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April 28, 2005

The Schedule
Games No. 40, 41, 42
vs. Cal State Northridge Matadors (14-16, 3-9)
Campus Diamond
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Game 1 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 2 - 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 1, 2005*
Game 3 - 1:30 p.m.
*Sunday's game will be broadcast tape delayed by CSTV

The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara enters this week's matchup with Northridge with an overall record of 23-16 and a 6-6 mark in the Big West after losing two of three to Pacific over the weekend. The Gauchos were outscored 15-4 in the first two games and fell, 9-3 and 6-1, before rallying with a four-run seventh innning to win the finale, 8-6 on Sunday. Despite the two losses to the Tigers, UCSB has won nine of its last twelve games. The team is currently fifth in the Big West Conference standings and looks to climb this weekend when they square off with CSUN.

JD Gets it Done
Jennifer Davis started the opener against Pacific, allowed nine runs on 12 hits and took the loss as the Gauchos fell, 9-3. She struck out five batters and walked two in a complete game effort, but dropped to 13-8 on the year. The sophomore leads the squad with a 1.65 ERA, 170 strikeouts and 136 innings pitched. Her 13 wins is also tops on the squad. The Whittier, Calif. native continued her attack on the record books with five strikeouts this week, giving her 369 for her career--third all time on UCSB's career Top Ten list. She has posted eight shutout wins in 2005 and has a career count of 15, which is fifth all-time. With 170 strikeouts this year, Davis leads the Big West Conference and is also on pace to surpass her 2004 strikeout total of 199, which is second on UCSB's Season Top Ten list. Her 1.65 earned run average ranks fourth the conference. In addition, she is now ninth all-time in complete games after going the distance in 19 out of her 21 starts, bringing her career total to 35. At the plate, she is fifth on the team in batting at .250 and second in homeruns with seven and slugging percentage at .527. Davis' 21 RBI are tied for second on the squad. Her seven homers are sixth best in the Big West and her slugging percentage ranks eighth.

Hit Away Herrin, Hit Away
A week after breaking her own record for most homeruns in a season, senior first baseman Lindsey Herrin had another productive weekend at the plate against Pacific, hitting .333 with a walk, a run scored and two RBI. Herrin, who led the team and set the UCSB single season homerun record a year ago with ten, hit three homers two weeks ago against Davis and set a new mark this year. She continued to build on that record against the Tigers, hitting a solo shot to right field in the top of the fourth inning in Sunday's 8-6 win. Herrin leads the Gauchos with 12 homers, 33 RBI and a slugging percentage of .731 and is second in batting at .306. The Coalinga, Calif. native is now second all-time on the UCSB softball career chart with 22 homers and, she is just two round trippers shy of passing Tonya Dias as the school's career homerun leader in only her second season as a Gaucho. Her 12 homers are second-most in the Big West. In addition, Herrin has moved into the sixth spot on the all-time career RBI list with 68 and is already seventh on the season RBI chart with at 33 in 2005 with nine games to play.

Let Me Hear You Say Hejna
Sophomore left fielder Jessica Hejna had a big weekend at the plate for Santa Barbara, hitting .417 for the series with two runs scored, a homerun and five RBI. She drove in the Gauchos' only run of the game in Sunday's 6-1 loss in the fifth inning and continued her attack in the nightcap. Hejna went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and drove in four, leading UCSB to victory. The Orange, Calif. native hit her second homer of the year in the third inning--a solo shot to right field and then belted a bases-clearing double in the seventh and scored, as the Gauchos came from behind to prevail, 8-6. Hejna is hitting .263 with 16 runs, two homers and 13 RBI in 2005.

The Singley Watch
Second baseman Kendra Singley has been one of the Gauchos' top performers at the plate this season and is near the top in every offensive statistical category. The Irvine, Calif. native is hitting .313 with 26 runs scored, three homeruns, 21 RBI and a slugging percentage of .478. She leads the team in batting, runs and triples, is second in RBI and third in homers. Singley is also another Gaucho making noise on the pages of the school record books. With three long balls this season, the sophomore has a total of ten for her career--sixth place all-time on UCSB's career homerun list. She has also moved into a tie for sixth place on the career triples list with three this year and a total of five for her career. In addition, Singley has moved into the ninth spot on the UCSB career RBI chart with 54.

Positively Putich
Sophomore shortstop Brittany Putich went 2-for-3 with two runs and drove in two in Sunday's victory. Hitting in the leadoff spot for most of the season, Putich leads the Gauchos with a .404 on base percentage, 36 hits, three triples, six stolen bases and 120 at bats. The speedster is second in runs scored with 25, her .300 batting average is third and her 14 RBI are fourth best on the squad. The Whittier, Calif. native has already eclipsed her 2004 total of two three-baggers, which led the team, and has moved into a tie for sixth place on the Career Top Ten list with five. After scoring two runs against Pacific, Putich is now just three shy of cracking the Season Top Ten List.

Sommer Forecast: Heating Up
Sophomore pitcher Lindsey Sommer appeared in two games against Pacific, losing the first before winning the second in a releif effort. After taking the loss in game two, she came on in the sixth inning of the finale and allowed two runs on two hits, earning the victory and improved to 8-5 on the year. The San Diego, Calif. native is second on the squad with 72 strikeouts, 21 appearances and 101.1 innings pitched. Sommer's 1.96 opponent's batting average is third best among Big West pitchers.

The Scoop on Schroeder
Kristy Schroeder is in her fourth season as the head coach of the UC Santa Barbara softball program. In 2004, she led the Gauchos to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Schroeder took a team with eight freshmen and guided them to a 32-31 overall record and a 14-7 conference mark, which was tied for second in the Big West and was the highest league finish in UCSB history. In addition, the Gauchos won 30-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever as a Division I program. In 2003 she guided the team to the best record in program history at 34-22 and had a school-record nine players named All-Big West, with two receiving All-Region accolades. In 2002, her first season at UCSB, she was named the Big West's Co-Coach of the Year, after Santa Barbara finished the season with a 27-36 overall record. In six-plus seasons as head coach at UCSB and Division II Truman State, Schroeder has a career record of 249-127-4 (.655), while her mark with the Gauchos is 116-107 (.520). She notched her 100th victory as head coach at UCSB February 26 against Saint Mary's.

Probable Gaucho Starters - Notes
C - Brenda Lira - Went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Sunday's win
1B - Lindsey Herrin - Leads Gauchos with 12 homers and 33 RBI
2B - Kendra Singley - Team leader with .313 batting average and 26 runs scored
SS - Brittany Putich - Leads team with a .404 on base percentage and six stolen bases
3B - Karyna Wilkerson - Hit .375 against Pacific
LF - Jessica Hejna - Went 5-for-8 with two runs scored and five RBI Sunday
CF - Liz Walters - Started 37 games for the Gauchos this year
RF - Danielle Meyers - Went 1-for-2 with two RBI in Saturday's opener
DP - Alexandra Kinney - Leads Gaucho reserves with 11 runs

Gaucho Reserves - Notes
RF - Nicole Churnock - started eleven games

Injury Report - Notes
C - Shelby Hensler - The Gauchos' starting catcher is out for the season with a leg injury
IF/P - Megan Ochylski - out at least another week with a knee injury

Matador Musings
Cal State Northridge enters this week's series with an overall record of 14-16 and a 3-9 Big West Conference mark after being swept by Cal Poly last weekend. The Matadors fell to the Mustangs 4-0 and 2-0 Saturday, before losing a close one on Sunday, 2-1. CSUN is led offensively by junior outfielder Emilee Moores, who is batting a team-high .323 with an on base pecentage of .380. She also posts a .538 slugging percentage with a homerun and 7 RBI. Junior catcher Jan Moshier is another threat at the plate, hitting .250 with 16 runs, six homers and 16 RBI. As a team, Northridge is batting .209 while their opponents have an average of .237. In the circle, the Matadors look to Kia Fennell who leads the squad with a 2.12 ERA, 115 strikeouts and 112 innings pitched. The senior hurler has a record of 9-7 on the year. Sophomore Erin Sigala is 5-9, with an ERA of 2.88, 88 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched.

Series History
Northridge leads the overall series 38-14-1 despite losing two of three to UCSB last year at Matador Diamond. CSUN took the opening game of the series, 10-3 but the Gauchos rebounded behind solid pitching from Lindsey Herrin to win the next two, 4-1 and 2-1.