Friday, March 8
Riverside, CA
11:00 am
UC Riverside
vs
IUPUI
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Softball Hosts Buffalo, Southern Utah, And IUPUI In Mizuno Invitational This Weekend
3/4/2013 9:48:00 AM | Softball
Riverside—The UC Riverside Softball Team returns to the Inland Empire to host its second tournament of the 2013 season, the Mizuno Invitational, on March 8-10 at Amy S. Harrison Field. Participating teams are Buffalo, IUPUI, Southern Utah, and the Highlanders. Live Stats. Tournament Page.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
The Highlanders are coming off of a 2-3 weekend at the Wildcat Invitational which saw them record their first two shutouts of the season: 1-0 vs Portland State (recap/box score) and 2-0 vs Boston (recap/box score).
GAME NOTES
SHUTOUT
The Highlanders shutout two opponents at the Wildcat Invitational—1-0 vs Portland State on March 1, and 2-0 vs Boston on March 2—the first shutouts this season. Last year, UCR record five shutouts.
WALK THIS WAY
Ashley Ercolano hit a three-RBI walk-off home run for UCR in its win against Weber State on February 23. The last Highlanders player to record a walk-off is Kaylie Atkinson, who drilled a shot against Idaho State on Feb. 25, 2012.
GONE STREAKING
UC Riverside won a season-best four straight games from Feb. 23-Mar. 1 of this year. Last year, the Highlanders accumulated two streaks of four or more wins.
OFF TO THE RACES
The Highlanders won their 2013 season opener against Southern Miss on February 8—the first season-opening victory since 2007.
FEELING A LITTLE RANK
UCR faced off against three ranked opponents in consecutive games at the Campbell/Cartier Classic on February 15-17—the most ranked opponents the team has faced in a row since a three-game series against #21 Cal Poly on May 8-9, 2009.
ERROR MESSAGE
UC Riverside committed five errors in its loss against Fresno State on Feb. 8, the most since April 16, 2011 when the Highlanders recorded six errors.
BREAKING RECORDS
UCR finished the 2012 season with a 25-28 overall record, setting a new program Division I mark for most wins in a season and for best winning percentage.
BRINGING OUT THE BROOMS
The Highlanders sweep of Cal State Northridge on May 5-6, 2012 was the first such sweep over the Matadors in the team's Division I history. The sweep was also the first for UCR in conference play since taking a three-game series from Sacramento State on May 4-5, 2002.
SHOWING NO MERCY
UCR won six games last year by the eight-run mercy-rule—the most times in the program's DI history. This season, they’ve already won one game by the mercy rule, but have been mercy ruled six times by opponents.
BATTER UP
UCR finished the 2012 season with a team batting average of .281— the highest single-season average in the team's Division I history, besting the 2011 squad with a .276 batting average.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
The Highlanders stole 73 bases in 2012, 10 more than the program's previous DI record of 63 set in 2011. UCR already has 34 stolen bases in 2013.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
The Highlanders won 13 games in 2011, but nearly doubled that win total in 2012 with 25 victories.
OFF THE CHARTS
UC Riverside's 16 runs against Eastern Kentucky on March 7, 2012 are the most in the Division I history of the program for a single-game total. The previous high was 15, set at Utah State on May 3, 2003.
CONFERENCE DIVAS
The Highlanders led the Big West Conference last season in triples, stolen bases, and steal attempts while ranking second in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and RBI. On the national scale, UC Riverside ranked 12th in double plays per game and 44th in both triples per game and stolen bases per game.
COACHING CHANGES
UC Riverside welcomes an entirely new coaching staff to the dugout in 2013. Head Coach Linda Garza was hired in June to lead the program, and named Jodie Cox and Chez Sievers as assistant coaches and Morgan Stuart as a volunteer coach.
ALL-BIG WEST
Four UC Riverside players were selected to the Big West All-Conference Team last season, with outfielder Kayla White garnering All-Big West First-Team awards while Alexis Pickett was selected to the Second Team, and Ariel Shore and Kaylie Atkinson both received Honorable Mention accolades.
The tournament schedule is as follows:
| Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Buffalo vs Southern Utah at 9:00 am | Buffalo vs IUPUI at 9:00 am | Buffalo vs IUPUI at 9:00 am |
| IUPUI vs Southern Utah at 11:30 am | Buffalo vs UC Riverside at 11:30 am | Southern Utah vs UC Riverside at 11:30 am |
| IUPUI vs UC Riverside at 2:00 pm | Southern Utah vs UC Riverside at 2:00 pm | Buffalo vs UC Riverside at 2:00 pm |
The Highlanders are coming off of a 2-3 weekend at the Wildcat Invitational which saw them record their first two shutouts of the season: 1-0 vs Portland State (recap/box score) and 2-0 vs Boston (recap/box score).
| Highlanders vs Mizuno Invitational Game Capsules | ||||
| UC Riverside | Buffalo | IUPUI | Southern Utah | |
| 2013 Record & Stats | 7-12 | 2-9 | 5-8 | 3-12 |
| Roster | Roster | Roster | Roster | |
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | |
| Conference | Big West | Mid-American | Summit | Big Sky |
| Current Streak | L 1 | L 5 | L 1 | W 1 |
| Most Recent Box Score |
L, 7-6 vs Boston |
L, 5-0 at Marshall |
L, 7-2 vs Tennessee State |
W, 9-5 vs Nevada |
| Next Opponent |
3/13 vs Bethune-Cookman |
3/13 at Long Beach State |
3/13 vs South Dakota State |
3/12 vs Fairfield |
| Top Hitter |
Dionne
Anderson Junior .300 BA |
 Curtiss Sophomore .281 BA |
 Lam Junior .368 BA |
 Bryant Senior .354 BA |
| Top Pitcher |
Alyssa
Razo Sophomore 3.50 ERA 5-6 Record |
 Cowan Freshman 4.83 ERA 0-4 Record |
 Oppenhuis RS Junior 2.79 ERA 1-2 Record |
 Axe Senior 4.71 ERA 1-5 Record |
| DI Record vs. | 4-1 | 0-0 | 2-3 | |
| DI Current Streak vs. | W 1 | First Meeting | L 1 | |
| Projected Highlanders Lineup | |||||||||
| (By Position) | |||||||||
| Pos | # | Name | Yr | B/T | Avg | OBP | SLG | H | RBI |
| C | 20 | Natalie Sanchez | Fr. | R/R | .167 | .300 | .262 | 7 | 3 |
| 1B | 17 | Marissa Escalante | Fr. | R/R | .261 | .393 | .348 | 12 | 8 |
| 2B | 3 | Meagan Esteban | Fr. | L/R | .163 | .250 | .163 | 7 | 3 |
| 3B | 16 | Brittanie Akey | Fr. | R/R | .182 | .234 | .205 | 8 | 3 |
| SS | 11 | Nicolette Lujan | Fr. | R/R | .148 | .233 | .148 | 6 | 1 |
| RF | 19 | Dionne Anderson | Jr. | L/R | .300 | .400 | .360 | 15 | 7 |
| CF | 4 | Kayla White | Sr. | R/R | .232 | .259 | .375 | 13 | 4 |
| LF | 7 | Ariel Shore | Sr. | L/R | .200 | .241 | .255 | 11 | 1 |
| DP | 9 | Ashley Ercolano | Fr. | R/R | .271 | .352 | .396 | 13 | 10 |
GAME NOTES
SHUTOUT
The Highlanders shutout two opponents at the Wildcat Invitational—1-0 vs Portland State on March 1, and 2-0 vs Boston on March 2—the first shutouts this season. Last year, UCR record five shutouts.
WALK THIS WAY
Ashley Ercolano hit a three-RBI walk-off home run for UCR in its win against Weber State on February 23. The last Highlanders player to record a walk-off is Kaylie Atkinson, who drilled a shot against Idaho State on Feb. 25, 2012.
GONE STREAKING
UC Riverside won a season-best four straight games from Feb. 23-Mar. 1 of this year. Last year, the Highlanders accumulated two streaks of four or more wins.
OFF TO THE RACES
The Highlanders won their 2013 season opener against Southern Miss on February 8—the first season-opening victory since 2007.
FEELING A LITTLE RANK
UCR faced off against three ranked opponents in consecutive games at the Campbell/Cartier Classic on February 15-17—the most ranked opponents the team has faced in a row since a three-game series against #21 Cal Poly on May 8-9, 2009.
ERROR MESSAGE
UC Riverside committed five errors in its loss against Fresno State on Feb. 8, the most since April 16, 2011 when the Highlanders recorded six errors.
BREAKING RECORDS
UCR finished the 2012 season with a 25-28 overall record, setting a new program Division I mark for most wins in a season and for best winning percentage.
| Best Winning Pct. (DI) | |
| .472 | 2012 |
| .449 | 2006 |
| .407 | 2010 |
| Most Wins (DI) | |
| 25 x | 2012 |
| 22 | 2006 |
| 22 | 2010 |
BRINGING OUT THE BROOMS
The Highlanders sweep of Cal State Northridge on May 5-6, 2012 was the first such sweep over the Matadors in the team's Division I history. The sweep was also the first for UCR in conference play since taking a three-game series from Sacramento State on May 4-5, 2002.
SHOWING NO MERCY
UCR won six games last year by the eight-run mercy-rule—the most times in the program's DI history. This season, they’ve already won one game by the mercy rule, but have been mercy ruled six times by opponents.
BATTER UP
UCR finished the 2012 season with a team batting average of .281— the highest single-season average in the team's Division I history, besting the 2011 squad with a .276 batting average.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
The Highlanders stole 73 bases in 2012, 10 more than the program's previous DI record of 63 set in 2011. UCR already has 34 stolen bases in 2013.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
The Highlanders won 13 games in 2011, but nearly doubled that win total in 2012 with 25 victories.
OFF THE CHARTS
UC Riverside's 16 runs against Eastern Kentucky on March 7, 2012 are the most in the Division I history of the program for a single-game total. The previous high was 15, set at Utah State on May 3, 2003.
CONFERENCE DIVAS
The Highlanders led the Big West Conference last season in triples, stolen bases, and steal attempts while ranking second in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and RBI. On the national scale, UC Riverside ranked 12th in double plays per game and 44th in both triples per game and stolen bases per game.
COACHING CHANGES
UC Riverside welcomes an entirely new coaching staff to the dugout in 2013. Head Coach Linda Garza was hired in June to lead the program, and named Jodie Cox and Chez Sievers as assistant coaches and Morgan Stuart as a volunteer coach.
ALL-BIG WEST
Four UC Riverside players were selected to the Big West All-Conference Team last season, with outfielder Kayla White garnering All-Big West First-Team awards while Alexis Pickett was selected to the Second Team, and Ariel Shore and Kaylie Atkinson both received Honorable Mention accolades.
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