Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
Meredith Cervenka (Crescenta Valley, 2001), senior pitcher, Long
Beach State softball -- Saturday's doubleheader against Utah State
might have reminded Cervenka and former Falcon teammate Melanie
McCauley, who also plays for the 49ers, of their days of beating up
hapless Pacific League opponents.
The 49ers opened their Big West Conference schedule with 4-0 and
19-0 victories against host Utah State. The 19-0 victory tied for the
largest margin of victory in school history. Long Beach State
defeated Long Beach City College, 19-0 on March 10, 1982.
In the romp against Utah State, Cervenka pitched four innings to
earn the win, improving to 13-6 on the season. McCauley was one for
three with two runs and a run batted in.
Cervenka had put herself in the 49er record books a week earlier.
She broke an 11-year-old school record with her 66th career
pitching victory in a 8-0 triumph against UC Davis on March 25. The
former Falcon star tossed a two-hit shutout, breaking the school's
all-time win record, which was held by Stacy Van Essen, who had 65
career wins from 1991-94.
Kris Franks (Crescenta Valley, 2002), sophomore pitcher, Azusa
Pacific University softball -- Some things are too easy for the
Cougars -- like defeating Golden State Athletic Conference foe Hope
International.
Azusa Pacific University made it 36 consecutive victories against
Hope International with a pair of mercy-rule wins Saturday at home.
Franks (12-4) pitched the first game of a doubleheader, striking out
eight in five innings of a 12-2 win. The Cougars won the second game,
10-0.
Azusa Pacific University, which next plays Point Loma Nazarene
today, has not lost to Hope International in 11 years.
Lauren Guza (La Canada, 2001), senior first baseman, Middlebury
University softball -- The Panthers (5-5) opened their 2005 campaign
with 10 games in Florida from March 20-25. They started their season
with a 3-2 win against Union and ended the trip with a pair of
losses.
Guza, a captain, started nine of 10 games and hit .250 with two
runs and one run batted in. Her season-opening trip was highlighted
by a two-for-three performance in a 2-1 triumph against Bethel.
In her junior season, Guza helped lead the Panthers to a
school-record 24 wins and a trip to the New England Small College
Athletic Conference championship. She was also selected to the
conference's second team.
Erik Bell (La Canada, 2004), freshman shortstop, Dartmouth
University baseball -- Bell is considered to be one of the Ivy
