Tempe, AZ—The UC Riverside Softball Team begins the 2016 season Friday, Feb. 12 at 8 am as the Highlanders take part in the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State.
Kajikawa Classic Schedule:
Friday 2/12
8:00 am vs Northwestern
10:15 am vs Creighton
Saturday 2/13
4:00 pm vs East Carolina
Sunday 2/14
8:00 am vs Wisconsin
10:15 am vs Seattle
UCR concluded last season with an overall record, 39-17, which is the most wins in the program's Division I history.
The top three returning hitters are junior Haley Harris (.312), sophomore Jenna Curtan (.306), and senior Natalie Sanchez (.275). Tayler Misfeldt (4-2, 3.25 era) will serve as the team's ace this season.
The Highlanders welcome five freshmen to the fold, Anessa Cepeda, Sarah Gailey, Brittney Garcia, Amanda Lynch and Hannah Rodriguez. They will be without the services of pitcher Rebecca Faulkner, who was lost for the season due to injury.
Friday's game will also be the season opener for Northwestern, who's 2015 season came to a close at the NCAA South Bend Regional with a loss to No. 16 overall seed and Region host Notre Dame.
In last year's Kajikawa Classic, UCR went 3-2, dropping the first two games and winning the following three in a row. They defeated Western Michigan, Seattle and San Jose State, after falling to Pacific and Creighton
For full tournament results visit
Kajikawa Classic .
GAME NOTESAND THEY'RE OFFLast year's at 36-17 overall the Highlanders recoded the best season in the program's Division I-era, topping the previous single-season win record of 25 set by the 2012 squad.
MOVIN' ON UPPrior to the 2015 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 climbed the ladder to 63rd. They were 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 in 2015, 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 last 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 on April 25.
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's 8 saves led the nation in 2015.
| Single-Season Saves Since 2002 |
| Saves | Player | Season |
| 8 | 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 | |
| 8 | Rebecca Faulkner | 2015 |
| 4 | Ashley Henderson | 1991-92 |
| 3 | Tayler Misfeldt | 2015 |
| 3 | Alicia Zinner | 1991-92 |
| 3 | Laura Fay | 1987-90 |
CONNECTIONSThe Highlanders maintained a team batting average of .284 last season, breaking 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 that 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. Last season the Highlanders were 41-for-53 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. The 2015 squad smashed the previous wins record with 39.
| Best Winning Pct. (DI) |
| .696 | 2015 |
| .472 | 2012 |
| .449 | 2006 |
| .426 | 2014 |
| Most Wins (DI) |
| 39 | 2015 |
| 25 | 2012 |
| 23 | 2014 |
| 22 | 2006 |
| 22 | 2010 |
JUST KEEP SWINGING, JUST KEEP SWINGINGIn 56 games last season, the Highlanders 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.
Last season, the team had 429 total hits, passing the previous record (378) set by the 2012 team.
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.
Last season, the Highlanders kicked off conference play with a win over Hawai'i, 2-1. It was the first time the blue and gold won a Big West opener since 2010. They followed that up performance with their first series win of the 2015 season in week two over Long Beach State.
On Sunday, April 26, 2015, the Highlanders earned their first conference series sweep of the season against UC Davis. It was the first time the blue and gold swept a Big West member since the 2012 season, when took three straight from CSUN.
