Sonoma State Star

Issue date: 5/6/08 Section: Sports

Jennie Finch and the rest of Team USA come into town to play an exhibition game on May 18. [Click to enlarge]

The women's USA softball team headlined by star pitcher Jennie Finch will come to SSU in an exhibition match against the Nor Cal Assault, a junior Olympic women's softball team, on Sun. May 18.

The game is part of the USA women's softball team's "Bound 4 Beijing" Tour, a tour designed to get the team ready for the Olympic Games in Beijing, China in August where team USA will be trying to win their fourth straight gold medal.

This year will also mark the last time that women's softball will be played in the Olympics. Many wonder how a Division II program like SSU was chosen to host such a monumental sporting event.

"A person that used to work for the athletic department knows Mike (Candrea, head coach of the women's USA softball team)," said Megan Catton, director of special projects and events manager for the athletic department. "That is how this whole thing got put together."

Kurt Ludwigsen, a former member of the SSU athletic board and coach of the Nor Cal Assault, has a 20 year friendship with Candrea dating back to their two time championship run together when Ludwigsen worked as part of Candrea's staff at the University of Arizona.

The exhibition game may be the biggest sporting event ever held at SSU in the school's history. "As far as numbers go there have been numbers that have been similar," said Catton. "But as far as having something as big as an Olympic team, that has never happened."

The game has created a lot of hype around the community, and tickets have already sold out for the game. "We sold 1,300 tickets in five days," said Catton. "The waiting list is about 200 people."

For the members of the SSU women's softball team, the fact that Team USA will play on the same field as they do is a dream come true. "I'm never going to look at the field the same way," said pitcher Simone Brandalise. "To pitch on the same mound as Jennie Finch is really cool."

Many of the Seawolves grew up idolizing the players on the women's Olympic team.

Continued...

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