May 18, 2004

The Schedule
NCAA Division I Softball Championships
Region No. 1
Game 1
Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 9:00 a.m.
No. 6 - UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. No. 3 - Northwestern Wildcats
At Tucson, Arizona
Radio: KCSB - 91.9 FM

Game 2
If UCSB wins, it would play its second game at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 21. The Gauchos would then play the winner of No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Temple. If UCSB loses, it would play its second game on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. against the loser of the of the Oklahoma-Temple game.

KCSB - 91.9 FM Will Air All Games
UCSB's campus radio station, KCSB 91.9 FM, will carry all of the Gauchos' NCAA Tournament games live.

UCSB Makes First NCAA Tournament Appearance
For the first time in school history, the UC Santa Barbara softball team has been selected to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos, in their 21st year at the Division I level, finished the regular season with a 32-29 overall record and a 14-7 mark in the Big West.

Fast Finish Gives Gauchos Best League Finish Ever
After opening Big West Conference play with a loss at Cal State Northridge, UCSB bounced back with a 14-6 record the rest of the way to secure a second-place league finish, the highest in school history. Included in the 14 wins were two against Northridge, two against Pacific and one against Long Beach State, teams that are also in the NCAA Tournament.

The Schroeder File
Kristy Schroeder is in her third season as the head coach of the Gauchos. Schroeder came to UCSB after three seasons at Truman State, an NCAA Division II program. At UCSB, she has not only guided the program into its first NCAA Tournament ever, but she has also led the team to back-to-back seasons over the .500 mark for the first time ever at the Division I level. Schroeder was selected Big West co-Coach of the Year following her first season at UCSB. In her first year, she took a program that had gone 18-34 overall and 4-17 in league and guided it to a 27-36 overall mark and a 12-12 record in the Big West, good for fourth-place. Last year, Schroeder's Gauchos went 34-22 overall, the best Division I record in school history. While the NCAA Tournament is a new experience for UCSB, it is not a new experience for Schroeder. As a player, she started at UCLA for four years, helping the Bruins to NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1992 and to second-place finishes in 1991 and 1993. She was recognized as the Pac Ten's All-Decade Team shortstop for the 1990s. As the head coach at Truman State, Schroeder led the Bulldogs to three NCAA Division II Tournaments and a total of 133 wins. In all, Schroeder is in her sixth year as a college head coach and overall her record is an outstanding 226-121.

Tournament Field Has A Familiar Look
UCSB has played 61 games this season, 28 against teams in the NCAA Tournament. In the 28 games against NCAA Tournament teams, the Gauchos have gone 11-17, but since going 3-13, they have posted a solid 8-4 record. Also, while Santa Barbara has played 28 games against the 64-team field, they have played none against the teams in Tucson.

Rankling Opponents
In recent weeks, UCSB has fared well against nationally ranked opponents. Since opening the year at 2-10 against teams that were ranked at the time they played, the Gauchos have gone 8-4. Beginning with a 3-1 win over Stanford on March 21 and concluding with a 4-1 win over Long Beach State on May 8, UCSB has had a solid season-ending run against top-25 opponents. In addition to the wins over Stanford and Long Beach State, the Gauchos posted a doubleheader sweep of Fresno State and two wins apiece over Cal State Northridge and Pacific. The ten wins over nationally ranked opponents this season is a new UCSB school record.

A Fresh Approach
UCSB's success this season has been, in great part, because of outstanding performances from several freshmen. The Gauchos have freshmen as the primary starters at five positions. Shortstop Kendra Singley and second baseman Brittany Putich have started all 61 games this season, catcher Shelby Hensler has started 58 and played in 59 and leftfielder Jessica Hejna has played in 42 and started 40. In the circle, Jennifer Davis has made 23 starts and Lindsey Sommer has started 19. The Davis-Sommer duo has combined for 310.2 of the team's 435.0 innings, 71.4%. Offensively, the Gaucho freshmen have combined for 194 hits (47.4% of the team's total), 31 doubles (56.4% of the team's total), four triples (80.0% of the team's total), 98 RBI (55.1% of the team's total), 105 runs scored (50.7% of the team's total), 22 pitching victories (68.7% of the team's total) and 296 strikeouts (87.1% of the team's total).

Transfer Of Power
Junior transfer Lindsey Herrin has had a major impact on the UCSB lineup this year. In her first season since arriving from Iowa State, Herrin belted a school record ten home runs and drove in a team leading 35 runs, the fourth highest single season total in school history. Herrin also enters the postseason with a .265 batting average, fifth on the team. In fact, not only does the ten home runs rank Herrin first on the Gauchos' single season list, the total ranks her in a tie for sixth on the career list. Although she began the season as a first baseman, Herrin has played primarily as the designated player and a pitcher during the second half of the campaign. She is 7-2 on the mound with a 2.65 ERA in 82.0 innings and seven of her nine starts came during Big West play.

Simien Climbs The Lists
Senior outfielder Leslie Simien enters the postseason with 60 hits on the year, a new school record. In addition, she now totals 195 career hits, the third highest total in school history. Simien also enters the NCAA Tournament with 33 stolen bases on the year, the second highest single season total ever. In fact, Simien has the top three single season stolen base totals in UCSB annals and her career total of 119 steals is not only a school record but a Big West Conference mark and the 23rd highest total in NCAA history. The stolen bases have led to a bunch of runs too. Simien has 110 runs scored in her career, third all-time. Finally, the Laguna Hills, Calif., native has recorded 681 career at bats, second all-time.

Singular Achievements
Freshman shortstop Kendra Singley leads the Gauchos in doubles with 14 and she is second in home runs with seven. Her totals of 22 extra base hits and 87 total bases are tops on the team. Singley, who is one of three UCSB players to have started all 61 games, also ranks second on the team with 33 RBI. Her 14 doubles are tied for the most in school history and her 87 total bases are the second highest total.

Get A Whiff Of That
Freshman hurlers Jennifer Davis and Lindsey Sommer have combined for 296 strikeouts this season. Davis has whiffed 197 batters in 187.1 innings of work and, as a staff the Gauchos have produced a school record 340 strikeouts.

Making Her Pitch
Davis' total of 16 wins is nine more than her next closest teammate and it ties for the fourth most in school history. Her 197 strikeouts rank third all-time and she needs just three more to become the second pitcher in UCSB history to whiff 200 batters in a season.