 p.m. game against LMU with a 3 p.m. contest against San Diego. Sunday's three games are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with the opponents to be determined by the outcome of the previous two days.

For directions to Cottrell Field and Saint Mary's College, click here.

"We are excited about playing this weekend," said Bronco head coach Marcy Crouch, who is in her third season at Santa Clara. "We played really well in the WISL Tournament last year and I think we are in a good position to do so again. We really need a couple of our key players to have big weekends for us to succeed. Our players are confident and excited so we're ready to go to Moraga and see what we can do."

Santa Clara enters the WISL Tournament with a 21-36 record, which is just five games short of the school record for wins in a single season. Deanna Rodriguez is the team's leading pitcher with a 2.26 ERA and a 10-14 record on the season. She has pitched a team-high 154.2 innings and has 86 strikeouts.

Last season, Santa Clara dropped a 3-2 decision in eight innings to Saint Mary's in the WISL title game in Los Angeles, Calif. The Broncos defeated host LMU in a gutsy 1-0 decision in the semifinals behind Rodriguez' complete game shutout. Rodriguez and sophomore designed hitter Coresta Salas were named to the all-tournament team.