One weekend is all that stands in the 2010 chase for the Big West softball championship as Cal State Northridge and UC Davis look to take home the hardware following home conference series for both clubs.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO...
With the final weekend of Big West play slated for this weekend, two teams have a shot to claim the 2010 Big West title and the automatic NCAA Tournament berth that goes with it. UC Davis is in first place at 14-4 and hosts last place UC Santa Barbara, while second place Cal State Northridge is 13-5 and hosts rival Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies are in a great spot to claim the title as they own the tiebreaker over the Matadors, in essence giving them a two-game lead with three to go. CSUN would need to sweep the Titans and hope UCD doesn’t win more than one game against the Gauchos.
If UC Davis wins the Big West title, it will be the first in its short Division I tenure as well as the first DI postseason appearance for the program.
A Matador title would be the first for the team since 1998, while the NCAA Tournament appearance would be the first for the club since 2007. In addition, Cal State Northridge would record its first 30-win season since 2004.

JUST WALK HER AND GET IT OVER WITH
Cal Poly’s Anna Cahn is leading the Big West with a .572 on-base percentage, which is nearly 100 points higher than the second place player. A large part of that has been her uncanny ability to draw walks as she has recorded a league-best 41 in 44 games. She ranks 10th in the NCAA with 0.93 walks per game and with nine more free passes, can become just the fifth player in league history to record 50 or more walks in a single season.
Conversely, Cahn has issued just 28 walks in 138.2 innings, a rate of 1.41 per seven innings that ranks 35th in the NCAA.

AGGIES HAVEN’T BEEN HERE BEFORE
A peek at the standings shows a name at the top that has never been there before. UC Davis is all alone in first place for the first time as a member of the Big West. The Aggies, have also won double-digit conference games for the first time and have a .500 record this late in the season is also a first for the club as a full fledged Division I institution.

THE UPS AND THE DOWNS
When Pacific and UC Santa Barbara met last weekend, the Tigers had lost two of three thanks to a rough offensive showing, while the Gauchos picked up a sweep after their best offensive output in a conference series. So what happens? Well the exact opposite. The Tigers did not allow a single run to UCSB over the three games, outscoring it 19-0. It also marked the first conference sweep for Pacific since the 2007 season.

NO BREAKS WITH THIS LINEUP
Cal State Northridge's 2010 lineup has been a murderer’s row for opposing pitching staffs as the team is tied for the top batting average in the Big West (.274), while also ranking second in batting against conference foes (.290). It isn’t just one or two players propping up the team batting average either as CSUN is blessed with offensive depth. A league-high five everyday players bat .300 or better for Roni Sparrey's club, while one more is just .002 away from that mark. With one other starter currently batting a solid .271, the Matadors might be the most difficult lineup to face top to bottom in the Big West.

FINE YOU STAY, WE’LL GO
Cal Poly, UC Riverside and Long Beach State are on the verge of some interesting historic numbers in the stolen base department. First, the Highlanders are 52-55 in the stolen base department this season. If they can continue that ridiculous conversion rate, UCR will be the first team in Big West history to steal 50+ bases and not be caught at least 10 times. The 49ers have a shot to equal that output if they can steal seven bases and not be caught more than four times in their final conference series of the year.
Conversely, Cal Poly has not exactly been the stuff of legend on the basepaths this season, going 3-for-5 for the entire season. In fact, the Mustangs have not even attempted a stolen base in conference play. If those trends continue, Cal Poly will be the first team in Big West history to not attempt a steal against Big West foes and be the first to have less than 10 steals  and attempts in a single season.

WE DID THE PLAYERS, NOW THE PITCHERS
After going through the league’s top candidates for Player of the Year last week, it’s time to catch up on the league’s top pitchers.
Anna Cahn of Cal Poly, last season’s Pitcher of the Year, has put forth an effort in the circle worthy of a repeat. She owns a 2.27 ERA, 11 wins, 14 complete games, five shutouts, 97 strikeouts and only 28 walks in 138.2 innings of work.
Cal State Northridge's Hannah Fraijo has been stellar in her second season, winning 17 games and posting a 2.82 ERA. The staff ace also owns 13 complete games, three shutouts, 95 strikeouts and one save in 169.0 innings.
Long Beach State has a pair of studs in the circle in Taylor Petty and Brooke Turner, two former Freshman Pitcher of the Year award winners. Petty has won nine games, boasts a 2.57 ERA, 14 complete games, four shutouts, a pair of saves and a league-high 131 strikeouts over 150.0 innings. Meanwhile Turner, another former Pitcher of the Year recipient, has won 11 games,  and posted 10 complete games, three shutouts, 111 strikeouts and only 35 walks in 116.1 innings.
UC Davis also has a pair of outstanding pitching stars, a major part of the reason the squad is making a run to the top of the league. Alex Holmes has picked up 15 wins, a 2.92 ERA, eight complete games, one shutout and 125 strikeouts over 153.1 innings. Dana Waldusky, a true freshman, has won 10 games, posted a 3.37 ERA, 12 complete games, two shutouts, 112 strikeouts and only 48 walks in 156.0 innings of work.
UC Riverside's Marissa Alvidrez has been the main catalyst in her squad’s turnaround, winning 15 games and recording a 3.68 ERA. The workhorse has posted 14 complete games, two shutouts and 75 strikeouts in a league-high 171.1 innings.
Pacific has its own stud freshman in Nikki Armagost, the former Kansas State Softball Gatorade Player of the Year. Armagost has the league’s best ERA at 1.92, has won 12 games, recorded 18 complete games, five shutouts, a pair of saves, 112 strikeouts, a .209 opponents’ batting average and 59 walks in 160.2 innings.

CSF, UCSB NOT QUITE USED TO THIS
A pair of traditional Big West powers have struggled in 2010 as Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara are enduring seasons they never have before. The Titans will finish with 30+ losses for the first time since 2004 and currently have more defeats than any other seasons as a member of the Big West. Meanwhile, the Gauchos’ seven-year run of winning seasons will come to a close this year and the team has recorded 30+ losses for the first time since 2002.

NEW (OLD) VOICE IN THE DUGOUT
Cal State Northridge has a new voice at the helm of the program as associate coach Roni Sparrey takes over. Sparrey is a veteran of Big West battles as she played and coached at Cal Poly before joining the CSUN coaching staff prior to the 2007 season. In her three seasons as an assistant with CSUN, the Matador defense has posted an average fielding percentage of .966 and has finished among the top fielding teams in the Big West Conference and Division I. Sparrey also helped the 2009 Matadors lead the Big West in stolen bases, finishing the year with 62 stolen bases. She has also overseen several Matadors receive All-Big West Conference honors, ranging from First Team awards to Conference Freshman of the Year honors.

GROMACKI NEARS COACHING MILESTONE
A year ago, Cal State Fullerton head coach Michelle Gromacki became just the fourth coach in league history to win 350+ overall games and 150+conference outings during Big West membership. Gromacki has a significant milestone on the horizon as the 11th-year coach is just 20 wins from 400 for her career. In addition, the Titans are inching closer to their 1,000th win as a member of the conference with 993 victories and counting.