THE SCHEDULE
Games 21 & 22
Sonoma State (14-3, 6-1 CCAA)
Friday, March 6 • 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Triton Softball Field • La Jolla
Live Stats

Games 23 & 24
Sonoma State
Saturday, March 7 • 11:00 a.m. (DH)
Triton Softball Field • La Jolla
Live Audio/Video • Live Stats

After a tough series against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside, the UC San Diego softball team returns home to Triton Softball Field to host a four-game set against Sonoma State. The Tritons will play a doubleheader against the Seawolves on Friday at 1 p.m. and again on Saturday at 11 a.m. SSU sits in first in the CCAA standings at 6-1, while UCSD comes in at fourth. The Tritons are 15-5 overall with an 8-4 conference mark.

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 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.

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
The Tritons opened the 2015 campaign with 12-straight games at Triton Softball Field. OUCSD has 24 games scheduled in La Jolla with the last series listed on April 24-25 against Cal State San Bernardino. The Tritons will face Cal State Dominguez Hills, Chico State and Cal State East Bay on the road in conference play. UCSD will also travel to Turlock for the Tournament of Champions on March 27-29. The 2015 CCAA softball championship will be held May 1-3 in Stockton. Check out the full schedule by clicking here.

GERCKENS EARNS 600TH WIN
Triton head coach Patti Gerckens, in her 23rd season in charge, earned her milestone 600th career win with a doubleheader sweep against San Francisco State on Friday, Feb. 13. 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.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
UCSD received votes in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II poll for the third straight week. The Tritons earned four votes in the rankings for the week of Feb. 18 and repeated for the week of Feb. 25. In the latest poll, UCSD is up to 11 votes, the fifth most of any team outside the top-25. The rankings feature two California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) foes with Cal State Monterey Bay coming in at No. 3 and Humboldt State at No. 19. For the complete list of rankings, click here.

2015 CCAA STANDINGS
UCSD began conference play with a four-game series sweep over SF State at Triton Softball Field, then traveled to Turlock where it took three of four against Cal State Stanislaus. Most recently, the Tritons lost their first series taking just one of four from No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside. UCSD's 8-4 record puts them in fourth place in the CCAA standings. Sonoma State sits in first place with a 6-1 conference mark after taking three of four from Cal State Dominguez Hills and sweeping Cal State San Bernardino in a shortened three-game series.

1. Sonoma State: 6-1, 14-3
T-2. Cal State Monterey Bay: 6-2, 13-2
T-2. Humboldt State: 6-2, 9-6
4. UC San Diego: 8-4, 15-5
5. Chico State: 5-3, 8-4
6. Cal State East Bay: 6-6, 13-7
7. Cal State Dominguez Hills: 4-4, 6-9
8. Cal State Stanislaus: 3-9, 7-11
9. San Francisco State: 2-10, 3-13
10. Cal State San Bernardino: 1-6, 9-11

CCAA LEADERS
UCSD leads the conference in ERA (1.89), sacrifice flies (6), and sacrifice hits (24). The Tritons ranks second with triples (3), shutouts (4) and opposing batting average (.226), while coming in third with stolen bases (22). Individually, senior Mo Omori holds the top spot in saves with four.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Among all CCAA teams, UCSD ranks:
Offensively
T-2. Triples (3)
3. Stolen Bases (22)
4. Walks (51)
6. Doubles (22)
7. AVG (.272)
7. Hits (131)
7. Fewest Strikeouts (70)
7. SLG (.387)
8. Runs (66)
8. Home runs (9)
8. RBI (61)
8. OBP (.346)

Pitching
1. ERA (1.89)
1. Home runs against (2)
3. Earned runs (36)
3. Runs (49)
5. Strikeouts (70)
5. Hits (111)
10. Walks (68)

ABEYTA TO FIRST
Junior outfielder Taylor Abeyta has reached base in 18 straight games this season, which is the longest streak of the season. Freshman catcher Lauren Sanders had the second longest streak with 14 straight games this season, but her streak ended on Feb. 21 in game two against Cal State Stanislaus. Abeyta also had the longest hitting streak this season with six games, while her active streak is two.

STELLAR PITCHING
UCSD is off to an impressive start in the circle this season. The team currently ranks first in the CCAA with a 1.89 ERA. Additionally, all three UCSD pitchers rank among the top 5 players in the CCAA in ERA. Hannah Duarte sits in second place with a 1.74 ERA, Alexis Edwards is in third with a 1.94 ERA and Mo Omori rounds out the group in fourth place with a 2.12 ERA. The Triton pitching staff has allowed 35 earned runs in 20 games, while recording 70 strikeouts and four total shutouts.

CLEARING THE FENCE
Freshman outfielder Kelsi Maday leads the Tritons with three home runs this season after she hit one out in game two on Feb. 16 against Adelphi. Maday also leads the team with 12 RBI. Freshman catcher Lauren Sanders and junior shortstop McKenna Clewett are second on the team with two, which is a season-high for both. Additionally, Emma Schneider and Kendall Woken each have hit one out this season.

SANDERS SLUGGING
Freshman Lauren Sanders currently leads the team in four hitting categories: batting average (.362), slugging percentage (.553), hits (17), and sacrifice flies (2). The Oakdale native also holds the second spot in RBI (11) and home runs (2).

SAVING THE DAY
Senior pitcher Mo Omori has accumulated four saves through 20 games, putting her in a five-way tie for first place on UCSD's single-season list. Omori is on pace for 10 saves in the regular season, which would not only set a new single-season record, but would eclipse assistant coach Camille Gaito's first place all-time record of nine.

DUARTE STRIKES OUT PERSONAL RECORD
With just 12 appearances, junior right-handed pitcher Hannah Duarte has surpassed her season-high strikeouts record with 36 on the season. Duarte's previous record was 13, which she set in 2014 with 19 appearances. Duarte, who currently leads the Tritons with a 1.74 ERA, sports a 4.49 strikeouts per 7 innings pitched.

SHUT IT DOWN
The Tritons are second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with four shutouts this season. UCSD recorded its first of the season on Feb. 7 in game one against St. Martin's. Hannah Duarte started giving up just three hits in five innings of work, and Mo Omori completed the game with two perfect innings as the Tritons won, 3-0. Duarte then completed her first game en route to the Tritons second shutout in game one against San Francisco State on Feb. 14. The Long Beach native narrowly missed tossing a no-hitter. She finished the game giving up only one hit in five innings of work as the Tritons dismantled the Gators, 8-0. The entire UCSD pitching staff came together to help blank San Francisco State in game two on Feb. 14. Junior lefty Alexis Edwards got the start in the circle and allowed just four runners on base in four innings. Omori came in to relieve Edwards in the fifth for another perfect outing. The senior went 1.2 innings without allowing a single hit. Duarte then sealed up the shutout, going the final 1.1 innings and giving up just one walk as UCSD completed the four-game series sweep against San Francisco State with a 1-0 win. Against Cal State Stanislaus, UCSD recovered from a 6-1 loss that ended its 11 game win streak to blank the Warriors 5-0 on two one-run doubles from Kristin George and Taylor Abeyta, a two-run homer from McKenna Clewett and a sacrifice fly from Kelsi Maday.

WEEKEND REWIND
The Tritons came away from this weekend with just one win against their toughest opponent of the season, No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay. UCSD started off the series with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss on Friday, but bounced back and defeated CSUMB in game two at Otter Sports Complex. A two-run homer by shortstop McKenna Clewett put the Tritons ahead early en route to a 4-2 win. Junior lefty Alexis Edwards started off game two retiring six of the seven batters she faced. Then in the top of the third, Kendall Woken led off with a single on a perfect bunt to third base. Clewett came up to bat and cleared the fence in left center to put the Tritons on top, 2-0. The Otters tied it up at two apiece in the fourth, but the Tritons pulled ahead two innings later. Freshman Kelsi Maday drew a walk in the sixth inning and advanced to third on a single by Ashley Chestnut. Maday then scored the go ahead run on a passed ball. Sophomore Bianca Devoto, who came in to pinch hit for Woken, singled to left field to drive in Kendall Baker, who was pinch running for Chestnut, and give UCSD an insurance run. Due to inclement weather on Saturday, the series wrapped up on Sunday, and UCSD saw its first series loss of the season falling 7-1 in game one before suffering an 8-0 loss to the Otters in the series finale.

TRITON NOTES
Head coach Patti Gerckens earned her 600th career win after the doubleheader sweep of San Francisco State on Friday, Feb. 13 ... After dropping their season opener, the Tritons won 11 straight games, the longest streak since winning 14 in a row over the span of the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and the longest single-season streak since 2001 ... UCSD, who was picked to finish fourth in the CCAA, is currently in fourth place in the conference with a 8-4 mark ... Junior McKenna Clewett hit her second home run of the season in game two on Friday to give the Tritons a 4-2 win against No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay ... On Feb. 16 against Adelphi, senior Mo Omori picked up her fourth save of the season to tie the UCSD's single-season record ... 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).

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.

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 608-504 (.547), 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 SEAWOLVES
Sonoma State opened its 2015 campaign being predicted to place third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular season standings after finishing 2014 with an overall record of 38-23 and its sixth straight NCAA Division II Championship appearance. SSU returned seven starters, including the reigning CCAA Pitcher of the Year, junior Amand Lierena, who picked up the weekly conference honor after allowing just one run in 19.0 innings for a 0.37 ERA this week and tossing complete-game no-hitter in a 4-0 shutout of Cal State San Bernardino last Friday. SSU is off to its best start in program history at 14-3, and currently sits at the top of the league standings with a 6-1 mark.

SERIES HISTORY
UCSD holds a 32-29 all-time series record against SSU. The four-game regular season series was split 2-2 in Rohnert Park at Seawolf Softball Field .The Tritons took the opener, 3-1, before the Seawolves won the next two with scores of 6-1, 7-4. UCSD concluded the series with a 4-1 win thanks to 11 hits from the Triton offense.

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.

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UP NEXT
The Tritons are back on the road next weekend as they head to Carson to face Cal State Dominguez Hills. UCSD will play a doubleheader on Sunday and Monday, both slated for a noon start.

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