Regular Season Comes To A Close For UCR Softball At Long Beach State

Friday, May 14

Long Beach, CA

1:00 PM

UC Riverside

Long Beach State

Regular Season Comes To A Close For UCR Softball At Long Beach State

5/11/2010 8:21:49 AM | Softball

The UC Riverside softball team concludes the 2010 regular season with a three-game Big West Conference series at Long Beach State beginning May 14. The Highlanders play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1:00 pm and a single game on Saturday, May 15 at 1:00 pm.

Both UCR and the 49ers carry identical 7-11 records in league play heading into the series, so both teams will be looking to jostle for final position in the conference standings.

Live stats for all three games may be found at LBSU's website.

Highlanders at Long Beach State Game Capsule
	UC Riverside	Long Beach State
2009 Record & stats	18-32	35-21
2010 Record & stats	22-29, 7-11	23-26, 7-11
	2010 Schedule	2010 Schedule
	2010 Roster	2010 Roster
Conference	Big West
Current Streak	L 7	W 1
Last Box Score	L, 7-5 vs CSUN	W, 6-2 vs CSF
Top Hitter	Marissa Alvidrez Senior .323 avg.	Bree Stephan Freshman .333 avg.
Top Pitcher	Marissa Alvidrez Senior 3.68 ERA	Taylor Petty Sophomore 2.57 ERA
D1 Record Against	2-26
D1 Current Streak Against	L 2

Projected Highlanders Lineup
(By Position)
Pos	#	Name	Yr	B/T	Avg	OBP	SLG	H	RBI
C	6	Alexis Pickett	Fr	L/R	.303	.394	.440	33	16
1B	9	Brittany Keeney	So	R/R	.286	.350	.476	42	29
2B	8	Taylor Thomas	Jr	R/R	.287	.365	.387	43	25
SS	1	Kameryn Hebenton	Jr	R/R	.256	.339	.350	41	12
3B	11	Brooke Hebenton	Jr	R/R	.198	.275	.310	23	15
LF	5	Alexis Villamor	Fr	R/R	.303	.324	.364	30	13
CF	4	Kayla White	Fr	R/R	.176	.239	.235	15	5
RF	7	Ariel Shore	Fr	R/R	.274	.333	.281	37	4
DP	12	Marissa Alvidrez	Sr	R/R	.323	.425	.452	40	23

GAME NOTES
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. The Highlanders finished the 2009 season with seven Big West wins. With three games remaining in the 2010 season, UCR has already tied the Division I mark for most league wins with seven.

UCR Top 3 DI Big West Winning Percentages

W L Pct

2010 7 11
.389

2009 7 14 .333

2008 5 16 .238

MOST TEAM WINS
The Highlanders tied the Division I mark for most wins in a season with 22, originally set during the 2006 season.

UCR Top 3 DI Overall Team Wins

Year	W
2006	22
2010	22
2008	19

UCR Top 3 DI Overall Winning Percentages

	W	L	Pct.
2006	22	27	.449
2010	22	29	.431
2008	19	37	.339

WRONG-WAY STREAK
The Highlanders have lost the last seven straight and nine of the last 10 heading into the final week of league play. The seven-game skid is the longest of the season and the most since the team dropped 10 consecutive from Apr. 19 - May 4, 2008.

WINNING ON THE MOUND
Alvidrez has 15 wins to her credit in the circle for the Highlanders in the 2010 season, becoming the UCR Division I leader in single-season wins.

Most Wins, UCR D1 Single-Season

Player Year W

1. Marissa Alvidrez 2010 15

2. Stephanie Marshall 2006 13

3. Christin Songer 2008 10

MOST CONFERENCE SERIES WINS IN A SEASON
To open conference play in 2010, the Highlanders won series against Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, and UC Santa Barbara by winning two of three games in each set. The team's three series wins are the most in one season in the Division I era of the program.

UCR's series wins against the Titans and Gauchos are also the first-ever series wins against those teams in DI history, while the series victory over the Mustangs was the first since the 2003 season.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Freshman Ariel Shore currently paces the Big West Conference with 22 stolen bases and 23 attempts. Her 22 stolen bases are first in UCR Division I history for most single-season stolen bases, and places her fourth all-time in single-season stolen bases. She already ranks fifth all-time on the career charts and third in the Division I career record books.

SHUTOUT AND SHUT DOWN
UC Riverside shutout Cal Poly 10-0 on Apr. 9 to open Big West play—the largest shutout in conference play recorded in the Highlanders Division I history.

POUNDING OUT THE HITS
UC Riverside pounded out 16 hits against Cal Poly on Apr. 9, tying the school record for most hits in a game in its DI history.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside softball player Marissa Alvidrez earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors on Apr. 5 after going 2-0 with a 0.0 ERA. The senior from Bakersfield, CA pitched two consecutive shutouts for the Highlanders in their conference-opening series at 2009 defending league champion Cal Poly.

Alvidrez pitched all seven innings and allowed just two hits in UCR's 10-0 win in game one, and followed that up by scattering four hits in seven innings for a 5-0 victory to conclude the series. She also pitched three innings of relief in UCR's 3-2 loss to the Mustangs in the second game of the set.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
As a team, the Highlanders are leading the Big West Conference in doubles and stolen bases. Individually, Taylor Thomas and Alexis Pickett lead with 12 doubles, Shore is tops with 22 stolen bases, and Alvidrez leads in innings pitched.

GONE STREAKING
UCR won five straight games from Mar. 14-23—the longest such streak of the season, and the longest in the Highlanders Division I history.

BLEEDING CRIMSON
The Highlanders defeated the Harvard Crimson 11-1 in five innings on Mar. 14 for their first win in five since a 14-6 defeat of Longwood on Mar. 13, 2009. The 11 runs scored is the most runs UCR has scored all season and the most since they scored 14 against Longwood in 2009.

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.

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.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Highlanders 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.