UCSanDiego Softball February
TRITONS HOST OTTERS IN PIVOTAL SERIES One win separates the third-place UC San Diego softball team (17-11) from its final two regular season opponents, second-place Cal State Monterey Bay (18-10) and fourth-place Cal State San Bernardino (16-11). With the top four teams earning a spot in the 2010 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships and Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-12) just percentage points outside the playoff picture, the stakes are increasing with each passing game. As the old coaching mantra goes, the Tritons will try to take it inning by inning and out by out, starting with Friday’s first pitch at 1 p.m. to start the four-game home series with CSUMB.
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 # Chico State # Chico State* Chico State* Chico State* Chico State* Cal St. San Bernardino Cal St. San Bernardino Cal St. East Bay* Cal St. East Bay* Cal St. East Bay* Cal St. East Bay* Sonoma State* Sonoma State* Sonoma State* Sonoma State*
UCSD REMAINS AT NO. 4 IN WEST REGION The NCAA Division II regional rankings released on Wednesday featured the Tritons at the No. 4 position for the third-consecutive week. Hawaii Pacific, at 35-4 overall and 20-2 within the Pacific West Conference, remains at the No. 1 spot. Directly behind HPU is Grand Canyon, another member of the PacWest that has gone 34-11 overall and 15-9 in league action. The CCAA’s own Sonoma State holds down the No. 3 position. UCSD’s opponent this weekend, the Otters, is currently ranked ninth regionally.
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 !
SENIORS TO BE HONORED ON SATURDAY Saturday’s doubleheader will serve as Senior Day, where UCSD will honor the achievements of Mandi Eliades, Nicole Saari and Christine Zankich. During their three years as Tritons, the trio has helped UCSD to an overall record of 124-91. Eliades, Saari and Zankich have already participated in the NCAA West Regional postseason on three occasions and are looking to secure their fourth appearance in just a few weeks. SAARI OFF TO STRONG START IN APRIL Saari, batting .397 on the season, has led the Tritons’ offense through the month of April thus far. In UCSD’s eight games, the senior catcher is batting .500 (11-for22) with four runs, three doubles and two runs batted in. Defensively she has continued her stellar play and opponents have recognized that, evident by the one stolen base attempt made in April on Saari up to this point. SCOUTING THE OTTERS OF MONTEREY BAY The Otters and Tritons have yet to meet in 2010, after facing each other seven times last season. UCSD went 4-3 against CSUMB in 2009, including a NCAA postseason win, and owns a 14-7 all-time advantage. The Otters have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games.
March
April/May
W, 2-0 L, 3-2 (8) L, 0-2 L, 6-7 W, 4-0 W, 10-9 L, 1-3 W, 7-5 W, 9-0 (5) W, 3-1 W, 3-0 L, 3-4 L, 0-3 L, 2-4 W, 2-0 L, 3-4 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) W, 1-0 L, 2-8
4/2 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* W, 7-0 4/2 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* L, 1-9 (6) 4/3 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* W, 4-2 4/3 Cal St. Dominguez Hills* L, 1-10 (5) 4/9 Humboldt St.* W, 5-1 4/9 Humboldt St.* L, 1-2 4/10 Humboldt St.* W, 7-2 4/10 Humboldt St.* L, 1-5 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 43
UCSD (27-15, 17-11) vs. CSUMB (25-15, 18-10) Friday, April 16 1 p.m.
Game 44
UCSD (27-15, 17-11) vs. CSUMB (25-15, 18-10) Friday, April 16 3 p.m.
Game 45
UCSD (27-15, 17-11) vs. CSUMB (25-15, 18-10) Saturday, April 17 11 a.m.
Game 46
UCSD (27-15, 17-11) vs. CSUMB (25-15, 18-10) Saturday, April 17 1 p.m.