Remember When?: PSAC tourney next for Vulcans

By BRIAN HERMAN

Sports Editor

California University softball coach Rick Bertagnolli doesn’t expect to win a third straight NCAA Division II championship in 1999.

But Bertagnolli wouldn’t be surprised if his Vulcans return from Bloomsburg this weekend with a fourth straight PSAC title.

“The parity is so even that anyone in the four-team field can win it,” said Bertagnolli, whose club won weekend doubleheaders at Clarion and Edinboro to beat out Indiana for a fifth straight West crown. “There’s really no top dog.

“If there’s a favorite, it would be Bloomsburg because they have more experience,” he went on. “We’ve been playing well lately but haven’t reached our peak. I just hope it can carry over this weekend.”

Unlike recent years when the Vulcans didn’t lose a league game, California suffered West setbacks to Lock Haven, Indiana and Edinboro in April. The loss to Lock Haven snapped an 88-game winning streak (in conference play).

“Those losses set us in our place and took the pressure off after winning two straight national championships,” added Bertagnolli. 

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