TURLOCK, Calif.---  Stan State softball will host the 21^st Annual Tournament of Champions, presented by the City of Turlock this Thursday-Sunday, March 21-24.  The 18-team tournament will take place at the Pedretti Park Sports Complex and Warrior Field on the Stan State campus.  This year's tournament consists of teams from the NCAA Division II West Region from the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), and the PacWest Conference.  
 
WARRIORS:  Stan State is 7-15 overall and 6-9 in the CCAA after going 1-2 in its abbreviated three-game CCAA series at Cal State San Bernardino.  The Warriors are hitting .259 as a team and have a 4.99 team earned run average.
 
STAN STATE HITTERS:  Three Warriors are hitting over .300 in Mikaela Ferreira (.375), Lauryn Serda (.327), and Sasha Martello (.304).  Serda has a team high .545 slugging percentage and Ferreira leads the team with her .474 on-base percentage.  They each are tied for the team lead with four doubles and tied with Peyton Applequist each with two home runs.  Ferreira has driven in a team high 15 runs while she is tied with Serda each with a team high nine runs scored.  Katie Thornsberry is a perfect three-for-three in stolen base attempts.
 
WARRIOR PITCHERS:  Stan State's pitching staff is led by Sasha Martello with her 6-4 record, 3.99 earned run average, and 56.1 innings pitched.  She has struck out eleven batters with no walks in her 17 appearances.  Shelby Frutoz has struck out a team high 14 batters.
 
LAST WEEK:  The Warriors went 1-2 at Cal State San Bernardino this past weekend.  Stan State lost the first game 7-4 on Friday afternoon.  The Warriors came back and won game two 6-3 on Saturday but lost the series finale 602.  Mikaela Ferreira hit .636 during the weekend with seven hits, two doubles, two home runs, driving in four runs, and scoring three runs.  Lauryn Serda hit .455 with two home runs.  Sarah Warden and Katie Thornsberry each hit .400.  Sasha Martello picked up her sixth victory of the season.  
 
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS:  Stan State will host the 21^st Annual Tournament of Champions (TOC), presented by the City of Turlock, this Thursday-Sunday, March 21-24.  Warrior Field on the campus of Stan State and the Pedretti Sports Complex will be the site of the 18-team tournament.  The TOC consists of teams from the NCAA Division II West Region three conferences in the CCAA, GNAC, and PacWest.  Two of the teams participating in this year's tournament are ranked in the top 25 in the nation in the most recent NFCA/NCAA Division II Poll that was released on March 12 in Cal State San Marcos (No. 9) and Western Washington (No. 15).  Northwest Nazarene will be facing Cal State San Marcos in its only game of the TOC on Thursday afternoon is ranked 18^th in the nation.
 
AZUSA PACIFIC:  The Cougars are 15-9 and 7-3 in the PacWest entering the tournament.  They are hitting .278 as a team with a 1.46 earned run average.  Caitlin DeCanio leads the way for APU with her .359 batting average, six home runs, .391 on-base percentage, and .688 slugging percentage. Katie Korstrom has a team low 0.54 earned run average with a 9-2 record and a team high 76 strikeouts.  
 
CENTRAL WASHINGTON:  The Wildcats are 9-16 and 5-3 in the GNAC after winning their last six games in a row.  Central Washington is hitting .264 and has a 4.19 earned run average.  Alyssa Benthagen has a team leading .354 batting average while driving in 11 runs.  Ashlee Laver has the Wildcats' three victories with a team low 2.61 earned run average and a team high 38 strikeouts.  
 
HAWAI'I HILO:  Heading into their four-game series at Biola this Tuesday, the Vulcans are 10-10 and 5-9 in the PacWest.  Hawai'I Hilo is led by Rayna White's .345 batting average and .493 on-base percentage.  Jayda Favela has stolen high seven bases and scored a team leading 16 runs.  Victoria Macias has driven in 16 runs to lead the Vulcans.  Tehani Seto has a team low 1.72 earned run average while Madison Rabe has a 4-1 record to lead UHH.
 
DOMINICAN:  The Penguins are 16-12 overall and 10-8 in the PacWest heading into their non-conference doubleheader at Sonoma State on Tuesday.  Tiare Guerrero is batting a team high .376 to go with her team leading 19 runs scored.  Olivia Lee is right her with a .372 batting average while Shelby Keltner has driven in a team high 14 runs.  Keltner has an 8-6 record with 80 strikeouts and a team low 2.66 earned run average.  Taylor Rodriguez is 6-3 and three saves.
 
TOC PARTICIPANTS:  There will be 18 teams from the three NCAA Division II West Region conferences in the CCAA, GNAC, and the PacWest.  The teams representing the CCAA are Stan State, Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State East Bay, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State San Marcos, Chico State, San Francisco State, and Sonoma State.  Representing the GNAC are Central Washington, Saint Martin's, Simon Fraser, Western Oregon, and Western Washington. Northwest Nazarene from the GNAC will be just playing one game on Thursday against Cal State San Marcos.  Academy of Art, Azusa Pacific, Dominican, and Hawai'i Hilo will be representing the PacWest. 
 
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE:  For updated results and links to live stats of all the games of the 21^st Annual Tournament of Champions, presented by the City of Turlock, go to www.warriorathletics.com/TOC.  All games at Warrior Field will be streamed on the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. You can also get information on how to purchase tickets at https://warriorathletics.com/sports/2021/9/7/ticketing.aspx.  
 
UP NEXT:  Stan State will continue its 12-game home stand next weekend, March 29-30, when the Warriors host San Francisco State in a doubleheader at Warrior Field.  The series will begin with a 1pm starting doubleheader on March 29 and continue with a noon starting doubleheader on March 30.