THE SCHEDULE
Games 7 & 8
vs. San Francisco State (1-1, 0-0 CCAA)
Friday, Feb. 13 • 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Triton Softball Field • La Jolla
Live Stats
Games 9 & 10
vs. San Francisco State
Saturday, Feb. 14 • 11:00 a.m. (DH)
Triton Softball Field • La Jolla
Live Audio/Video • Live Stats
GOING LIVE
Saturday's doubleheader will feature a live online video stream with audio commentary provided by local sports radio personality Jordan Carruth. UCSD will also be providing full broadcasts on March 7, April 11 and April 23. The audio/video is free, but does require registration and a login. Some road contests will also have video, while all will have live stats. Live stats are available for all home contests at Triton Softball Field. Follow the play-by-play action by clicking here. Fans can access live coverage for home and away dates from the UCSD schedule page.
STRIKEOUT CANCER
Saturday's games against San Francisco State are the Tritons' annual Strikeout Cancer games. There will be a ceremonial first pitch thrown by honorary member of the UC San Diego softball team, 15-year-old Jordan Atherton from Carlsbad, before the first game. Jordan will be accompanied by her brother Ben, sister Emma and parents Angela and Guy. The Tritons adopted Jordan last year as an honorary member through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a non-profit organization who pairs up children battling pediatric brain tumors and their families with college and high school sports teams. The teams give these children love, support and friendship as they fight devastating diseases. To learn more about Friends of Jaclyn, click here.
GERCKENS GOING FOR 600
Tritons head coach Patti Gerckens, in her 23rd season in charge, will be looking for her milestone 600th career win this weekend against San Francisco State. With an overall record of 598-500, Gerckens is just two wins away from this feat. Already the winningest head coach in program history, Gerckens has led the Tritons to 10 NCAA postseason berths, six CCAA Championship appearances, one CCAA Championship title and a national championship in 2011.
CCAA PLAY BEGINS
UCSD begins conference play this weekend against San Francisco State at Triton Softball Field. The Tritons finished in third place in the regular season with a 20-10 mark in league play in 2014 behind Cal State Monterey Bay and Humboldt State, who finished in first and second, respectively. UCSD was eliminated for the CCAA Tournament in 2014 after falling to No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay, 10-8. The Tritons first won the regular season title in 2011 with a 22-9 record in league play before falling in the conference tournament. The following year in 2012, UCSD made a run in the league tournament to win as the No. 4 seed for its first tournament crown.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Among all CCAA teams, UCSD ranks:
1. ERA (0.83)
1. AVG. (.299)
T-1. Triples (1)
2. Hits (43)
2. Home Runs (3)
2. SLG. (.417)
3. OBP. (.348)
3. Strikeouts Recorded (21)
3. Doubles (6)
4. Runs (13)
4. Stolen Bases (4)
4. RBI (12)
4. Walks (10)
Tritons ranked among the top 10 players in the CCAA include:
• Lauren Sanders
T-1. Home runs (2)
3. SLG. (.867)
T-4. Hits (7)
7. AVG (.467)
8. OBP (.529)
T-9. Runs (3)
T-10. RBI (3)
• McKenna Clewett
T-1. Doubles (3)
T-4. Hits (7)
T-4. Walks (3)
8. OBP (.526)
8. SLG (.625)
T-9. Runs (3)
10. AVG (.444)
• Kelsi Maday
T-3. Home runs (1)
T-3. RBI (6)
T-7. Hits (6)
7. SLG (.667)
T-8. Stolen Bases (1)
T-9. Doubles (1)
• Taylor Abeyta
T-1. Triples (1)
T-8. Stolen Bases (1)
T-9. Doubles (1)
T-10. Hits (5)
10. SLG (.533)
• Emma Schneider
T-9. Doubles (1)
T-10. Hits (5)
• Ashley Chestnut
T-4. Walks (3)
T-9. Stolen Bases (2)
• Kendall Baker
T-8. Stolen Bases (1)
• Rachel Phillips
T-8. Stolen Bases (1)
• Hannah Duarte
T-2. Wins (2)
2. Innings Pitched (18.0)
3. ERA (0.78)
T-3. Complete Games (1)
5. Strikeouts Recorded (10)
• Mo Omori
T-1. Saves (1)
2. ERA (0.44)
T-2. Wins (2)
T-3. Complete Games (1)
T-3. Innings Pitched (16.0)
7. Strikeouts Recorded (7)
• Alexis Edwards
5. ERA (1.78)
10. Innings Pitched (8.0)
2015 CCAA PRESEASON POLL
1. Cal State Monterey Bay (7) 76
2. Humboldt State (3) 74
3. Sonoma State 60
4. UC San Diego 58
5. Chico State 49
6. Cal State East Bay 41
7. Cal State San Bernardino 33
8. Cal State Dominguez Hills 24
9. San Francisco State 20
10. Cal State Stanislaus 15
PRIME PITCHING
UCSD is off to an impressive start in the circle this season. The team currently ranks first in the CCAA with a 0.83 ERA. Additionally, all three UCSD pitchers rank among the top 5 players in the CCAA in ERA. Mo Omori ranks second with a 0.44 ERA, Hannah Duarte is third with a 0.83 ERA and Alexis Edwards is fifth with a 1.78 ERA. The Tritons pitching staff has allowed just five earned runs in six games, while recording 21 strikeouts and a combined shutout behind efforts of Duarte and Omori.
WEEKLY REWIND
The Tritons started of their 2015 campaign with a tough 1-0 loss to Azusa Pacific, but quickly turned it around going on a five-game win streak, including a four-game series sweep of St. Martin's to improve to 5-1 on the season. Two runs from junior McKenna Clewett en route to a 2-1 victory in game two propelled UCSD to a mid-week season-opening split with Azusa Pacific. Behind hits from Emma Schneider and Clewett, left-handed pitcher Alexis Edwards picked up the win in game two against the Cougars after coming in for three hitless innings of relief while fanning two batters. The Tritons took both games of Saturday's doubleheader against St. Martin's. UCSD earned a 3-0 win in the opening game as Hannah Duarte and Mo Omori combined for a shut out, and behind two home runs from freshman Lauren Sanders, UCSD took the second game, 3-2. The Tritons then completed the sweep against non-conference opponent St. Martin's Sunday as they earned a 3-1 win in the opening game behind a three-run home run from freshman Kelsi Maday and recorded a season-high 10 hits in the second game to win 2-1. Maday drove in all five Tritons runs on Sunday. Omori dealt her first complete game of the season, giving up just one run on six hits while striking out two batters en route to the Tritons 2-1 in the final game on Sunday.
OMORI AND SANDERS EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Senior pitcher Mo Omori and freshman catcher Lauren Sanders of UC San Diego's softball team were named California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Softball Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, for the week of Feb. 2-8. Omori shined in the circle in UC San Diego's opening week, making five appearances in six games with two starts. In Omori's 16 innings, she has given up just two runs, only one of which was earned, while striking out seven batters. With her performance this past week, Omori picked up two wins of the season with an ERA of 0.44. Sanders was also a huge part in UCSD's 5-1 start this week. In the second game of the series, Sanders led off the second inning by hitting the first home run of 2015 on a deep shot over the center field fence, putting UCSD up 1-0. She came up big again for the Tritons in the sixth with her second homer of the night to give the Tritons the 3-2 victory. Sanders went 6-for-11 against the Saints with three RBI, two home runs and a walk. The Oakdale native leads the Tritons with a .467 batting average, .867 slugging percentage and a .529 on base percentage. The weekly distinctions are the first for both Omori and Sanders in their careers. The Tritons picked up three player of the week honors in 2014 and Edwards was UCSD's only pitcher of the week honoree last season.
WHO'S BACK, WHO'S NOT SNAPSHOT
UCSD is coming off a 34-18 overall season while finishing third in the CCAA with a 20-10 mark. The Tritons made their eighth DII NCAA postseason appearance, where they were eliminated from West Regional after losses to Dixie State, 5-3, and Central Washington, 10-1. Head coach Patti Gerckens, going into her 23rd season leading the Tritons, welcomes back the seven players, including Daktronics All-West Region Second Team selection and All-CCAA First Team honoree Alexis Edwards and All-CCAA Second Team member McKenna Clewett. Edwards compiled a 19-10 record and a 2.12 ERA in 168.1 innings last year while leading the Tritons in ERA (2.12), opposing batting average (.230), wins (19), innings pitched (168.1), strikeouts (80) and appearances (32). Clewett finished the 2014 season hitting .372, good for second on the team and scored 27 runs, hit one home run and tallied 25 RBI in 52 games.
TRITON NOTES
Head coach Patti Gerckens is just two victories away from her milestone 600th win ... Alexis Edwards broke into UCSD's single-season list in 2014 with 32 appearances was good for ninth place and 19 wins put her in sixth on the single-season wins list ... Edwards also sits in 10th place on UCSD's all-time strikeouts list with 123 ... Hannah Duarte notched a career high seven strikeouts on Sunday in game one against St. Martin's ... Lauren Sanders launched a career-high two home runs in Saturday's come from behind victory against SMU in game two ... In game one against the Saints on Sunday, freshman Kelsi Maday hit a three-run home run to lead UCSD to a 3-1 win. Maday leads the Tritons with six RBI ... UCSD's four-game series sweep against SMU featured nine RBI all from freshmen ... The Tritons welcome 10 newcomers to the 2015 squad, including two transfers: Taylor Abeyta (Penn State) and Kristin George (Palomar College) ... The Tritons have 16 California natives on their roster, with Kendall Baker (Berthoud, Colo.) being the only player from out of state ... The Tritons have three local players on the roster: Taylor Abeyta (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS), McKenna Clewett (Escondido/Orange Glen HS) and Emma Schneider (Carlsbad/Carlsbad HS).
HEAD COACH PATTI GERCKENS
Patti Gerckens is currently in her 23rd season in charge of the UC San Diego softball program in 2015. The winningest head coach in program history, Gerckens has led the Tritons to four straight NCAA postseason berths, beginning with back-to-back school-record 45-win seasons and appearances in the Division II championship game, the first of which brought UCSD its first softball title in 2011. The Tritons finished as national runners-up in her milestone 20th campaign in 2012. Gerckens has amassed an overall record of 598-500 (.545), with eight straight 30-win seasons among 10 total. The Tritons have gone 449-335 (.569) in 14 years since Gerckens guided the team's transition from Division III to Division II in 2001, including 269-189 (.587) as a member of the ultra-competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), widely considered the best Division II conference in the country. Gerckens has led UCSD softball to 10 NCAA postseason appearances, with eight at the Division II level. UCSD is 21-16 (.568) in the NCAA Division II Championship. Since taking over the team in 1993, 26 of Gerckens' players have combined for 50 All-West Region selections. Thirty-four of her players have earned All-CCAA honors since 2001. She has also coached four All-Americans. Two of her players have earned CCAA Freshman of the Year honors and two Tritons have won CCAA Player or Pitcher of the Year during her tenure. A native of Old Tappan, N.J., Gerckens graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. She was a four-year starter at second base for the Tar Heels and also played for the New Jersey Blue Jays of the Amateur Softball Association for nine years, winning a championship in 1992.
ABOUT THE GATORS
The Gators return 13 letter winners from last year's young team that went 19-36. In the field SF State returns seven starters including Second Team All-CCAA honoree Jennifer Lewis as well as senior shortstop Courtney Gravel who enters this season with 148 career-hits which is just shy of the top-10 in SF State history. The Gators where slated to open their season at the Best of the West softball tournament hosted by Cal State Stanislaus in Turlock. However, the games were cancelled due to rain and will not be made up. San Francisco State then split its opening day on Wednesday by dropping 3-2 to Academy of Art and defeating Holy Names, 3-0.
SERIES HISTORY
The Tritons have a 40-24 overall record against the Gators. The two squads last faced in a doubleheader last year on April 12 and split the set 2-2. The Tritons recorded 15 hits in the opener to win 8-2 before falling 2-1 in the finale in a 13-inning marathon.
GEAR HERE
UCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.
SOCIAL SERVICES - #TritonsRising
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UCSD Athletics on Twitter (@UCSDtritons)
Coach Gerckens on Twitter (@UCSDCoachG)
UCSD Softball on Twitter (@ucsdsoftball)
UCSD Athletics on YouTube (UCSDAthletics)
UP NEXT
UCSD will wrap up its 12-game homestand Monday with a doubleheader against Adelphi starting at 1 p.m. The Tritons are then off on the road next weekend as they travel to Cal State Stanislaus for a four-game series on Feb. 20-21. Friday's match-up is slated for a 1 p.m. start, and Saturday's games will begin at 11 a.m.
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