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May 12, 2005

The Schedule
Games No. 46, 47, 48
@ Cal Poly Mustangs (32-16, 12-6)
Bob Janssen Field
Friday, May 13, 2005
Game 1 - 5:00 p.m.
Game 2 - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Game 3 - 12:00 p.m.

The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara enters this week's matchup with Cal Poly with an overall record of 26-19 and a 9-9 mark in the Big West after dropping three to Long Beach State over the weekend. The Gauchos fell 6-2 the opener before being held to a single run in a 8-1 defeat in game two. Santa Barbara lost a close one in Sunday's finale, 2-1 in nine innings, as the 49ers completed the three-game sweep. The team is currently fifth in the Big West Conference standings and looks to finish the season strong this weekend when they square off with the second place Mustangs.

Where Did the 'O' Go?
A week after scoring 19 runs and hitting a total of six homers against Cal State Northridge, the Gaucho offense was held in check this weekend, as the 49ers did not give up a homerun and allowed a total of four runs in three games. UCSB scored first in each contest, but wayÄunable to produce much afterward and saw the 49ers come from behind to win all three contests.

JD Gets it Done
Jennifer Davis leads the squad with a 1.93 ERA, 189 strikeouts and 155.2 innings pitched. Her 13 wins is also tops on the squad. The Whittier, Calif. native continued her attack on the record books with 14 strikeouts this week, giving her 388 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 189 strikeouts this year, Davis leads the Big West Conference and is 11 away from surpassing her 2004 strikeout total of 199, which is second on UCSB's Season Top Ten list. Her 1.93 earned run average ranks fourth the conference. In addition, she is now eighth all-time in complete games after going the distance in 20 out of her 23 starts, bringing her career total to 36. At the plate, she is sixth on the team in batting at .244 and second with eight homeruns, 26 RBI and a slugging percentage of .511. Davis appeared in all three games against LBSU and allowed a total of three runs on four hits in two relief appearances. She started game three on Sunday and held the 49ers to one run through eight innings, but did not get any run support and took the loss in a tough 2-1, nine inning defeat. The sophomore fell to 13-10 on the year with the loss.

Let Me Hear You Say Hejna
Sophomore left fielder Jessica Hejna performed well against Long Beach State and was one of only two Gauchos to hit twice in one game this weekend. In the opener Saturday, she hit a double in the first inning and scored and then added another double in the fifth. The Orange, Calif. native is hitting .291 with 23 runs, three homers and 17 RBI in 2005. She leads the team with a .397 batting average, an on base percentage of .462 and 13 RBI in Big West Competition. Hejna hit .636 (7-for-11) with six runs scored, a homer and four RBI two weeks ago against Cal State Northridge and was named the Big West Conference Player of the Week for her performance.

Hit Away Herrin, Hit Away
Lindsey Herrin, who led the team and set the UCSB single season homerun record a year ago with ten, broke the record for the second straight year April 17 against UC Davis. She currently leads the Gauchos with 12 homers, 35 RBI, a .398 on base percentage, a slugging percentage of .661 and is third in batting at .290. 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 (97-00) 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 70 and is already fourth on the season RBI chart in 2005 with 35 and three games to play.

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 28 runs scored, four homers, 24 RBI and an on base percentage of .496. She leads the team in batting, is second in runs and third in RBI and homers. Singley is also another Gaucho making noise on the pages of the school record books. With four long balls this season, the sophomore has a total of 11 for her career--fifth 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, giving her a total of five for her career. In addition, Singley has moved into the eighth spot on the UCSB career RBI chart with 57. She went 1-for-4 and drove in the Gauchos' only run of the game in Sunday's 2-1 defeat.

Positively Putich
Hitting in the leadoff spot for most of the season, sophomore shortstop BrittanyPutich leads the Gauchos with 30 runs scored, six stolen bases and 141 at bats. The speedster is second with a .382 on base percentage and 39 hits and third with four homers. Her .277 batting average is fourth and her 16 RBI are fifth best on the squad. After scoring the Gauchos' only run in Sunday's finale with Long Beach State, Putich has moved into the ninth spot on the season runs scored list at 30.

Freshman Firepower
Freshman right fielder Danielle Meyers continued to be a threat at the plate against the 49ers this weekend and was the only Gaucho to record a hit in all three contests. The Lodi, Calif. native hit .333 (3-for-9) against LBSU and saw her batting average climb to .252. Meyers is tied for third on the squad with four homers and leads all UCSB freshmen in virtually every offensive category, hitting .252 with 27 hits, eight runs and 17 RBI. She is hitting .292 in Big West competition, which is third highest on the squad.

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 252-130-4 (.653), while her mark with the Gauchos is 119-110 (.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 1-for-3with an RBI in Saturday's opener
1B - Lindsey Herrin - Leads team with 12 homers, 35 RBI and a .393 on base percentage
2B - Kendra Singley - Team leader with a .313 batting average and 41 hits
SS - Brittany Putich - Leads Gauchos with 30 runs and 141 at bats
3B - Karyna Wilkerson - Went 1-for-3 and drove in the Gauchos' only run in game two
LF - Nicole Churnock - Finished 3-for-4 in Sunday's finale
CF - Jessica Hejna - Went 2-for-3 with a run scored in game one
RF - Danielle Meyers - Hit .333 against the 49ers
DP - Alexandra Kinney - Leads Gaucho reserves with 12 runs scored

Gaucho Reserves - Notes
CF - Liz Walters - Started 38 games this year

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

Mustangs At A Glance
Cal Poly enters this week's series with an overall record of 32-16 and a 12-6 Big West Conference mark after dropping two of three to Long Beach State April 30-May 1. The Mustangs defeated the 49ers 2-0 in the opener but lost the next two, 5-2 and 6-0. Cal Poly is led offensively by junior Shannon Brooks, who is batting a team-high .367 with an on base pecentage of .453. Brooks has four homeruns to go with 22 RBI. Another player to watch is senior Erin Meyers, hitting .322 with 16 runs, nine homers and 32 RBI. As a team, Cal Poly is batting .293, which is tops on the conference, while their opponents are hitting .232. In the circle, the Mustangs rely on Robyn Kontra who has a record of 17-7 and a 1.63 ERA on the year. The freshman hurler has 88 strikeouts in 163 innings pitched. Senior Eva Nelson is also a force in the circle, posting a 14-9 record, with an ERA of 2.12 and 148 strikeouts in 145.1 innings pitched. Cal Poly's pitching staff is second in the Big West with a 1.81 team ERA. The Mustangs lead the overall series with UCSB 36-34 after taking two of three from the Gauchos last year at Campus Diamond. Lindsey Herrin picked up the victory as Santa Barbara won the opener 3-2, but Cal Poly rebounded to win the next two, 7-1 and 6-0.