UC Riverside Classic March 24-26, 2017 Amy S. Harrison Field-Riverside, CA

Friday, March 24 UMKC vs. Pacific @ 9 am Pacific vs. UC Riverside @ 11:30 am UMKC vs. UC Riverside @ 2 pm Saturday, March 25 UMKC vs. Pacific @ 9 am Dartmouth vs. Pacific @ 11:30 am Dartmouth vs. UC Riverside @ 2 pm Sunday, March 26 UMKC vs. UC Riverside @ 10 am Pacific vs. UC Riverside @ 12:30 pm Live Stats All Games

Riverside–The UC Riverside Softball Team hosts its third tournament of the year this weekend, the UC Riverside Classic.

Amy S. Harrison Field is once again the stage as Pacific, Dartmouth, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City join the Highlanders in the eight game event, which begins Friday March 24, and ends Sunday March 26.

UCR comes into the tournament having won five straight and eight of their last nine games. Playing some of their best softball of the year, the Highlanders have rounded themselves into conference form and look to keep that form in the final tournament of the year.

Sophomore shortstop Hannah Rodriguez currently sits atop the Big West Conference with a .424 batting average, more than ten points clear of the next qualified player.

Senior Maddy Richard continues to lead the attack at the top of the order with a .463 on-base percentage, a league-leading 17 walks, and 13 stolen bases, which are good for second in the conference.

Haley Harris and Brittney Garcia have also been key contributors to the team's recent success. Harris has driven in 18 runs this season, which ranks eighth in the league. Garcia has crossed the plate 20 times in 2017–a figure that is sixth-best in the Big West.

UCR pitchers have allowed more than five runs only once in their last 15 games. Leading the way has been sophomore Anessa Cepeda, who leads the team with a 6-0 record to go along with her 1.08 ERA. Also providing some big innings for the Highlanders has been freshman Haley Marschall and junior Tayler Misfeldt.

Pacific enters the weekend with a 14-16 record after taking both games of a double-header against Princeton Tuesday. Prior to that, they had dropped five straight contests, with three of those losses coming against #4 Oregon, and #8 Minnesota (twice).

The Tigers boast an impressive trio of power-hitters in Cassidy Gufstason, Rachel Sellers and Sydney Lahners, who have each hit five home runs on the season. Setting the table for the team has been Molly Bourne (.333/.479/.404) and Hailey Reed (.300/.356/.325).

The main presence in the circle for Pacific is junior Marrisa Young, who has started 11 games compiling a 4-3 record with a 2.12 ERA.

Dartmouth will arrive still seeking their first win of the 2017 season (0-14-1). The Big Green are coming off an 0-6 showing in the Loyola Marymount Tournament having been knocked off by DePaul, Cal Poly, Sacramento State, and event host LMU twice on Tuesday.

The Big Green has struggled to produce runs this season, managing less than three runs per game. One bright spot for the offense has been freshman and California native Calista Almer who leads the team with a .333 average while slugging an impressive .515 in her 13 games played this season.

Breanna Ethridge has been tabbed as the starter in a majority of the Big Green's games working her way to a 6.33 ERA in 54.0 innings pitched to go along with her 0-8 record.

The University of Missouri- Kansas City makes their way to the west coast after competing in the Rock Chalk Challenge hosted by the University of Kansas in Lawrence. The Kangaroos picked up their first win of the tournament, with a 7-5 victory against Omaha to move their overall record to 7-19.

Redshirt junior Kendra Leach leads the team with a .406 average to go along with 10 extra base hits and 10 walks. Another player to keep an eye on is shortstop Morgan Byrn, who tops the squad with four homeruns while maintaining a .379 batting average.

As for the Kangaroo pitchers, three have combined for 24 starts. Lia Lombardini, Lynsey Conner, and Ashlin O'Brien have all made at least six starts, and the set have combined for five victories and a 6.10 ERA over 125 innings.