Monday, March 22
Amy S. Harrison Field
1:00 PM
UC Riverside
vs
CSU Bakersfield
Photo by: Bobby R. Hester, (c) 2009
Softball Starts Spring Break With Home Doubleheaders Against CSUB And Utah
3/17/2010 4:01:05 PM | Softball
The UC Riverside softball team concludes its 15-game home stand by hosting doubleheaders against CSU Bakersfield and Utah on Monday, Mar. 22 and Tuesday, Mar. 23 respectively at Amy S. Harrison Field in Riverside.
Gates open one hour prior to the game, and all fans may park in Lot 24. 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.
GAME NOTES
I'LL RACE YOU
The Highlanders picked up their tenth win of the season on Mar. 14 with an 11-1 victory over Harvard, marking the third-fastest pace to 10 wins in UCR Division I history.
GONE STREAKING
UCR won three-straight games from Mar. 9-12—the longest such streak of the season—and the longest since a three-game streak a year ago.
BLEEDING CRIMSON
The Highlanders defeated the Harvard Crimson 11-1 in five innings on Mar. 14, their first win in five since a 14-6 thrashing of Longwood on Mar. 13, 2009. The 11 runs scored is also the most all season and the most since they scored 11 at UC Santa Barbara on Mar. 28.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Freshman Ariel Shore currently paces the Big West Conference with 11 stolen bases and is tied for first with 12 attempts. Her 11 stolen bases currently ranks third in UCR Division I history for most single-season stolen bases, and is one away from cracking into the top-10 for all-time single-season stolen bases.
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 seven wins to her credit in the 2010 season. Last year, she totaled seven wins, and had four in 2008. Alvidrez has also been the winning pitcher in seven of the team's 10 victories so far this season, and she already inserted herself into the top-5 for single-season wins in UCR's DI history.
Most Wins, UCR D1 Single-Season
EXTRA INNINGS
The Highlanders are 1-1 on the year in games that have gone into extra frames, as they defeated UTSA 7-6 in eight innings on Feb. 26 but fell to Northern Illinois 8-7 in eight innings on Mar. 14. 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
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.
Gates open one hour prior to the game, and all fans may park in Lot 24. 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 CSUB and Utah Game Capsules | |||||||||
| UC Riverside |
CSU Bakersfield | Utah | |||||||
| 2009 Record & stats |
18-32 |
28-23 | 22-31 |
||||||
| 2010 Record & stats |
10-14 | 9-10 | 10-10 |
||||||
| 2010 Schedule |
2010 Schedule |
2010 Schedule |
|||||||
| 2010 Roster |
2010 Roster |
2010 Roster |
|||||||
| Conference | Big West |
NA |
Mountain West |
||||||
| Current Streak | W 1 |
L 1 |
L 4 |
||||||
| Last Box Score |
W, 11-5 (5) vs. Harvard | L, 5-4 at Cal Poly |
L, 9-6 vs. N. Iowa |
||||||
| Next Opponent | 3/26 vs. St. Mary's | 3/26 vs. UCSB |
3/25 at CSUN |
||||||
| Top Hitter |  Villamor Freshman .341 avg. |
 Junior .410 avg. |
 Olsen Junior .377 avg. |
||||||
| Top Pitcher |  Alvidrez Senior 4.81 ERA |
 Rodriguez Sophomore 2.19 ERA |
 Smuda Senior 3.04 ERA |
||||||
| D1 Record Against | 1-3 |
0-5 |
|||||||
| D1 Current Streak Against | W 1 |
L 5 |
|||||||
| Projected Highlander Lineup | |||||||||
| (By Position) | |||||||||
| Pos | # | Name | Yr | B/T | Avg | OBP | SLG | H | RBI |
| C | 6 |
Alexis Pickett |
Fr |
L/R |
.286 |
.362 |
.500 |
12 |
10 |
| 1B | 9 |
Brittany Keeney |
So |
R/R | .273 | .338 | .394 | 18 | 15 |
| 2B | 8 |
Taylor Thomas |
Jr |
R/R |
.297 |
.387 |
.391 |
19 |
13 |
| SS | 1 |
Kameryn Hebenton |
Jr |
R/R |
.236 |
.325 |
.264 |
17 |
3 |
| 3B | 11 |
Brooke Hebenton |
Jr |
R/R |
.212 |
.293 |
.327 |
11 |
6 |
| LF | 5 |
Alexis Villamor |
Fr |
R/R |
.341 | .372 | .439 | 14 |
7 |
| CF | 4 |
Kayla White |
Fr |
R/R |
.217 | .250 | .348 | 10 |
3 |
| RF | 3 |
Tiana Towns |
Sr |
R/R |
.194 |
.235 |
.226 |
6 |
2 |
| DP | 12 | Marissa Alvidrez | Sr | R/R | .269 |
.397 |
.500 |
14 |
10 |
GAME NOTES
I'LL RACE YOU
The Highlanders picked up their tenth win of the season on Mar. 14 with an 11-1 victory over Harvard, marking the third-fastest pace to 10 wins in UCR Division I history.
GONE STREAKING
UCR won three-straight games from Mar. 9-12—the longest such streak of the season—and the longest since a three-game streak a year ago.
BLEEDING CRIMSON
The Highlanders defeated the Harvard Crimson 11-1 in five innings on Mar. 14, their first win in five since a 14-6 thrashing of Longwood on Mar. 13, 2009. The 11 runs scored is also the most all season and the most since they scored 11 at UC Santa Barbara on Mar. 28.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Freshman Ariel Shore currently paces the Big West Conference with 11 stolen bases and is tied for first with 12 attempts. Her 11 stolen bases currently ranks third in UCR Division I history for most single-season stolen bases, and is one away from cracking into the top-10 for all-time single-season stolen bases.
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 seven wins to her credit in the 2010 season. Last year, she totaled seven wins, and had four in 2008. Alvidrez has also been the winning pitcher in seven of the team's 10 victories so far this season, and she already inserted herself into the top-5 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 | |
| Marissa Alvidrez | 2010 | 7 |
EXTRA INNINGS
The Highlanders are 1-1 on the year in games that have gone into extra frames, as they defeated UTSA 7-6 in eight innings on Feb. 26 but fell to Northern Illinois 8-7 in eight innings on Mar. 14. 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.
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