Riverside—The UC Riverside Softball Team is hitting the road to take on an undefeated in conference CSUN squad this weekend beginning with a double-header Saturday, April 18 starting at 12 pm PT. The series will wrap up with a single game on Sunday at 12 pm.
The Highlanders head into the weekend 32-12 overall and 4-5 in conference after dropping a home series to a tough Cal State Fullerton.
Chelsea Ponce started on the mound in all three games for the Highlanders, moving her record to 24-8 on the season with a 1.28 ERA. Ponce ranks at the top of the conference and fourth in the nation in victories.
Leading the way in the batter's box for the blue and gold is sophomore Haley Harris batting .367 with 51 hits and a .411 on base percentage. Freshman Jenna Curtan is spearheading the Highlanders' efforts on the base paths, stealing 11 bases, ranking her third in the conference. Bringing in the most runs for the Highlanders is Rebecca Faulkner with 32 RBI, ranking sixth in the Big West. Faulkner also leads the squad in home runs, blasting six so far this season.
The Matadors' offense is led by Taylor Glover and Katie Hooper who both flirt with a .400 batting average and rank in the top five in conference. Hooper leads the Big West in RBI and home runs with 48 and 14, repsectively.
| Projected Highlanders Lineup |
| (By Position) |
| Pos | # | Name | Yr | B/T | Avg | OBP | SLG | H | RBI |
| C | 4 | Chelsey Holley | Fr. | R/R | .218 | .289 | .359 | 17 | 14 |
| 1B | 27 | Rebecca Faulkner | Fr. | R/L | .311 | .390 | .525 | 38 | 32 |
| 2B | 15 | Haley Harris | So. | R/R | .367 | .411 | .482 | 51 | 17 |
| 3B | 8 | Taylor Wright | Sr. | R/R | .304 | .380 | .339 | 34 | 10 |
| SS | 10 | Kris DeAnda | Sr. | R/R | .313 | .373 | .365 | 36 | 17 |
| RF | 2 | Karina Romero | So. | R/R | .351 | .386 | .448 | 47 | 16 |
| CF | 19 | Jenna Curtan | Fr. | L/L | .321 | .428 | .393 | 45 | 12 |
| LF | 6 | Stephanie Tickemyer | So. | R/R | .232 | .319 | .256 | 19 | 8 |
| DP | 25 | Erika Campbell | Jr. | L/L | .231 | .304 | .264 | 21 | 10 |
GAME NOTESAND THEY'RE OFFAt 32-12 overall the Highlanders are off to their best start in the program's Division I-era, topping the previous single-season win record of 25 set by the 2012 squad.
FOR IT'S 1, 2, 3 STRIKES YOU'RE OUTFive games into the 2015 season and Chelsea Ponce was already etching her name in the UCR softball record books, recording the most strike outs in a single game in the program's Division I-era. In the Highlanders 3-1 victory over Seattle on Feb. 8, 2015, Ponce threw all seven frames, recording 13 strike outs and passing the previous single-game record of 11 held by Stephanie Marshall.
| Single-Game Strikouts |
| Strikeouts | Player | Game | Date |
| 13 | Chelsea Ponce | Seattle | February 8, 2015 |
| 11 | Chelsea Ponce | Fairleigh Dickinson | March 20, 2015 |
| 11 | Stephanie Marshall | @ UC Davis | April 9, 2006 |
| 10 | Christin Songer | Pacific | April 12, 2008 |
| 10 | Jordyn McDonald | CSU Bakersfield | March 28, 2012 |
| 9 | Marissa Alvidrez | Southern Illinois | February, 7, 2009 |
| 9 | Stephanie Marshall | San Jose State | February 10, 2007 |
| 9 | Alyssa Razo | vs. Southern Utah | February 16, 2014 |
| 9 | Chelsea Ponce | Pacific | February 6, 2015 |
CLIMBING THE CHARTSPitching in 36 games so far this season, Chelsea Ponce has already recorded 24 wins with 12 games remaining. Her 24 victories rank her fourth in the nationg for games through April 12.
| UCR Division I Single-Season Wins |
| Wins | Player | Season |
| 24 | Chelsea Ponce | 2015 |
| 15 | Marissa Alvidrez | 2010 |
| 13 | Alyssa Razo | 2014 |
| 13 | Stephanie Marshall | 2006 |
| 10 | Christin Songer | 2008 |
| 10 | Jordyn McDonald | 2012 |
| 2015 NCAA Division I Victories |
| Wins | Player | School |
| 26 | Jordan Dixon | Marshall |
| 26 | Erica Romero | San Diego State |
| 25 | McKenna Bull | BYU |
| 24 | Chelsea Ponce | UC Riverside |
| 24 | Lexi Shubert | USC Upstate |
| 23 | Krista Menke | North Dakota State |
| 22 | Lacey Waldrop | Florida State |
| 22 | Alexis Silkwood | Mississippi State |
| 21 | Sara Groenewegen | Minnesota |
| 21 | Shelby Turnier | UCF |
| 21 | Chelsea Wilkinson | Georgia |
| 21 | Kylee Studioso | Central Arkansas |
YOU GOTTA EARN ITChelsea Ponce ranks fourteenth in the nation and first in the Big West with a 1.28 ERA through 196.2 innings of pitching. That is the most innings of work out of the 50 pitchers that are ranked for lowest ERA.
Should she maintain her current ERA, Ponce will have her name placed among to top pitchers in complete Highlander softball history.
All-Time Single-Season
ERA (minimum 50 innings) |
| ERA | Player | Season |
| 0.20 | Susan Hahn | 1983 |
| 0.21 | Susan Hahn | 1984 |
| 0.47 | Teri Perry | 1990 |
| 0.55 | Tracey Webber | 1983 |
| 0.71 | Ashley Henderson | 1991 |
| 0.79 | Tracey Webber | 1984 |
| 0.93 | Tracey Webber | 1985 |
| 1.26 | Laura Fay | 1990 |
| 1.28 | Chelsea Ponce | 2015 |
| 1.32 | Alicia Zinner | 1992 |
MOVIN' ON UPPrior to this season, the 2014 Highlanders squad had seen the best record and winning percentage in the program's Division I history. At the end of the season the blue and gold finished 179th in the NCAA RPI rankings.
This year, the Highlanders have climbed the ladder to 63rd as of April 13. They are one of five Big West schools to break the top-65 which includes No. 49 Cal State Fullerton, No. 57 CSUN, No. 59 Hawai'i, and No. 64 Long Beach State.
GOING, GOING GONEIn the Highlanders' 10-2 rout against San Diego on the final day of the Amy S. Harrison Classic, catcher Natalie Sanchez blasted back-to-back home runs, both sailing over the fence in left-center.
Sanchez is the first Highlander to hit two home runs in a single game since Kaylie Atkinson smashed two at Cal State Fullerton on April 22, 2012.
EXTRA FRAMESWhile competing in the Fresno State Kick-Off Feb. 13-15, the Highlanders were victorious, 7-6, in a four-hour, 13-inning battle against Sacramento State. That is a tie for the second-most innings pitched in a single game during the program's Division I-era. In 2010 UC Riverside topped Pacific 4-3 in the second game of the day's double-header.
The most innings pitched by a Highlander team was in 2002, when UC Riverside went back-and-forth with Cal Poly in a 14 inning dual that ended with the blue and gold on top, 1-0
.SAVED!Just 20 games into the season freshman Rebecca Faulkner recorded her fourth save in a 2-1 victory over UT-Arlington.
During the Amy S. Harrison Classic, Faulkner took over for Chelsea Ponce against Michigan State, recording her third save in a 9-2 win and breaking the Highlanders' single-season record for most saves. She now has five on the season with the most recent occuring in UCR's 8-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton April 12. Faulkner has joined Ponce in top-10 national rankings, sitting in the fifth position in saves.
In her first season as a Highlander Faulkner has taken over as the all-time career leader in saves in UC Riverside softball history.
| Division I Single-Season Saves |
| Saves | Player | Season |
| 5 | Rebecca Faulkner | 2015 |
| 3 | Tayler Misfeldt | 2015 |
| 2 | Taylor Alvarez | 2013 |
| 2 | Christin Songer | 2005 |
| 2 | Marissa Alvidrez | 2008 |
| All-Time Career Saves |
| Saves | Player | |
| 5 | Rebecca Faulkner | 2015 |
| 4 | Ashley Henderson | 1991-92 |
| 3 | Tayler Misfeldt | 2015 |
| 3 | Alicia Zinner | 1991-92 |
| 3 | Laura Fay | 1987-90 |
CONNECTIONSIf the Highlanders maintain their current team batting average of .290 throughout the season, they will break the program's Division I-era record of .281 set by the 2012 squad.
CATCH ME IF YOU CANThe Highlanders stole 90 bases during the 2013 season, setting the program Division I record in the process. UCR ended the season ranked 28th in the nation in stolen bases per game, with graduated senior Ariel Shore ranking 58th individually in that category, and Dionne Anderson ranking 77th.
In 2014, Anderson set the program's Division I mark for most stolen bases in a single-season when she stole her 27th base in just the 27th game of the year on March 12 against Fairleigh Dickinson. She also topped Shore as the program's Division I leader in career stolen bases, and finishing her career with 86. The all-time program record for career stolen bases is 107, set by Deanna Dresman from 1988-91. The Highlanders recorded 77 stolen bases in 51 games, with Anderson's 47 leading the team. Anderson also ranked second in the nation in that category, while the team was 35th.
Anderson also broke the Big West Conference single-season record for stolen bases, and is second on the all-time league charts for career stolen bases.
Through 44 games this season the Highlanders are 33-for-43 in stolen base attempts.
BREAKING RECORDSUCR finished the 2012 season with a 25-28 overall record, setting a program Division I mark for most wins in a season and for best winning percentage. The Highlanders notched 23 wins in 2014, giving them the second-most wins in the program's Division I era. With 12 games left in the season, UCR has already smashed the previous wins record with 32.
| Best Winning Pct. (DI) |
| .727 | 2015 |
| .472 | 2012 |
| .449 | 2006 |
| .426 | 2014 |
| Most Wins (DI) |
| 32 | 2015 |
| 25 | 2012 |
| 23 | 2014 |
| 22 | 2006 |
| 22 | 2010 |
JUST KEEP SWINGING, JUST KEEP SWINGINGThrough 44 games this season the Highlanders have recorded 10 or more hits in 16 games, breaking the previous single-season record of most games with double-digit hits (13) previously held by the 2012 team.
This season, the team has 341 total hits with 12 games remaining. The 2012 squad currently holds the single-season record for most hits with 378. Should the Highlanders maintain their performance in the batter's box, they are projected to finished out the 56-game season with 434 hits.
TAKENThe Highlanders won their first Big West series of the 2014 season April 12-13 at Cal State Fullerton by taking two of three games—the first series win since April 27-28, 2013 against Cal Poly.
This season, the Highlanders kicked off conference play with a win over Hawai'i, 2-1. It is the first time the blue and gold has won a Big West opener since 2010. They then followed with their first series win of the 2015 season in week two versus Long Beach State.
