Riverside, Calif.— The UC Riverside Softball Team (22-9) will host the University of San Diego (17-14) for a three game series this weekend including a doubleheader on Saturday. This will be the last weekend of competition for the Highlanders before starting Big West Conference play next weekend at Cal Poly.
The Toreros come to Riverside having won six of their last seven games, but the team has struggled on the road with a 3-5 away record.
LAST TIME
The Highlanders are coming off a 2-1 win over Idaho State last weekend where UCR scored its two runs the bottom of the 6th inning to complete to the come from behind win. Senior catcher Jenae Lockwood brought in the runs on a two-out 2 RBI single to right that gave UCR the late lead.
BIG WEST BEWARE
The Highlanders are now a week away from beginning Big West play and will come into conference on top. The team's 22-9 record is good for 2nd place in the standings and its .298 team batting average and 2.26 ERA rank 2nd as well. The Highlanders also rank 2nd in OPB (.389), runs (153), hits (234), RBI (137), and opposing batting average (.223).
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman pitcher Hailey Dolcini (9-2) repeated as Big West Pitcher of the Week after a dominant performance in the Highlander Invitational this past weekend. This is fourth straight week that a Highlander has received a conference honor.
This week the freshman made four appearances, two of which were starts, and scattered eight hits while walking just three and striking out 11. She threw a complete game four-hit shutout against Harvard to start the UCR Tournament walking just one batter and striking out four.
The rookie pitcher has not allowed an earned run in her last 46.0 innings, going all the way back to the first inning against Stony Brook on March 3rd.
DON'T STOP BELIEVING
UCR has performed exceptionally well even when trailing as the team has registered eight wins in games where its opponent got on the scoreboard first. This includes four wins when the Highlanders trailed after the 5th inning and two wins despite trailing after the 6th.
RECORD BREAKERS
So far this year the Highlanders have broke several all-time UCR records. Senior pitcher Tayler Misfeldt broke the all-time wins record with 41 last month and since then senior outfielder Jenna Curtan has broken the all-time hits record with 200, the all-time runs record with 115, and is three doubles away from the all-time record for two-baggers.
CURTAN'S UP
Senior outfielder Jenna Curtan was awarded Big West Field Player of the Week on March 5th after an outstanding Highlander Classic. Over the 4-game weekend, Curtan truly stood out as she led the team in batting average (.889), slugging (1.222), OBP (.929), runs scored (7), hits (8), total bases (11), and doubles (3). The Highlander's center fielder went 8-for-9 in the tournament and only recorded one out in her 14 plate appearances. Her last hit of the weekend, an RBI single up the middle to add to UCR's dominant 11-0 win over Saint Mary's, was the senior's 200th career hit, which broke the all-time UCR record. Curtan is also the all-time leader in runs with 129, is 4th on the all time list for doubles with 33, and is tied for 2nd in triples with nine.
She has been a strong offensive leader so far in her final season for the Highlanders. Over the team's 31 games this year she ranks 1st on the team in batting average (.448), slugging (.615), OPB (.555), hits (43), doubles (10), runs (31), and total bases (59). Curtan has also displayed some heroics, gathering late inning hits and runs in the wins over George Washington and St. John's.
RAMELOT'S HOT
Two of UCR's wins have come by way of walk-off from sophomore Emma Ramelot. The shortstop was truly clutch against George Washington hitting a solo homerun to tie the game and then a walk-off double an inning later to cap off a huge comeback and win the game 9-8. Just three days later, Ramelot would step to the plate against St. John's and win the game with an infield single after her team trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the 7th.
PARTEN THE INTERRUPTION
Sophomore first baseman Sarah Parten took home the Big West Field Player of the Week honors on February 26th after a very impressive weekend at the Amy S. Harrison Classic, where she had a team best .615 batting average, .677 OBP, and an outstanding slugging percentage of .846. She registered two hits in all four games and was a key part of UCR's comeback win over George Washington, where the team trailed 6-0 in the 3rd inning. The sophomore also smacked a 3-run HR against No. 21 Cal.
TAYLER ON TOP
Senior Pitcher Tayler Misfeldt (12-5) broke the all-time UCR record for wins on February 18th, 2018 as she picked up her 41st W in a shutout vs. Stanford and since then has extended that record to 49. So far this season she has shutout three teams and struck-out 99 batters to earn a 1.81 ERA.
In the Highlander's 2nd game against Colgate, Misfeldt stepped to the plate for the first time in her career and went 2-for-3 with a triple and 2 RBIs.
THIS IS R' HOUSE
So far this season, UC Riverside is 16-5 at home after going 4-1 in the Highlander Classic and 2-0 in the UCR Tournament. Since Head Coach Nikki Palmer took the helm in 2017, the Highlanders are a combined 40-16 when playing at Amy S. Harrison Field. Palmer now has 95 wins as a Head Coach, 56 of which have come as a Highlander.
SHUTOUT CITY
Nine of the team's wins this season have come by way of shutout. In those nine games, the Highlanders have won a pair of 10-0 games, an 11-0 game, and have scored a combined 52 runs.
FRESHMEN ON FIRE
Freshman Seanna Garewal and Hailey Dolcini have already made a positive impact on the team in their first year of play.
Left fielder Garewal ranks 2nd on the team in batting average (.338), slugging (.506), runs scored (17), and 3rd in OBP (.464). She also smacked her first career HR on February 18th against Stanford.
Pitcher Hailey Dolcini (8-2) leads the team with a 1.04 ERA after an outstanding performance at the Highlander Invitational. Opponents have struggled against the freshman batting only .158 and striking out 64 times in her 16 appearances. She is first on the Highlanders with just 11 earned runs.
HOT STARTS
The Highlanders have faired well when they get on the score board early as they are 14-1 when scoring first and are 8-1 when the team scores in the 1st inning. This success has been in part because of UCR's ability to get lead-off batters aboard 48.2% of the time.
