THE SCHEDULE
Game 35 & 36
vs. Chico State (20-10, 13-7 CCAA)
Friday, April 3 •  1:00 p.m. (DH)
Wildcat Softball Field • Chico
Live Stats • Live Video

Game 37 & 38
vs. Chico State
Saturday, April 4 • 11:00 a.m. (DH)
Wildcat Softball Field • Chico
Live Stats • Live Video

After competing in the 14th Annual Tournament of Champions last weekend, UCSD returns to conference play on Friday with a four-game series against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) foe, Chico State. They will play a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively. The Wildcats are 20-10 overall and hold a 13-7 mark in the conference, while the Tritons are 19-15 on the season with a 9-11 mark in the CCAA.

GOING LIVE
Live stats are available for a majority of UCSD's games, including all home contests at Triton Softball Field, and all this weekend in Chico. The Wildcats will be providing live stats and live video this weekend. 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. UCSD has 24 games scheduled in La Jolla with the last series listed on April 24-25 against Cal State San Bernardino. After traveling to Cal State Stanislaus, Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Tritons still have series against Chico State and Cal State East Bay on the road in conference play. UCSD traveled to Turlock for the Tournament of Champions last weekend, where they went 3-3. The 2015 CCAA 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.

DUARTE TOSSES ONE-HITTER
Junior right-handed pitcher Hannah Duarte threw her first complete game one-hit shutout on March 28 against Notre Dame de Namur. Duarte nearly had a perfect game as just two Agronauts reached base on an error and a hit. The Long Beach native also finished the game with four strikouts bringing her season total to 54, surpassing her season-high strikeouts record. Duarte's previous record was 13, which she set in 2014 with 19 appearances. Duarte's performance against Notre Dame de Namur was her second complete game shutout of the weekend. The first came against Chaminade on March 27.

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. The Tritons lost their first series taking just one of four from No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside, then dropped three of four at home against Sonoma State. Most recently, the Tritons traveled to Carson where Cal State Dominguez Hills pulled off a four-game series sweep. UCSD's 9-11 record puts them in seventh place in the CCAA standings. Sonoma State sits in first place with a league record of 14-5 and CSUMB and Humboldt State are close behind at 14-6.

1. Sonoma State: 14-5, 27-10
T-2. Cal State Monterey Bay: 14-6, 30-8
T-2. Humboldt State: 14-6, 28-10
4. Chico State: 13-7, 20-10
5. Cal State Dominguez Hills: 12-8, 19-15
6. Cal State San Bernardino: 9-10, 17-17
7. UC San Diego: 9-11, 19-15
8. Cal State East Bay: 8-12, 20-15
T-9. Cal State Stanislaus: 3-17, 11-23
T-9. San Francisco State: 3-17, 8-26

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Among all CCAA teams, UCSD ranks:
Offensively
2. Sacrifice hits (42)
3. Sacrifice flies (10)
4. Shutouts (6)
5. Strikeouts (112)
5. Stolen bases (40)
6. Triples (3)
7. AVG (.278)
8. SLG (.379)
8. Home runs (15)
9. RBI (107)
9. Total Bases (324)
9. Walks (79)9. Hits (237)
9. Runs (116)
9. Doubles (36)
9. OBP (.343)

Pitching
3. ERA (2.57)
3. Hits (220)
3. Runs (110)
3. Earned runs (83)
8. Strikeouts (107)
9. Walks (115)

MADAY TO FIRST
Freshman Kelsi Maday has both the Tritons' longest active hitting streak and on base streak. The outfielder has reached base in seven straight games, while recording a hit in six straight. Her hitting streak is tied for the longest on the team this season. Junior outfielder Taylor Abeyta had previously recorded a hit in six straight games. Abeyta also had the longest on base streak this season with 19 straight games, ending on March 6 in game two against Sonoma State.

STELLAR PITCHING
UCSD has impressed in the circle this season. The team currently ranks third in the CCAA with a 2.54 ERA. Additionally, Alexis Edwards ranks fourth in the CCAA with a 2.37 ERA. The Triton pitching staff has allowed 82 earned runs in 34 games, while recording 107 strikeouts and six total shutouts.

WALK THIS WAY
Lead off hitter McKenna Clewett has amassed 14 walks so far this season, which leads the Tritons. Clewett's 14 walks also set a career-high for the junior shortstop. Her previous record was 10, which she set last year.

CLEARING THE FENCE
Two Tritons are tied for first on the team in home runs. Freshman catcher Lauren Sanders took the top spot after she hit her third fourth homer of the year against Hawaii Pacific and Dominican on March 27. Freshman outfielder Kelsi Maday  tied the record at the Tournament of Champions as she hit a solo shot in the Tritons' 8-0 shutout win against Chaminade. Sophomore catcher and first baseman Emma Schneider is tied for third with three after she hit a home run in each game of the doubleheader on March 22 against Cal State Dominguez Hills. Junior shortstop McKenna Clewett tied Schneider's mark after she led off game one on March 23 with a solo shot. Additonally, Kendall Woken has one home run on the year after hitting a grand slam on Feb. 21 in game one against Cal State Stanislaus.

SANDERS SLUGGING
Freshman Lauren Sanders currently leads the team in seven hitting categories: batting average (.356), slugging percentage (.552), hits (31), RBI (18), home runs (4), total bases (48) and sacrifice flies (3).

SAVING THE DAY
Senior pitcher Mo Omori has accumulated four saves through 17 games, putting her in a five-way tie for first place on UCSD's single-season list. Omori is on pace for five saves in the regular season, which would not only set a new single-season record, but would put her in a tie for third place behind assistant coach Camille Gaito's first place all-time record of nine and Melissa Ward's second place record of eight.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Four Tritons sport a perfect fielding percentage in 2015: Ashley Chestnut, Taylor Abeyta, Mo Omori and Emily Sklencar. Combined, the four have made 172 putouts and account for 20 assists.

SHUT IT DOWN
The Tritons are second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with six shutouts this season. After recording four shutouts in the month of February, the Tritons added two more in the final weekend of March. After opening the 14th Annual Tournament of Champions with a 4-3 win against Hawaii Pacific on March 27, UCSD dismantled Chaminade in an 8-0 win. Right-handed pitcher Hannah Duarte worked a full seven innings giving up six hits and two walks while striking out a batter. Behind Duarte's performance in the circle, the Tritons' offense put up 12 hits, highlighted by a home run from Kelsi Maday. On the following day, Duarte led UCSD to another shutout with a complete game one-hit performance en route to a 1-0 win against Notre Dame de Namur. Just two Argonauts reached based on Saturday on a hit and an error. Maday produced the only run of the game for the Tritons on an RBI single in seventh inning to score Emma Schneider.

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 sixth place in the conference with a 9-11 mark ... 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 612-514 (.544), 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 WILDCATS
After finishing last season 24-26 overall and 17-19 in conference play, Chico State welcomes back 13 players from last year's squad, along with two JC transfers and a trio of true freshmen to attempt to return to the postseason for the first time since 2012. The Wildcats are currently 20-10 overall with a 13-7 league mark to put them in fourth place in the conference. Chico State is led by Emily McEnaney who boasts a .460 batting average, .770 slugging percentage and .542 on base percentage and 31 RBI.

SERIES HISTORY
UCSD currently holds a 37-21 all-time series record against Chico State since the 1983 season. The two squads faced off last year, where UCSD won three of four.

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 return home for a four-game series against Humboldt State on April 10 and 11. UCSD will play a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday starting at 3 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively.

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