The No. 13 Stanford softball team will put its undefeated record to the test this weekend when it hosts the Stanford Invitational. The tournament starts today and will run through Sunday, featuring four teams: the host Cardinal, Santa Clara, Pacific and Wichita State.

The women, 5-0 on the year, will play five games this weekend; three will come in round-robin play, while the last two will be single-elimination, determining the champion of the tournament.

After losing in Regional Championships last year, the Cardinal has come out firing to start the 2008 season.

“Our team has worked extremely hard in preparation for this year,” coach John Rittman said. “As a coach, I’m pretty proud of the fact that they put that effort in.”

“Our pitching and defense have shown that they can win us some ball games — with some timely hitting,” said senior third baseman Michelle Smith. “But our game against Saint Mary’s showed how potent our offense is as well.”

Much of the team’s early-season success may be attributed to junior pitcher Missy Penna. With four starts under her belt, Penna already boasts an impressive set of accomplishments and accolades. She started the season off with a no-hitter against San Diego, is holding opposing hitters to a .064 batting average and has not given up a single run yet in 25 innings of work. The junior was also named National Player of the Week by USA Softball after her dominating performance at the San Diego Tournament.

“Missy’s coming into her own this year,” Rittman said. “She’s pitched a lot of games for us in the past and she’s got a lot of experience in her [previous] two years at Stanford.”

The team is fresh off of an 8-0 win against Saint Mary’s on Wednesday, a game which was cancelled after five innings due to the extent of Cardinal’s lead. The eight runs were the most the team has scored this season, and the women look to carry that offensive momentum into this weekend when they face two Bay Area rivals and one of the top teams from a tough softball conference: Wichita State and the Missouri Valley Conference, respectively.

“Santa Clara always seems to play us tough,” Rittman said. “Both [Santa Clara and Pacific] are good, healthy rivalries. Both teams are very competitive.”

The Broncos are currently 0-5, despite returning their two top pitchers from last season, Jerrica Castagno and Jackie Morales. Pacific, 1-3 on the year and also returning its top two pitchers — who were All-Big West selections last year — may present more of a challenge than Santa Clara. In any case, however, coach Rittman’s squad won’t be taking any of his team’s opponents for granted this weekend.

“We expect to see some very tough competition,” he said.

Coming off of a 37-28 season last year, Wichita State just might be the Cardinal’s toughest competition this weekend. The Shockers are 2-2 on the young season, but return two All-Midwest region selections in Ashly Bright and Britnee Barnett. Bright struck out 201 batters last season and posted a 2.44 ERA, while Barnett led the team last season with a lofty .348 batting average.

“They’ll be a formidable opponent for us,” Rittman commented.

The Stanford Invitational will be the second of six tournaments in which the Cardinal is set to compete before it begins its Pac-10 schedule. Stanford will host two more tournaments before the non-conference season is over: the Stanford Classic (March 6-9) and the second version of the Stanford Invitational (March 21-23).

The non-conference tournaments provide a good way for Stanford to prepare itself before the daunting Pac-10 schedule — in by far the nation’s best conference — begins.

“The most important thing with tournaments is facing competition to prepare for the rigors of the Pac-10,” Rittman said. “Our goal is to play the toughest schedule possible.”

Despite having the looming Pac-10 season in mind, however, the Cardinal is just trying to take things as they come.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to play well on all fronts and hoping to improve every day,” Smith explained. “If we can do that, then 5-0 is just the beginning because this team has all the pieces it needs to win a championship.”

“Our team knows we have to take it one game at a time,” Rittman added. “It’s not a sprint; it’s a journey. Our goal is to improve every day.”

Starting today, Stanford will have the chance to do just that. The Cardinal begins competition today with a 2 p.m. bout against Santa Clara before facing Wichita State at 4 p.m. All of this weekend’s games will take place at the Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium.