Mario Villegas, Sports Information
(323) 547-2860

April 27, 2009

Softball Team Earns Elusive Playoff Spot

MONTEREY PARK - East Los Angeles College has received an at-large berth in the California Community College State Softball Playoffs.

The Huskies are seeded 10th in the 16-team South Region and travel to San Diego County to play seventh-seeded Grossmont College of El Cajon in a best-of-three series that begins Saturday.

The Huskies, who finished the regular season 28-15, and Griffins (31-10) get things started at 2 p.m. Saturday with Game 2 set for noon on Sunday. A third game, if necessary, will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday.

"It's a good match up for us and we feel really good about ourselves," said ELAC Coach Erika Blanco, who has led the Huskies to the playoffs in just her second season at the helm.

Grossmont finished second behind Palomar in the Pacific Coast Conference, which is sending only those two teams to the playoffs. ELAC, the fourth place finisher, is one of four teams from the rugged South Coast Conference to advance.

Moreover, the Huskies are accustomed to playing on the road. In fact, they played 30 of their 43 games away from home, including their first 15 while their field was under construction.

"Our team definitely stood up to the challenge and prevailed," Blanco said. "Those girls did a great job and I am just so proud of them."

Pitcher Vanessa Salinas has been a workhorse for the Huskies. The freshman from Madera High School in Central California has logged 185 innings of work in 31 appearances, including 23 starts. She is 18-11 with two saves and has an earned-run average of 1.24.  She has 169 strikeouts, and only 50 walks.

Salinas, who has three shutouts, has also done well with a bat. She is batting .305 and has 20 runs batted in.

The Huskies have also gotten solid pitching from freshman Melissa Rubio (South Gate HS), who is 6-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 16 appearances. She has made nine starts and has worked four complete games.

Samantha Montiel (Montebello HS) has appeared in all 43 of the Huskies' games and is batting a team-leading .384 with a team-leading 53 hits and 40 RBIs. She has hit three home runs and 17 doubles.

Stephanie Torres (Pacific Palisades HS) is batting .300 with 28 RBIs and three home runs. Cassandra Snodgrass (Azusa HS) is batting .300 and Alexis Garcia (South Gate HS) is batting .278 with a team-leading 30 runs scored.

The Huskies are also led by Nicole Torres (Pacific Palisades HS), who is batting .296, Amber Lopez (Los Altos HS), who is batting .254, Alexis Ramirez (Madera HS), who is batting .248, Ariana Atwater (Whittier HS), who is batting .253,

"I definitely feel strong about this team from 1 to 9 in the batting order, our pitching and our defense," Blanco said. "These girls are really focused. They worked weekends, raised funds and did a lot of community service. They have really worked hard and I am really happy for them."