LA JOLLA, Calif. – In their first season of NCAA postseason eligibility, UC San Diego softball heads to the inaugural Big West Softball Championship as the sixth seed and scheduled to face No. 3 UC Santa Barbara on May 7 at 4 p.m. in Fullerton, Calif. The game will be live on ESPN+ with live statistics available on UCSDTritons.com.
MATCHUPS
Seeded as the third seed, UC Santa Barbara finished the regular season at 28-23 overall and 17-10 in Big West play. The Gauchos were the only team to sweep Cal State Fullerton (1 seed) during conference play and were able to avoid the sweep against CSUN (1-2 series). Malaya Johnson (17-9) was named Pitcher of the Year by the conference and enters the matchup with a 2.70 ERA earned over 17 complete games allowing only 63 earned runs over 625 at-bats. At the plate, Giselle Mejia is sporting a .357 batting average while Bella Fuentes has knocked in 56 runs with 10 home runs.
UC San Diego enters the championship tournament 15-30 overall and 13-14 in Big West play to earn the sixth seed. In the regular season, the Tritons found success in conference play earning two sweeps over UC Riverside and Cal Poly, and series win over UC Davis.
India Caldwell earned a spot on the All-Big West First Team after finishing the season with a 2.88 ERA and 106 strikeouts over 158 innings of work. At the plate,
Jaden Hill remains the Tritons most efficient batter with 17 runs scored in 35 games. Her .320 batting average leads the team along with her .407 on base percentage.
Morgan Eng continues to terrorize on the base paths with 31 stolen bases and a team-high 25 runs scored.
In their regular season meeting, UC Santa Barbara swept the doubleheader before the Tritons were able to avoid the sweep by winning the final game by a run. UC San Diego came from behind to win the finale with three runs in the sixth to tie it and then a walk-off run in the seventh.
Elise Nishimura laced a single to left field and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two outs on the board and an 0-2 count,
Morgan Eng slashed a single to left field and Nishimura was able to make it home to walk it off.
DETAILS
If the Tritons fall in their first game, they will immediately play again in an elimination game at 7 p.m. against the loser from No. 4 Long Beach State and No. 5 Hawai'i. Should the Tritons win, they will play on Thursday, May 8 at 4 p.m. vs. No. 2 CSUN.
| ABOUT THE TRITONS |
ABOUT THE RAINBOW WAHINE |
| Roster | Schedule | Stats |
Roster | Schedule | Stats |
| 2025 Overall: 15-30 |
2025 Overall: 29-17 |
| 2025 Big West: 13-14 |
2025 Big West: 15-9 |
| 2025 Home: 6-12 |
2025 Home: 18-9 |
| 2025 Away: 8-12 |
2025 Away: 9-4 |
| 2025 Neutral: 1-6 |
2025 Neutral: 2-4 |
| Streak: L2 |
Streak: W1 |
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego softball dropped the doubleheader to Hawai'i on Saturday night in a 7-4 and 4-3 results.
The Tritons finish the regular season at 15-30 overall and 13-14 in conference play.
In game one,
Claire Adams got the start for the gold and blue allowing two earned runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Callie Christian came in as relief for the final two innings allowing three runs on three hits and two walks. At the plate,
Alexis Jimenez went 2-for-3 scoring two runs and knocking in one. Pinch hitting,
Emma Umemura hit a two-run homer for a late rally in the seventh.
In game two,
India Caldwell pitched another complete game allowing four runs on six hits.
Jaden Hill went 2-for-3 with two runs knocked in.
Alexis Jimenez tallied a run and RBI on a lone hit.
SIX TRITONS EARN CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
In advent of the Big West Softball Championship, the conference announced the end of the year conference awards with six Tritons earning recognition. Senior,
India Caldwell and graduate student,
Jaden Hill earned first team honors, while senior
Morgan Eng earned second team honors, and junior
Lily Hermosillo, freshman
Alexis Jimenez, and sophomore
Zara Wasserman were honorable mentions.
Alexis Jimenez also earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
India Caldwell, Senior, First Team All-Big West
- Right-hand pitcher
- Big West Pitcher of the Week – March 24
- 10 complete games
- 106 strikeouts – has tallied over 200 career strikeouts in her two-year career at UC San Diego
- Ninth on the UC San Diego career top 10 all-time for strikeouts
Jaden Hill, Graduate Student, First Team All-Big West
- Leads team in batting average (.320)
- Had a 7-game hitting streak
- Leads team in on base percentage (.407)
- Has 28 putouts and 66 assists
- Turned 7 double plays this season
- Started the season recovering from an ACL injury and now starts each game
Morgan Eng, Senior, Second Team All-Big West
- Leads the team in runs scored (25)
- Leads the team and Big West in stolen bases (31)
- Hit 100 stolen bases this season
- Holds two spots on the top 10 all-time single season for stolen bases
Lily Hermosillo, Junior, Honorable Mention
- Started and play 42 games behind the plate
- Has knocked in 15 runs and scored 15
- Caught 8 runners stealing
- Has 180 putouts with 14 assists
Alexis Jimenez, Freshman, Honorable Mention, All-Freshman Team
- Has played 30 games and started 38 at either third base or as the designated player
- Knocked four home runs (second most on the team)
- Scored 18 runs and tallied 16 RBI
- Has committed no errors this season
Zara Wasserman, Honorable Mention
- Has played 44 games ands started 42 at first base
- Tallied 4 multiple RBI hit games
- Had a 6-game hitting streak
- Had 8 multiple hit games
- Career-high 5 RBI game vs. Cal Poly
- Big West Player of the Week (April 21)
WASSERMAN EARNS CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS
UC San Diego's
Zara Wasserman was named Big West Field Player of the Week on Monday, April 21 after a career performance at Cal Poly.
Leading the Tritons to a three-game sweep, Wasserman slashed .667/.500/.667 over the three games while knocking in nine of her teammates. The first baseman tallied three doubles for a .900 slugging percentage and nine total bases.
Five of her nine RBI came in the finale vs. the Mustangs as the sophomore propelled her team with a comeback victory to secure the sweep. This is a career-high for Wasserman and a feat the Tritons have not accomplished since 2021.
In the field, the Carlsbad product had 16 putouts and one assist. Wasserman is the only consistent start to have not committed an error in the team's 38 games.
Wasserman is the second Triton recognized for weekly honors in 2025 and the 9th all-time.
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
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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.
