THE SCHEDULE
Games 39 & 40
vs. No. 13 Humboldt State (32-10, 18-6 CCAA)
Friday, April 10 • 3:00 p.m. (DH)
Triton Softball Field • La Jolla
Live Audio • Live Stats
Games 41 & 42
vs. Humboldt State
Saturday, April 11 • 11:00 a.m. (DH)
Triton Softball Field • La Jolla
Live Audio/Video • Live Audio • Live Stats
An impressive series win against Chico State on the road helped move the UC San Diego softball team up in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. The Tritons look to continue to improve their standing as they welcome first-place Humboldt State this weekend to Triton Softball Field. They will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 3 p.m. and play two on Saturday with an 11 a.m. start time. The Tritons are 19-19 overall and hold a 12-12 mark in conference, while the Jacks come to La Jolla with a 32-10 overall record and are 18-6 in the league.
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 25. The audio/video is free, but does require registration and a login. All four of this weekend's games with Humboldt State will also have an online audio broadcast courtesy of HSU here. Some road contests will also have video. Live stats are available for all games. 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. 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.
FREE POSTERS
Don't miss your chance to grab your team poster of the UCSD softball team this Friday and Saturday at the press box of Triton Softball Field. Posters will be available at the remaining UCSD home games. The free poster is sponsored by UCSD Dining Services and Pepsi.
BIANCA DEVOTO NAMED CCAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore utility Bianca Devoto was named California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Softball Player of the Week for the week of March 30-April 5. The Livermore product led the Tritons as they took three of four from Chico State on the road. With the series win, UCSD moved up to fifth place in the CCAA standings. Devoto's bat was crucial in the series, hitting .625 (5-for-8) with two doubles, four RBI and three walks. Of Devoto's three games, she drove in the winning run in two. In Friday's opener, her pinch-hit, bases-loaded walk in the eighth forced in the lone run of a 1-0 shutout. Devoto's most impressive effort came in Saturday's first game. She had an RBI double in the first, before once again accounting for the game-winner.
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.
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 hit a rough patch in conference play as they lost their first series taking just one of four from No. 3 Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside, dropped three of four at home against Sonoma State, and got swept in Carson by Cal State Dominguez Hills. Most recently, UCSD took three of four on the road against Chico State. UCSD's 12-12 record puts them in sixth place in the CCAA standings. Humboldt State sits in first place with a league record of 18-6 and CSUMB is close behind at 17-7.
1. Humboldt State; 18-6, 32-10
2. Cal State Monterey Bay; 17-7, 33-9
3. Sonoma State; 15-8, 28-14
4. Chico State; 14-10, 21-13
5. Cal State San Bernardino; 12-11, 20-20
T-6. UC San Diego; 12-12, 22-16
T-6. Cal State Dominguez Hills; 12-12, 19-19
8. Cal State East Bay; 9-15, 21-18
9. Cal State Stanislaus; 5-19, 13-25
10. San Francisco State; 5-19, 10-30
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. 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. Her most recent complete game shutout came on April 3 against Chico State. Duarte worked 8 innings giving up three hits and three walks while fanning three batters to give UCSD the 1-0 win.
BAKER AND MADAY TO FIRST
Freshmen Kelsi Maday and Kendall Baker hold the Tritons' longest active on base streak. The duo have reached base in 11 straight games. Additionally, Maday holds the longest active hitting streak at 10. Her hitting streak is the longest on the team this season. Junior outfielder Taylor Abeyta previously had the longest on base streak this season with 19 straight games, ending on March 6 in game two against Sonoma State.
WALK THIS WAY
Lead off hitter McKenna Clewett has amassed 16 walks so far this season, which leads the Tritons. Clewett's 16 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 four hitting categories: batting average (.347), slugging percentage (.526), home runs (4), and sacrifice flies (3). Sanders holds the second spot in on base percentage (.422) and RBI (19).
SAVING THE DAY
Senior pitcher Mo Omori has accumulated four saves through 19 games, putting her in a four-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 225 putouts and account for 21 assists.
SHUT IT DOWN
The Tritons are second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with eight shutouts this season. After recording four shutouts in the month of February, the Tritons added two more in the final weekend of March. UCSD opened April with back-to-back shutouts against Chico State.
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 615-515 (.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 JACKS
No. 13 Humboldt State comes to La Jolla sitting in first place in the CCAA with a 32-10 overall record. The Jacks, who are coming off a sweep of Cal State Dominguez Hills, is led on defense by pitcher Katie Obbema. The junior went 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA last weekend to pick up the CCAA Pitcher of the Week nodfor the second-straight week. On offense, the Jacks are led by sophomore middle infielder Tiffany Hollingsworth, who is a finalist for NFCA DII National Player of the Year. Hollingsworth is the CCAA leader with 14 home runs and 52 RBI, while sporting a .397 batting average with an .801 slugging percentage.
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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