Friday, March 4
Tucson, AZ
10:00 AM
UC Riverside
vs
Minnesota
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Softball Travels To #4 Arizona For Wildcat Invitational Friday-Sunday
3/2/2011 9:20:28 AM | Softball
After an eight-game homestand, the UC Riverside softball team hits the road for the Arizona Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, AZ beginning this Friday, March 4.
The Highlanders begin the tournament facing Minnesota and Idaho State on Friday at 10:00 am and noon respectively. On Saturday morning, UCR plays Utah State bright and early at 8:00 am and has a long break before playing Portland State on 6:00 pm that night.
The Wildcat Invitational concludes with a noon game against the host and No. 4 nationally ranked Arizona Wildcats on Sunday.
GAME NOTES
I AM NUMBER 11
The Highlanders scored a season-high 11 runs in their 13-11 loss to Boise State on February 25. The 11 runs scored are the most since the team plated that many against Harvard on March 14, 2010. It also the most runs scored in a loss in the Division history of the program.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside sophomore Kayla White was named Big West Conference Player of the Week on February 14 after hitting .529 and slugging .765 during the Highlanders opening weekend tournament in Las Vegas.
White recorded nine hits in 17 at bats, hitting safely in all five games at the UNLV Sportco Kick-Off Classic. She tied her career-high with three hits against UNLV on Friday, and set a career-high with two runs in UCR's 7-6 win against Mississippi State on Saturday.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside junior Jordyn McDonald was named the Big West Conference's Pitcher of the Week on February 21 after going 1-1 over the weekend with a 1.00 ERA. McDonald picked up her first win of the season in a 6-1 victory over Minnesota on Friday, February 18. She pitched all seven innings scattering four hits while striking out seven. In a 4-0 loss to Loyola Marymount on Sunday, February 20, McDonald gave up just one earned run while striking out four in 7.0 innings of work.
WRONG WAY STREAK
After opening the year with a 3-4 record, the Highlanders have recorded six straight losses, the most since they concluded the 2010 season with 10 defeats.
NOT THE RECORD YOU WANT BROKEN
The Highlanders allowed #10 Washington to score 23 runs against them on February 11, breaking the program's Division I record for most runs allowed.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Sophomore Ariel Shore paced the Big West Conference with 22 stolen bases in 2010. That ranks first in the Division I history of the program for the most stolen bases in a single-season, and fourth all-time.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN II
As a team, the Highlanders led the Big West with 53 stolen bases and 57 attempts in 2010. In fact, UCR became the first team in league history to record 50+ stolen bases while not being caught at least 10 times.
RECORD SETTERS
Last season UC Riverside tied the Division I program record for most conference wins with seven, tying the 2009 team which originally established the mark. The Highlanders also tied the mark for most overall wins with 22.
UCR Top Big West Winning Percentages
DID U C L A LOSE?
The Highlanders upset the No. 5 team in the nation on March 3, 2010 with their 3-2 victory over UCLA. That win marked the first victory over a ranked opponent in the program's Division I history. UCLA went on to win the 2010 NCAA National Championship.
ALL-AMERICAN FEVER
The biggest loss due to graduation from last season is pitcher/designated player Marissa Alvidrez, a six-time All-Big West performer. The Highlanders will look to Jordyn McDonald—an All-American junior college transfer—to fill Alvidrez's role in both the circle and the box.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Highlanders play 10 games in 2011 against teams that reached the 2010 NCAA Tournament, with six of those teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the latest national polls. So far in 2011, UCR is 0-4 against top-25 teams.
ALL-BIG WEST
The UC Riverside softball team placed two players on the 2010 All-Big West Team. Marissa Alvidrez earned a Second Team nod at the designated player position, while Brittany Keeney nabbed an Honorable Mention accolade at first base.
With this award, Alvidrez earned her sixth-career Big West All-Conference selection. She was previously named Honorable Mention as both a utility and designated player in 2007, Second Team as a designated player and First Team as a utility in 2008, and Honorable Mention as a designated player in 2009.
Brittany Keeney earned her second Big West All-Conference award as she was previously named to the Honorable Mention team as a freshman in the 2009 season.
The Highlanders begin the tournament facing Minnesota and Idaho State on Friday at 10:00 am and noon respectively. On Saturday morning, UCR plays Utah State bright and early at 8:00 am and has a long break before playing Portland State on 6:00 pm that night.
The Wildcat Invitational concludes with a noon game against the host and No. 4 nationally ranked Arizona Wildcats on Sunday.
| Highlanders at Wildcat Invitational Game Capsules |
|||||||||
| UC Riverside |
Minn. | Idaho State |
Utah State |
Portland State | #4 Arizona |
||||
| 2010 Stats & Record |
22-32 | 16-37 | 14-39 | 20-30 | 30-27 | 52-14 | |||
| 2011 Stats & Record |
3-10 | 7-7 | 2-6 | 3-7 | 8-5 | 14-2 | |||
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | ||||
| Roster | Roster | Roster | Roster | Roster | Roster | ||||
| Conference | Big West |
Big Ten | PCSC | WAC | PCSC | Pac-10 | |||
| Current Streak | L 6 |
W 5 | W 1 | L 1 | W 2 | W 3 | |||
| Last Box Score |
L, 10-2 vs. UNLV |
L, 1-0 vs. Kansas | W, 5-2 at Sac St | L, 13-3 vs. #1 UCLA | W, 3-0 vs. Saint Mary's | W, 5-0 vs. SDSU |
|||
| Next Opponent | 3/11 vs. Saint Louis |
3/11 vs. Northern Colorado | 3/10 vs. Troy | 3/8 at CSUB | 3/12 vs. Oregon State | 3/9 vs. Creighton | |||
| Top Hitter |
 White So. .439 BA |
 Sr. .500 BA |
 So. .455 BA |
 Sr. .462 BA |
 Jr. .467 BA |
 Sr. .469 BA |
|||
| Top Pitcher |
 McDonald Jr. 5.83 ERA |
 Fr. 3.59 ERA |
 Sr. 6.08 ERA |
 So. 7.79 ERA |
 Sr. 1.87 ERA |
 So. 0.89 ERA |
|||
| D1 Record Against | 1-2 | 3-0 | 7-8 | 4-0 | 0-0 | ||||
| D1 Current Streak Against | L 1 | W 3 | L 1 | W 4 | N/A | ||||
| Projected Highlander Lineup | |||||||||
| (By Position) | |||||||||
| Pos | # | Name | Yr | B/T | Avg | OBP | SLG | H | RBI |
| C | 6 | Alexis Pickett | So. | L/R | .152 | .200 | .182 | 5 | 4 |
| 1B | 13 | Jessica Vasser | RSo. | L/L | .148 | .303 | .222 | 4 | 2 |
| 2B | 8 | Taylor Thomas | Sr. | R/R | .273 | .368 | .333 | 9 | 3 |
| SS | 1 | Kameryn Hebenton | Sr. | R/R | .367 | .500 | .467 | 11 | 5 |
| 3B | 9 | Brittany Keeney | Jr. | R/R | .308 | .357 | .564 | 12 | 9 |
| RF | 7 | Ariel Shore | So. | L/L | .167 | .167 | .167 | 3 | 0 |
| CF | 4 | Kayla White | So. | R/R | .439 | .489 | .707 | 18 | 11 |
| LF | 5 | Alexis Villamor | So. | R/R | .200 | .176 | .200 | 3 | 3 |
| DP | 17 | Jojo Mendoza | Jr. | R/R | .250 | .333 | .250 | 4 | 1 |
GAME NOTES
I AM NUMBER 11
The Highlanders scored a season-high 11 runs in their 13-11 loss to Boise State on February 25. The 11 runs scored are the most since the team plated that many against Harvard on March 14, 2010. It also the most runs scored in a loss in the Division history of the program.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside sophomore Kayla White was named Big West Conference Player of the Week on February 14 after hitting .529 and slugging .765 during the Highlanders opening weekend tournament in Las Vegas.
White recorded nine hits in 17 at bats, hitting safely in all five games at the UNLV Sportco Kick-Off Classic. She tied her career-high with three hits against UNLV on Friday, and set a career-high with two runs in UCR's 7-6 win against Mississippi State on Saturday.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside junior Jordyn McDonald was named the Big West Conference's Pitcher of the Week on February 21 after going 1-1 over the weekend with a 1.00 ERA. McDonald picked up her first win of the season in a 6-1 victory over Minnesota on Friday, February 18. She pitched all seven innings scattering four hits while striking out seven. In a 4-0 loss to Loyola Marymount on Sunday, February 20, McDonald gave up just one earned run while striking out four in 7.0 innings of work.
WRONG WAY STREAK
After opening the year with a 3-4 record, the Highlanders have recorded six straight losses, the most since they concluded the 2010 season with 10 defeats.
NOT THE RECORD YOU WANT BROKEN
The Highlanders allowed #10 Washington to score 23 runs against them on February 11, breaking the program's Division I record for most runs allowed.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Sophomore Ariel Shore paced the Big West Conference with 22 stolen bases in 2010. That ranks first in the Division I history of the program for the most stolen bases in a single-season, and fourth all-time.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN II
As a team, the Highlanders led the Big West with 53 stolen bases and 57 attempts in 2010. In fact, UCR became the first team in league history to record 50+ stolen bases while not being caught at least 10 times.
RECORD SETTERS
Last season UC Riverside tied the Division I program record for most conference wins with seven, tying the 2009 team which originally established the mark. The Highlanders also tied the mark for most overall wins with 22.
UCR Top Big West Winning Percentages
| W | L | Pct. | |
| 2010 | 7 | 14 | .333 |
| 2009 | 7 | 14 | .333 |
DID U C L A LOSE?
The Highlanders upset the No. 5 team in the nation on March 3, 2010 with their 3-2 victory over UCLA. That win marked the first victory over a ranked opponent in the program's Division I history. UCLA went on to win the 2010 NCAA National Championship.
ALL-AMERICAN FEVER
The biggest loss due to graduation from last season is pitcher/designated player Marissa Alvidrez, a six-time All-Big West performer. The Highlanders will look to Jordyn McDonald—an All-American junior college transfer—to fill Alvidrez's role in both the circle and the box.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Highlanders play 10 games in 2011 against teams that reached the 2010 NCAA Tournament, with six of those teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the latest national polls. So far in 2011, UCR is 0-4 against top-25 teams.
ALL-BIG WEST
The UC Riverside softball team placed two players on the 2010 All-Big West Team. Marissa Alvidrez earned a Second Team nod at the designated player position, while Brittany Keeney nabbed an Honorable Mention accolade at first base.
With this award, Alvidrez earned her sixth-career Big West All-Conference selection. She was previously named Honorable Mention as both a utility and designated player in 2007, Second Team as a designated player and First Team as a utility in 2008, and Honorable Mention as a designated player in 2009.
Brittany Keeney earned her second Big West All-Conference award as she was previously named to the Honorable Mention team as a freshman in the 2009 season.
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