LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego softball heads north to Bakersfield for a three-game series vs. Cal State Bakersfield on March 28 and 29. The series opens in a doubleheader on Friday, March 28 with game one set for 12 p.m. with the second game immediately to follow. The final game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 with all three games live on ESPN+ and live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com.
On Tuesday, April 1, the Tritons will open the new month against UCLA in a single game matchup. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Easton Stadium on the Los Angeles campus. The game will be live on B1G+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com.
MATCHUPS
Cal State Bakersfield (12-20, 3-6) enters the weekend on a one game losing streak. In the three series the Roadrunners have played, they have dropped two to UCSB (1-2) and UC Riverside (0-3) and took the series over UC Davis (2-1). The Runners are led at the plate by breakout freshman Maalia Cherry who is batting a .356 average with 14 runs scored, 27 teammates batted in, and 9 home runs cracked in her 32 games played. Cherry has won Big West Freshman of the Week three times this season and won National Freshman of the Week in the second week of the season. Leading the Runners' defense, Bailee Bustos is sporting a 4.46 ERA over 25 appearances and 11 complete games tossed. The junior has tallied 27 strikeouts to force a .274 batting average in her 111 innings of work. She was named Big West Pitcher of the Week back-to-back in the first two weeks of the season.
UC San Diego (6-19, 4-5) is coming off a Big West series sweep over UC Riverside and dropping their last game against New Mexico for a one game losing streak. After a tough start, the Tritons broke up their 12-game losing streak against LBSU in the second week of conference play and then earned a series win the following weekend. Righthander
India Caldwell tossed 14.2 shutout innings over four games with 17 strikeouts punched to earn Big West Pitcher of the Week honors. She leads the UC San Diego defense with a 4.11 ERA over 81 innings of work for a 5-8 record. At the plate,
Lily Hermosillo leads the team with a .302 batting average and has scored six runs and batted in 11 teammates.
Morgan Eng has stolen 19 bases and scored 12 runs, and
Jaden Hill has scored 10 runs in 15 games played with a .375 batting average.
In the overall series, UC San Diego leads at 10-8 over Cal State Bakersfield. Sweeping the 2024 series, the Tritons won three close games with the most recent meeting ending in a 4-2 result. UC San Diego came from behind with
Deena Pederson hitting a single, double, and home run to score three runs.
Currently ranked No. 10 in the nation, UCLA enters the weekend on a one-game winning streak and split their last Big Ten series with Iowa. Before meeting the Tritons on Tuesday, the Bruins will travel to Maryland for a three-game conference series. On Tuesday, the Bruins will play a Big West doubleheader as they face CSUN at 4:30 p.m. and UC San Diego at 7 p.m. UCLA has three batters hitting over .400 with Savannah Pola hitting an impressive .444 batting average for a total of 40 runs scored and 28 more batted in. Jordan Woolery has knocked in 49 of her teammates in 33 games so far this season with her slugging percentage at 100 on 14 home runs. From in the circle, Kaitlyn Terry has tallied 82.2 innings of work for a 1.52 ERA. The lefty pitcher has only given up 18 earned runs and has punched out 100 batters in 17 appearances forcing a .187 batting average on her opponents.
In their last meeting, UCLA visited the La Jolla campus and defeated the Tritons in a 10-1 result on April 4, 2023. The game was tied up until the third inning and then the Bruins blew the game open with a six-run fourth inning. The Triton's opponents lead the all-time series at 3-0.
DETAILS
| Game 26 (DH) |
Game 27 (DH) |
Game 28 |
Game 29 |
| at Cal State Bakersfield |
at Cal State Bakersfield |
at Cal State Bakersfield |
at UCLA |
| Roadrunner Softball Complex |
Roadrunner Softball Complex |
Roadrunner Softball Complex |
Easton Stadium |
| 12:00 p.m. | March 28 |
2:30 p.m. | March 28 |
1:00 p.m. | March 29 |
7:00 p.m. | April 1 |
| Watch | Live Stats |
Watch | Live Stats |
Watch | Live Stats |
B1G+ | Live Stats |
| ABOUT THE TRITONS |
ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS |
ABOUT THE BRUINS |
| Roster | Schedule | Stats |
Roster | Sched | Stats |
Roster | Sched | Stats |
| 2025 Overall: 6-19 |
2025 Overall: 12-20 |
2025 Overall: 28-5 |
| 2025 Big West: 4-5 |
2025 Big West: 3-6 |
2025 B1G: 4-1 |
| 2025 Home: 4-8 |
2025 Home: 5-5 |
2025 Home: 9-0 |
| 2025 Away: 1-5 |
2025 Away: 1-8 |
2025 Away: 4-1 |
| 2025 Neutral: 1-6 |
2025 Neutral: 6-7 |
2025 Neutral: 15-4 |
| Streak: L1 |
Streak: L1 |
Streak: W1 |
UP NEXT
Returning to Big West play, UC San Diego will return to Triton Softball Field to host UC Santa Barbara in a three-game conference home series on April 4 and 5. The series begins with a doubleheader on Friday, April 4 with first pitch set for 4 p.m. with the second game to immediately follow. Wrapping on Saturday, April 5, the two teams will face each other in a single game matchup with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. All three games will stream live on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com.
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons (6-19, 4-6 Big West) suffered a 5-0 non-conference loss to the New Mexico Lobos (17-16-1, 2-4 Mountain West) at Triton Softball Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Haley Garcia led on the stat sheet, going 2-for-2 for a pair of singles while also collecting two stolen bases.
Callie Christian started in the circle on Tuesday, pitching just over four innings where she racked up two strikeouts, three walks and seven hits.
India Caldwell finished the game, striking out four while giving up one hit in a two-inning campaign.
CALDWELL EARNS BIG WEST WEEKLY HONORS
UC San Diego's
India Caldwell was named Big West Pitcher of the Week on Monday, March 24 for her outstanding performance over the weekend.
The Fallbrook product helped the Tritons to their first Big West series win and sweep this season over UC Riverside.
Earning three wins this weekend,
India Caldwell posted a 0.00 ERA tossing a complete game shutout for a total of 12 innings of work. The right-hander gave up five hits and two walks while striking out 13 and giving up no extra base hits.
Caldwell is the first Triton recognized for weekly honors in 2025 and the 8th all-time.
CALDWELL NAMED TO BIG WEST PRESEASON TEAM
UC San Diego softball was selected to finish sixth in the Big West as announced in the 2025 Big West Softball Preseason Poll on Thursday afternoon. The Tritons were awarded 43 points by the conference's head coaches and senior,
India Caldwell was named to the preseason team.
The Fallbrook product led the gold and blue defense from in the circle, tossing 105 strikeouts over 171.1 innings pitched. The right-hander forced a .277 batting average with only 52 walks and 66 earned runs given up in her 16 complete games pitched.
WHO'S BACK?
The team is returning 10 players, five seniors:
Morgan Eng,
India Caldwell,
Reilly Erickson,
Alexa DeMarse, and
Marissa Hassis; four juniors:
KayLeigh Coberly,
Lily Hermosillo,
Hannah Allen, and
Claire Adams; one sophomore:
Jackie Tremper.
NEW FACES
Head coach Nikki Palmer brought in six transfers, one senior,
Jaden Hill, one junior,
Haley Garcia, and four sophomores:
Zara Wasserman,
Gabrielle Flores,
Elise Nishimura, and
Chloe Lesko. Plus, nine true freshmen will don the gold and blue this season:
Alyssa Doucette,
Scarlette Chapman,
Lexi Ellenwood,
Ryanna Alano,
Samantha Womack,
Alexis Jimenez,
Lauren Rozell,
Emma Umemura, and
Callie Christian.
PALMER JOINS TRITONCAST
On this week's show, it's our 2025 UC San Diego softball season preview! New head coach and Triton alum Nikki Palmer joins us in the Triton Spotlight to talk about building on the tradition and foundation, and what kind of team we can expect to see at Triton Softball Field this season. As always, host
Jeff Tourial takes us around campus for the latest in Triton Athletics.
Episode 111 of
Tritoncast, the official podcast for UC San Diego Athletics, has dropped and is available to download or stream on every major podcast platform.
FOLLOW THE TRITONS
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The team's handle is @UCSDsoftball.
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
