Softball Hosts Amy S. Harrison Classic Starting Friday

Friday, March 12

Amy S. Harrison Field

2:00 PM

UC Riverside

Harvard vs. Northern Illinois

Softball Hosts Amy S. Harrison Classic Starting Friday

3/10/2010 9:13:21 AM | Softball

The UC Riverside softball team continues its 15-game home stand by hosting the Amy S. Harrison Classic on Friday-Sunday Mar. 12-14 at Amy S. Harrison Field in Riverside.

Amy S. Harrison Classic Schedule

Friday, March 12
UC Riverside vs. Idaho State, 9:00 am
UC Riverside vs. Idaho State, 11:30 am
Harvard vs. Northern Illinois, 2:00 pm

Saturday, March 13
Harvard vs. Idaho State, 9:00 am
Idaho State vs. Northern Illinois, 11:30 am
Northern Illinois vs. Harvard, 2:00 pm

Sunday, March 14
UC Riverside vs. Northern Illinois, 9:00 am
UC Riverside vs. Harvard, 11:30 am

Gates open one hour prior to the first game, and all fans must park in Lot 26 on Friday, and in Lot 24 on Saturday and Sunday. Click here to view a map of campus.

Fans who are not able to make it to the stadium may follow all the games live via live stats right here on gohighlanders.com.

Highlanders vs Amy S. Harrison Classic Game Capsules
	UC Riverside	Idaho State	Northern Illinois	Harvard
2009 Record & stats	18-32	20-21	20-37	27-17
2010 Record & stats	7-13	3-9	1-9	2-3
	2010 Schedule	2010 Schedule	2010 Schedule	2010 Schedule
	2010 Roster	2010 Roster	2010 Roster	2010 Roster
Conference	Big West	PCSC	MAC	Ivy
Current Streak	W 1	L 5	L 3	W 1
Last Box Score	W, 3-1 vs. Buffalo	L, 3-2 vs. Samford	L, 9-1 at SDSU	W, 4-0 vs. Boston College
Next Opponent	3/22 vs. CSUB	3/14 at LBSU	3/19 vs. Townson	3/16 at LMU
Top Hitter	Taylor Thomas Junior .321 avg.	Desirae Hoffman Freshman .543 avg.	Zoe Sinner Junior .364	Whitney Shaw Sophomore .333 avg.
Top Pitcher	Marissa Alvidrez Senior 5.22 ERA	Kandis Clesson Junior 3.94 ERA	Morgan Bittner Sophomore 1.91 ERA	Rachel Brown Sophomore 0.00 ERA
D1 Record Against		1-0	0-0	1-0
D1 Current Streak Against		W 1	First Meeting	W 1

Projected Highlander Lineup
(By Position)
Pos	#	Name	Yr	B/T	Avg	OBP	SLG	H	RBI
C	6	Alexis Pickett	Fr	L/R	.233	.303	.433	7	4
1B	9	Brittany Keeney	So	R/R	.296	.350	.426	16	15
2B	8	Taylor Thomas	Jr	R/R	.321	.410	.435	17	11
SS	1	Kameryn Hebenton	Jr	R/R	.230	.309	.262	14	1
3B	11	Brooke Hebenton	Jr	R/R	.200	.250	.267	9	4
LF	5	Alexis Villamor	Fr	R/R	.303	.324	.364	10	3
CF	7	Ariel Shore	Fr	L/R	.300	.340	.300	15	1
RF	3	Tiana Towns	Sr	R/R	.148	.207	.148	4	0
DP	12	Marissa Alvidrez	Sr	R/R	.271	.375	.521	13	8

GAME NOTES
DID U C L A LOSE?
The Highlanders upset the No. 5 team in the nation on March 3 with their 3-2 victory over UCLA. That win marked the first victory over a ranked opponent in the program's Division I history.

GETTING IT DONE FROM THE CIRCLE AND THE BOX
Marissa Alvidrez pitched a complete game and picked up the win for the Highlanders in their 3-2 upset of #5 UCLA on Mar. 3. She also drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the third inning to lift UCR to victory.

WINNING ON THE MOUND
Pitcher Marissa Alvidrez already has six wins to her credit through 20 games in the 2010 season. Last year, she totaled seven wins, and had four in 2008. Alvidrez has also been the winning pitcher in six of the team's seven victories so far this season, and she already cracked into the top-10 for single-season wins in UCR's DI history.

Most Wins, UCR D1 Single-Season

	Player	Year	W
1.	Stephanie Marshall	2006	13
2.	Christin Songer	2008	10
3.	Christin Songer	2007	9
4.	Monique Baeza	2002	7
	Sara Radabaugh	2005	7
	Christin Songer	2006	7
	Stephanie Marshall	2007	7
	Marissa Alvidrez	2009	7
9.	Jenell Jackson	2002	6
	Kimberly Dillon	2003	6
	Kimberly Dillon	2004	6
	Stephanie Marshall	2009	6
	Marissa Alvidrez	2010	6

RBI QUEENS
Through the first four weeks of the season, Brittany Keeney has tallied 15 RBI, just two shy of her 2009 total, while Taylor Thomas has 11 RBI, eight shy of her 2009 season total. The 26 RBI between the two of them account for almost half of team's 57 on the year.

EIGHT RUN RULE
Through 20 games in the 2010 season, UCR has already played five contests that have gone five innings due to the eight-run rule. Last season, the Highlanders had just four games that were played in seven innings or less due to the rule.

EXTRA INNINGS
The Highlanders are 1-0 on the year in games that have gone into extra frames, as they defeated UTSA 7-6 in eight innings on Feb. 26. Last season, UCR went 4-2 in games that went past seven innings.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside utility player Brittany Keeney earned her first-ever Big West Conference Softball Player of the Week award as announced on Monday, Feb. 15 by the Big West office. Keeney helped the Highlanders to a 2-2 opening weekend with wins against Boise State and San Diego.

For the week she batted .500 and posted a .857 slugging percentage and a .500 on base percentage. She totaled one run, seven hits, 11 RBI, one walk, two doubles, and one home run for the week, while committing zero errors in the field.

RECORD SETTERS
Last season UC Riverside won its sixth conference game of the year on April 19, 2009 against UC Davis, and with that win, the Highlanders set a new school mark for most conference victories. With five Big West wins in 2008, UCR tied the previous school record for conference wins in a season originally set back in 2002. The Highlanders finished the 2009 season with seven Big West wins.

UCR Top 3 Big West Winning Percentages

	W	L	Pct
2009	7	14	.333
2008	5	16	.238
2002	5	19	.208

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Highlanders are set to play 17 games in 2010 against teams that reached the 2009 NCAA Tournament, with six of those teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the latest national polls.

NEW FACES IN THE DUGOUT
UCR brought in six freshmen and one junior college transfer to compliment the 13 returners from a year ago. Four of those freshmen, Alexis Villamor, Alexis Pickett, Kayla White, and Ariel Shore, have already seen time in the Highlanders lineup.

COACHING CHANGES
During the off-season, UC Riverside Head Coach Connie Miner announced two additions to the coaching staff for the 2010 season. Former Utah State head coach Candi Letts joined the Highlanders staff as first assistant, while former Long Beach State undergraduate assistant coach Franny Morlet was hired as the second assistant.

ALL-BIG WEST
The UC Riverside softball team placed two players on the 2009 All-Big West Honorable Mention Team. Alvidrez was named as a designated player, while Keeney was named as an outfielder.

With this award, Alvidrez earned her third Honorable Mention accolade of her career and fifth All-Conference award overall. The Bakersfield, CA native was named to the First-Team and Second-Team for two different positions in 2008, and named to the Honorable Mention Team in 2007 as both the designated and utility player. The junior batted .247 during the 2009 campaign, leading the team with six home runs and a .452 slugging percentage.

Keeney earned her first Big West All-Conference award, one of just six freshmen in the Big West to earn a spot on the All-Conference Teams. The Canyon Lake, CA native was one of just four UCR softball players to play in and start every contest on the year, while leading the team in hits (42) and total bases (62) and finishing second on the squad in triples, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, runs, and RBI.