UCSanDiego Softball
TRITONS OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2000 The UC San Diego softball team, having won 15 of its last 18 games, is off to its best start since 2000 with an overall mark of 23-11. The 2000 season was the last for the Tritons at the Division III level. This year, UCSD started the year by going a mediocre 8-8 in February. Taking three of four from San Francisco State on the road to begin March sparked an impressive 15-3 run for the Tritons, bolstered by home sweeps of Dixie State, Cal St. Stanislaus and Cal St. San Marcos and capped off by a 4-2 performance at the Tournament of Champions this past weekend. FIRST REGIONAL RANKINGS APPEAR The NCAA Division II regional rankings debuted this week and in the West Region, UCSD is positioned at the No. 4 spot behind Hawaii Pacific, Grand Canyon and Sonoma State. Directly behind the Tritons at No. 5 is Central Washington, a team that UCSD topped 1-0 Saturday to advance to the Gold Bracket this past weekend at the tournament in Turlock. This weekend’s opponent, Cal St. Dominguez Hills, holds the final spot in the region at No. 10. The Tritons continue to receive votes in the national top 25 poll tallied by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). In the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, CSUDH sits in a tie for fifth at 11-9 while UCSD occupies third place at 13-7. LESOVSKY, GAITO IN NATIONAL RANKS Junior outfielder Kris Lesovsky and sophomore pitcher Camille Gaito have been key contributors to UCSD’s impressive 15-3 run in March. Statistically, the two have been featured on the national leaderboards at the Division II level. Currently, Lesovsky is 28th in batting average (.463), 24th in slugging percentage (.806) and 24th in triples (3). Among the pitching leaders, Gaito is third in earned run average (0.59), 11th in walks allowed per seven innings (0.98), fifth in shutouts (7). SCOUTING THE DOMINGUEZ HILLS TOROS Cal State Dominguez Hills started out strong at this past weekend’s Tournament of Champions, knocking off No. 18 Grand Canyon 11-9 in a thrilling extra-inning game and then topping Chaminade 13-2, but dropped its final four contests to fall out of the Gold Bracket. The Toros’ 3-2 nine-inning loss to No. 3 Hawaii Pacific serves as a reminder how evenly matched the West Region is, with CSUDH occupying the No. 10 spot regionally while HPU sits at No. 1. The Toros have an overall record of 19-15 to go along with a CCAA mark of 11-9. The Tritons have struggled against CSUDH all-time, going 23-42 in the series.
Game 35
UCSD (23-11, 13-7) vs. CSUDH (19-15, 11-9) Friday, April 2 1 p.m.
February
2/5 2/5 2/12 2/12 2/13 2/13 2/17 2/17 2/19 2/19 2/20 2/20 2/27 2/27 2/28 2/28
Central Washington # W, 2-0 Chico State # L, 3-2 (8 inn.) Chico State* L, 0-2 Chico State* L, 6-7 Chico State* W, 4-0 Chico State* W, 10-9 Cal St. San Bernardino L, 1-3 Cal St. San Bernardino W, 7-5 Cal St. East Bay* W, 9-0 (5 inn.) Cal St. East Bay* W, 3-1 Cal St. East Bay* W, 3-0 Cal St. East Bay* L, 3-4 Sonoma State* L, 0-3 Sonoma State* L, 2-4 Sonoma State* W, 2-0 Sonoma State* L, 3-4
3/5 3/5 3/6 3/6 3/9 3/9 3/12 3/12 3/13 3/13 3/21 3/21 3/26 3/26 3/26 3/27 3/27 3/28
San Francisco State* San Francisco State* San Francisco State* San Francisco State* Dixie State Dixie State Cal St. Stanislaus* Cal St. Stanislaus* Cal St. Stanislaus* Cal St. Stanislaus* Cal St. San Marcos Cal St. San Marcos Hawaii Pacific ! Western Oregon ! St. Martin’s ! Montana St. Billings ! Central Washington ! Dixie State !
March
April/May
W, 6-1 W, 3-1 L, 1-3 W, 9-2 W, 8-2 W, 3-2 W, 2-0 W, 5-3 W, 5-1 W, 2-1 W, 2-1 W, 8-3 L, 0-2 W, 6-3 W, 5-2 W, 13-0 (5 inn.) W, 1-0 L, 2-8
4/2 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* 1 p.m. 4/2 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* 3 p.m. 4/3 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* 12 p.m. 4/3 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* 2 p.m. 4/9 Humboldt St.* 1 p.m. 4/9 Humboldt St.* 3 p.m. 4/10 Humboldt St.* 11 a.m. 4/10 Humboldt St.* 1 p.m. 4/16 Cal St. Monterey Bay* 1 p.m. 4/16 Cal St. Monterey Bay* 3 p.m. 4/17 Cal St. Monterey Bay* 11 a.m. 4/17 Cal St. Monterey Bay* 1 p.m. 4/23 Cal St. San Bernardino* 12 p.m. 4/23 Cal St. San Bernardino* 2 p.m. 4/24 Cal St. San Bernardino* 12 p.m. 4/24 Cal St. San Bernardino* 2 p.m. 4/30-5/2 CCAA Championship Tournament TBA 5/14-5/31 NCAA D-II Tournament TBA Home games played at Triton Softball Field * California Collegiate Athletic Association game # Mizuno’s Best of the West Invitational in Turlock ! Mizuno’s Tournament of Champions in Turlock
Game 36
UCSD (23-11, 13-7) vs. CSUDH (19-15, 11-9) Friday, April 2 3 p.m.
Game 37
UCSD (23-11, 13-7) vs. CSUDH (19-15, 11-9) Saturday, April 3 12 p.m.
Game 38
UCSD (23-11, 13-7) vs. CSUDH (19-15, 11-9) Saturday, April 3 2 p.m.