San Luis Obispo, Calif.— The UC Riverside Softball Team (23-11) will open up Big West Conference play this weekend as the team travels to San Luis Obispo to take on Cal Poly (16-13). The Mustangs boast an unbeaten 4-0 record at home, but have lost four of their last six games. UCR will face Cal Poly in doubleheader on Friday starting at 1:00 PM followed by a single game on Saturday at 1:00 PM.

LAST TIME
The Highlanders are coming off a 6-4 win over the University of San Diego where junior shortstop Hannah Rodriguez hit a walk-off three run homer in the bottom of the 7th to complete the come from behind victory.

BIG WEST BEWARE
The Highlanders are now headed into Big West play and will come into conference on top. The team's 23-11 record is good for 2nd place in the standings and its .299 team batting average and 2.52 ERA rank 2nd as well. The Highlanders also rank 2nd in OPB (.386), runs (164), hits (261), RBI (147), and opposing batting average (.226).

On the individual side, senior outfielder Jenna Curtan tops the Big West in batting average (.444) and OBP (.542) and is 2nd in runs scored (35) and hits (48). Sophomore Sarah Parten leads the conference in walks (26) and is 4th in OBP (.495).

Defensively, freshman Hailey Dolcini (1.67) and senior Tayler Misfeldt (1.86) rank 3rd and 4th, respectively, in ERA. Misfeldt's 13 wins this season are good for 2nd and her 104 K's rank 3rd.

RECORD BREAKERS
So far this year the Highlanders have broke several all-time UCR records:

Pitcher Tayler Misfeldt — All-Time Wins Leader - 50
Pitcher Tayler Misfeldt — All-Time Strikeouts Leader - 346
Outfielder Jenna Curtan — All-Time Hits Leader - 216
Outfielder Jenna Curtan — All-Time Runs Leader - 133

FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman pitcher Hailey Dolcini (9-2) repeated as Big West Pitcher of the Week on March 19th after a dominant performance in the Highlander Invitational. This was the fourth straight week that a Highlander has received a conference honor.

Last 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 had a 46 inning scoreless streak, which is the longest streak on the team this season.

DON'T STOP BELIEVING
UCR has performed exceptionally well even when trailing as the team has registered nine wins in games where its opponent got on the scoreboard first. This includes four wins when the Highlanders trailed after the 5th inning and three wins despite trailing after the 6th.

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 133, is 2nd on the all time list for doubles with 35, 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 34 games this year she ranks 1st on the team in batting average (.444), slugging (.611), OPB (.542), hits (48), doubles (12), runs (35), and total bases (66). Curtan has also displayed some heroics, gathering late inning hits and runs in the wins over George Washington and St. John's.

FRESHMEN ON FIRE
Freshman Seanna Garewal and Hailey Dolcini have made a huge impact on the team in their first year of play.

Left fielder Garewal ranks 3rd on the team in batting average (.337) and OBP( .463), and is 2nd in slugging (.500), and runs scored (18). She also smacked her first career HR on February 18th against Stanford.

Pitcher Hailey Dolcini (9-3) leads the team with a 1.67 ERA after an outstanding performance at the Highlander Invitational. Opponents have struggled against the freshman batting only .175 and striking out 71 times in her 19 appearances. She is first on the Highlanders with just 20 earned runs (minimum 10 IP).

TAYLER ON TOP
Senior Pitcher Tayler Misfeldt (13-6) 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 50. So far this season she has shutout three teams and struck-out 104 batters to earn a 1.86 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.

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.

THIS IS R' HOUSE
So far this season, UC Riverside is 17-7 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 41-18 when playing at Amy S. Harrison Field. Palmer now has 96 wins as a Head Coach, 57 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.

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 9-2 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 47.2% of the time.