April 21, 2005

The Schedule
Games No. 37, 38, 39
vs. Pacific Tigers (22-19, 6-3)
Bill Simoni Field
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Game 1 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 2 - 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Game 3 - 12:00 p.m.

The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara enters this weekend's matchup with Pacific with an overall record of 22-14 and a 5-4 mark in the Big West after sweeping a three-game series with future Big West member UC Davis over the weekend. Gaucho pitching shutdown the Aggie offense and allowed only a single run in three games, as UCSB won the first two, 2-0 and 4-1 on Saturday. The Gauchos scored nine runs in four innings in a run rule-shortened, 9-0 victory on Sunday to complete the series sweep. The Gauchos have won a season-high five in a row and eight of their last nine contests. The team is currently fifth in the Big West Conference standings and looks to climb this weekend against Pacific.

JD Gets it Done
Jennifer Davis started two games against UCD and did not allow a run, earning the victory in both contests. In the series opener, Davis struck out ten batters and walked two in a complete game, three-hit shutout performance leading the Gauchos to a 2-0 victory. The sophomore got the nod in Sunday's finale and posted six strikeouts and walked one in four innings pitched. She again held the Aggies scoreless on four hits in the 9-0 mercy rule win. With the two victories, Davis improved to a team-best 13-7 record this year. She leads the squad with a 1.29 ERA, 165 strikeouts and 130 innings pitched. The hurler continued her attack on the record books with 16 strikeouts this week, giving her 364 for her career--third all time on UCSB's career Top Ten list. She has posted eight shutout wins in 2005 and has a career count of 15, which is fifth all-time. With 165 strikeouts this year, Davis leads the Big West Conference and is also on pace to surpass her 2004 strikeout total of 199, which is second on UCSB's Season Top Ten list. Her 1.29 earned run average is also tops in the conference. In addition, she is now ninth all-time in complete games after going the distance in 18 out of her 20 starts, bringing her career total to 34. At the plate, she is fourth on the team in batting at .262 and second homeruns with 7 and slugging percentage at .553. Her 21 RBI is tied for second on the squad. The Whittier, Calif. native helped her own cause in Sunday's win, hitting a solo homer in the third innning.

Hit Away Herrin, Hit Away
It's official. Senior first baseman Lindsey Herrin had a big, big weekend breaking her own record for most homeruns in a season. Herrin, who led the team and set the UCSB single season homerun record a year ago with ten, hit three homers against Davis and set a new mark this year. In three games this weekend, she hit .500 with three walks, a total of six RBI and had a long ball in each contest. She leads the Gauchos with 11 homers, 31 RBI and a slugging percentage of .725. Herrin is second in batting at .304. The Coalinga, Calif. native is now second all-time on the UCSB softball career chart with 21 homers and, in only her second season as a Gaucho, she is just three round trippers shy of passing Tonya Dias as the school's career homerun leader. In addition, Herrin has moved into the sixth spot on the all-time career RBI list with 66.

The Singley Watch
Second baseman Kendra Singley has been one of the Gauchos' top performers at the plate this season and is near the top in every offensive statistical category. The Irvine, Calif. native is hitting .327 with 25 runs scored, three homeruns, 21 RBI and a slugging percentage of .510. She leads the team in batting and triples, is second RBI and third in homers. Singley is also another Gaucho making noise on the pages of the school record books. With three long balls this season, the sophomore has a total of ten for her career--sixth place all-time on UCSB's career homerun list. She has also moved into a tie for sixth place on the career triples list with three this year and a total of five for her career. In addition, with two RBI this weekend, Singley moved into the ninth spot on the UCSB career RBI chart with 54. She was an instrumental part of Sunday's convincing victory, finishing 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Positively Putich
Sophomore shortstop Brittany Putich went 1-for-3 with a run in game two Saturday and scored two of the Gauchos' nine runs in Sunday's finale. Hitting in the leadoff spot for most of the season, Putich leads the Gauchos with a .395 on base percentage, 34 hits, three triples, six stolen bases and 112 at bats. The speedster is second in runs scored with 23 and her .304 batting average and 12 RBI is fourth best on the squad. The Whittier, Calif. native has already eclipsed her 2004 total of two three-baggers, which led the team, and has moved into a tie for sixth place on the Career Top Ten list with five. After scoring three runs against UC Davis, Putich is now just five shy of cracking the Season Top Ten List.

Sommer Forecast: Heating Up
Sophomore pitcher Lindsey Sommer gave another solid performance in the circle this past week, picking up the win in the Gauchos' 4-1 victory in game two. She allowed one run on four hits, while striking out four in seven complete innings of work. She improved to 7-4 on the year with the victory. She also pitched an inning of relief and did not allow a hit in Sunday's win, picking up her second save of the year. Sommer now has nine complete games this season and 19 for her career. The San Diego, Calif. native is second on the squad with 66 strikeouts, 18 appearances and 93.1 innings pitched. Sommer's 1.87 opponent's batting average is third best among Big West pitchers.

Freshman Firepower
Freshman right fielder/catcher Danielle Meyers had a productive series at the plate against the Aggies this weekend, hitting .444 with two RBI. She is tied for third on the squad with three homers and leads all freshman in virtually every offensive category, hitting .354 with 18 hits, seven runs and ten RBI in 82 at bats.

The Scoop on Schroeder
Kristy Schroeder is in her fourth season as the head coach of the UC Santa Barbara softball program. In 2004, she led the Gauchos to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Schroeder took a team with eight freshmen and guided them to a 32-31 overall record and a 14-7 conference mark, which was tied for second in the Big West and was the highest league finish in UCSB history. In addition, the Gauchos won 30-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever as a Division I program. In 2003 she guided the team to the best record in program history at 34-22 and had a school-record nine players named All-Big West, with two receiving All-Region accolades. In 2002, her first season at UCSB, she was named the Big West's Co-Coach of the Year, after Santa Barbara finished the season with a 27-36 overall record. In six-plus seasons as head coach at UCSB and Division II Truman State, Schroeder has a career record of 248-125-4 (.658), while her mark with the Gauchos is 115-105 (.523). She notched her 100th victory as head coach at UCSB February 26 against Saint Mary's.

Probable Gaucho Starters - Notes
C - Brenda Lira- Started ten games for the Gauchos this season
1B - Lindsey Herrin - Leads Gauchos with 11 homers and 31 RBI
2B - Kendra Singley - Team leader with .327 batting average and 25 runs scored
SS - Brittany Putich - Leads team with a .400 on base percentage and six stolen bases
3B - Karyna Wilkerson - Went 1-for-3 with a run Sunday
LF - Jessica Hejna - Hitting .429 in her last six games
CF - Liz Walters - Was 1-for-2 with a run scored in game one Saturday
RF - Danielle Meyers - Went 1-for-3 and drove in a run in Sunday's finale
DP - Alexandra Kinney - Leads Gaucho reserves with ten runs

Gaucho Reserves - Notes
RF - Nicole Churnock - started two games in right field against UC Davis

Injury Report - Notes
C - Shelby Hensler - The Gauchos' starting catcher is out for the season with a leg injury
IF/P - Megan Ochylski - out at least another two weeks with a knee injury

Tiger Talk
Pacific enters this weekend's series with an overall record of 22-19 and 6-3 Big West Conference mark after sweeping Cal Poly last weekend. The Tigers defeated the Mustangs 7-4 and 11-4 Saturday, before outlasting the then conference leaders, 4-3. UOP is led offensively by sophomore first baseman Jennifer Curtier, who is batting a team-high .393 with an on base pecentage of .460. She also posts a .762 slugging percentage with 12 homers and 45 RBI and leads the Big West in six offensive categories. Close behind is senior infielder Michelle Anunciation, hitting .353 with 17 runs, two homers and 20 RBI. As a team, Pacific is batting .284 while their opponents have an almost identical average of .283. In the circle, the Tigers look to Natalie King who leads the squad with a 3.49 ERA, 94 strikeouts and 138.1 innings pitched. The senior hurler has a record of 12-7 on the year. Freshman Alyce Jorgensen is 8-9, with an ERA of 3.57, 38 strikeouts in 98 innings pitched.

Series History
Pacific leads the overall series 49-32 despite losing two of three to UCSB last year at Campus Diamond. The Tigers took the opening game of the series, 4-0 but the Gauchos rebounded to win the next two, 5-2 and 5-4.