THE SCHEDULE
Games 11 & 12
vs. Adelphi University (0-0, 0-0 NE-10)
Monday, Feb. 16 • 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Triton Softball Field • La Jolla
Live Stats
GOING LIVE
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.
GERCKENS EARNS 600TH WIN
Triton head coach Patti Gerckens, in her 23rd season in charge, earned her milestone 600th career win on Friday with a doubleheader sweep against San Francisco State. UCSD won the opener, 4-1, and the Tritons' 5-3 victory in game two helped Gerckens accomplish the 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 in 2012 and a national championship in 2011.
CCAA LEADERS
UCSD began conference play on Friday and Saturday with a four-game series sweep over San Francisco State at Triton Softball Field. The Tritons' 4-0 start puts them in first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. Cal State East Bay sits in second place with a 3-1 conference mark. In addition to being at the top of the standings, UCSD leads the conference in ERA (0.72), shutouts (3), triples (2) and opponent batting average (.177). The Tritons ranks fourth with hits (69) and third in runs allowed (10).
PRIME PITCHING
UCSD is off to an impressive start in the circle this season. The team currently ranks first in the CCAA with a 0.77 ERA. Additionally, all three UCSD pitchers rank among the top 5 players in the CCAA in ERA. Hannah Duarte leads the leauge with a 0.46 ERA, Alexis Edwards is fourth with a 0.88 ERA, and Mo Omori ranks fifth with a 0.98 ERA. The Tritons pitching staff has allowed just seven earned runs in 10 games, while recording 32 strikeouts and three total shutouts.
WEEKLY REWIND
UCSD used a 4-1 win in the opener and a 5-3 victory in game two to take both of Friday's contests at Triton Softball Field against CCAA foe SF State. With the doubleheader sweep, head coach Patti Gerckens earned her 600th career win. Bianca Devoto led UCSD with three RBI in the doubleheader, while Emma Schneider and Lauren Sanders tacked on two apiece and Rachel Phillips and McKenna Clewett each earned one on a hit-by-pitch. The Tritons completed a four-game sweep of San Francisco State on Saturday. The Tritons used a strong offensive performance to mercy rule the Gators in the opener, 8-0, before closing out the set with a 1-0 win in the finale. Schneider and Kelsi Maday led the Tritons on offense with a two-run homer and a solo shot, respectively in the first game, while UCSD's pitching staff combined for a shut out in game two. The Tritons have won nine straight games to improve to 9-1 overall and opened conference play with a 4-0 start, taking sole possesion of first place in the CCAA.
OMORI AND SANDERS EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Senior pitcher Mo Omori and freshman catcher Lauren Sanders were named CCAA Softball Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, for the week of Feb. 2-8. Omori shined in the circle in UCSD'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 in the first 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. In the second game of the series against SMU, 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 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 earned her 600th career win after Friday's doubleheader sweep of San Francisco State ... After dropping their season opener, the Tritons have won nine straight games ... UCSD, who was picked to finish fourth in the CCAA, currently leads the conference with a 4-0 mark ... In Saturday's 8-0 win against the Gators, Emma Schneider hit a two-run homer, her first of the season ... Kelsi Maday hit her second home run of the season in game one on Saturday ... Lauren Sanders and Maday lead the Tritons in homers with two apiece ... Additionally, Maday leads UCSD with nine RBI ... 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 ... 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 in her 23rd season in charge at UCSD. 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 602-500 (.546), 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 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 PANTHERS
The Panthers, who open up their season against UCSD, return all but two starters to the 2015 lineup. Adelphi finished second in the Southwest Division of the 2015 Northeast-10 Conference Coaches' Poll and looks for a third straight 20 plus win season for head coach Breanne Nasti. Adelphi is coming off a 27-20 campaign in 2014.
SERIES HISTORY
Monday's doubleheader will be the first ever match-up between the Tritons and the Panthers.
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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Coach Gerckens on Twitter (@UCSDCoachG)
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UP NEXT
The Tritons are on the road this weekend for the first time in 2015, 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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