Riverside—The UC Riverside Softball Team hits the road this weekend, traveling to UC Santa Barbara for a three game series beginning with a doublheader Saturday, May 2 at 12 pm PT. The series wraps up with a single game on Sunday at 12 pm.
The Highlanders head into the weekend 35-15 overall and 7-8 in conference after sweeping the UC Davis Aggies. It was the first conference sweep for the blue and gold since they took three from CSUN in 2012.
Chelsea Ponce started on the mound in all three games for the Highlanders, moving her record to 26-9 on the season with a 1.35 ERA. Ponce ranks at the top of the conference and sixth in the nation in victories.
Leading the way in the batter's box for the Highlanders are sophomore Haley Harris and senior Karina Romero batting .329 and .325, respectively. Freshman Jenna Curtan spearheads the Highlanders' efforts on the base paths, stealing 14 bases, ranking her second in the conference.
Rebecca Faulkner has brought in the most runs for UCR with 40 RBI, ranking third in the Big West. Faulkner also leads the squad in home runs, blasting nine so far this season.
The Gauchos' offense is led by Jacqueline Hinojosa and Kristen Clark who hit .371 and .370, respectively. They are two of the four members of the UCSB squad batting over .300. Hinojosa and Clark rank sixth and seventh in the Big West in batting average. UC Santa Barbara's top pitchers, Ashley Ludlow and Alex Pingree, combine for 39 starts out of the team's 48 games played this season. Ludlow owns a 5.25 ERA in 140 innings of work while Pingree has a 4.89 ERA in her 103 innings of pitching.
The Highlanders are 5-34 all-time against the Gauchos after being swept in the last meeting a year ago.
| Projected Highlanders Lineup |
| (By Position) |
| Pos | # | Name | Yr | B/T | Avg | OBP | SLG | H | RBI |
| C | 4 | Chelsey Holley | Fr. | R/R | .224 | .288 | .388 | 22 | 19 |
| 1B | 27 | Rebecca Faulkner | Fr. | R/L | .321 | .405 | .579 | 45 | 40 |
| 2B | 15 | Haley Harris | So. | R/R | .329 | .374 | .430 | 52 | 17 |
| 3B | 8 | Taylor Wright | Sr. | R/R | .289 | .356 | .320 | 37 | 12 |
| SS | 10 | Kris DeAnda | Sr. | R/R | .313 | .374 | .358 | 42 | 18 |
| RF | 2 | Karina Romero | So. | R/R | .325 | .365 | .409 | 50 | 18 |
| CF | 19 | Jenna Curtan | Fr. | L/L | .307 | .402 | .374 | 50 | 13 |
| LF | 9 | Madeline Richard | So. | L/R | .311 | .392 | .378 | 14 | 2 |
| DP | 20 | Natalie Sanchez | Jr. | R/R | .270 | .336 | .435 | 31 | 22 |
GAME NOTESAND THEY'RE OFFAt 35-15 overall the Highlanders have recoded 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 |
CLIMBING THE CHARTSPitching in 42 games so far this season, Chelsea Ponce has already recorded 26 wins with 6 games remaining. Her 26 victories rank her sixth in the nation for games through April 26.
Ponce passed the previous UCR single-season record holder Marissa Alvidrez when the Highlanders defeated Weber State 2-0 on March 11th earlier this year.
| UCR Division I Single-Season Wins |
| Wins | Player | Season |
| 26 | 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 |
| 31 | Jordan Dixon | Marshall |
| 30 | Lexi Shubert | USC Upstate |
| 30 | Mckenna Bull | BYU |
| 30 | Erica Romero | San Diego State |
| 27 | Krista Menke | North Dakota State |
| 26 | Chelsea Ponce | UC Riverside |
| 25 | Sara Groenewegen | Minnesota |
| 25 | Lacey Waldrop | Florida State |
| 25 | Amber Logemann | Miami (OH) |
| 25 | Jillian Compton | Fresno State |
| 25 | Emily Weiman | North Carolina State |
YOU GOTTA EARN ITChelsea Ponce ranks 14th in the nation and first in the Big West with a 1.35 ERA through 228.2 innings of pitching.
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 63th as of April 26. They are one of four Big West schools to break the top-65 which includes No. 44 CSUN, No. 54 Long Beach State and No. 55 Cal State Fullerton.
GOING, GOING GONEIn the Highlanders' 10-2 win 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.
Freshman Rebecca Faulkner matched Sanchez's home run performance blasting two in the Highlander's 7-6 loss to CSUN after nine innings of competition, April 19.
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 Highlanders matched February's marathon with another 13-inning fight, this time with the UC Davis Aggies. After over three and a half hours that included a small rain delay, the blue and gold left the field victorious in a 1-0 shutout of the Aggies.
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, breaking the previous single-season record in the program's Division I history held by Taylor Alvarez with two.
In the final game of a series against Cal State Fullerton, the Redwood City native took over the all-time career saves record, notching her fifth the Highlander's, 8-1 victory.
Faulkner has joined Ponce in top-10 national rankings, as she leads the nation in saves.
| Division I Single-Season Saves |
| Saves | Player | Season |
| 7 | 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 | |
| 7 | 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 .286 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 50 games this season the Highlanders are 37-for-48 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 6 games left in the season, UCR has already smashed the previous wins record with 35.
| Best Winning Pct. (DI) |
| .700 | 2015 |
| .472 | 2012 |
| .449 | 2006 |
| .426 | 2014 |
| Most Wins (DI) |
| 35 | 2015 |
| 25 | 2012 |
| 23 | 2014 |
| 22 | 2006 |
| 22 | 2010 |
JUST KEEP SWINGING, JUST KEEP SWINGINGThrough 50 games this season the Highlanders have recorded 10 or more hits in 17 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 388 total hits, passing the previous record (378) set by the 2012 team, with 6 games remaining. 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.
On Sunday, April 26 of this year, the Highlanders garnered their first conference series sweep while playing UC Davis. It is the first time the blue and gold has swept a Big West member since the 2012 season in which they took three from CSUN.
