UC Santa Barbara looks to end its recent slide behind the support of its home fans this week as the club hosts the Gaucho Classic at Campus Diamond. The tournament is one of four on the docket for Big West softball this week, stretching the action from Southern California all the way to San Antonio, Texas.
NOTEWORTHY
CENTURY CLUB
Cal State Fullerton is already in a class of its own in Big West history with eight league titles, 20 NCAA appearances and a national title as a member of the conference, but a milestone the Titans are set to hit this season may shine above them all. With 18 more wins this year, CSF will be the first team in league history to get to 1,000 victories. The Titans are 84 wins ahead of second place Long Beach State in conference lore and with their win over Southern Utah last week, recorded the 1,200th win all-time in program history.
NOT CROSSING STATE LINES
Cal Poly is used to playing in the Golden State as the Mustangs are the lone team in the country to play each of their games, home or away, in California. In fact, this is the second consecutive season that the program has not crossed state lines for a game. The last time Cal Poly left California for a game was February 15-17, 2008 when the team traveled all the way to Las Vegas for the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, that streak will reach 137 by the end of the regular season.
NA NA NA NA...GOOD BYE!!!
It was previously written in this space about the great start Long Beach State freshman Nalani St. Germain got off to in her first collegiate weekend, but last weekend showed she wasn't just a flash in the pan. St. Germain clubbed three homers over LBSU's five games last week, giving her a league-best five in just 26 at-bats. In fact, those five roundtrippers make up half the amount of hits St. Germain has registered this season have left the park and she has recorded 11 more total bases than the next closest player through two weeks of play.
RUGGED START
Cal State Northridge has gotten off to a rough start in 2010, winning just one of its first nine games this season. Its not exactly as if CSUN has been ducking major competition in those 10 contests as the club has played four squads ranked in the two major polls, including the #1 team in the country, as well as a couple of other teams that have been receiving votes in the polls.
DÉJÀ VU FOR THE AGS
UC Davis currently sits atop the Big West standings with a 6-3 record, but the Aggies have been down this road before. A year ago, UCD started the season 6-3 which included impressive wins over Brigham Young and Hawai’i. This season’s 6-3 start includes wins over West Coast rivals Loyola Marymount and Portland State as well as a game against UNLV that went into the books as a loss due to UCD’s travel plans. The Aggies will hope to finish the 2010 season better than 2009 as that 6-3 start ended up being a 22-32 finish.
NOT DUCKING ANYONE
The Big West has picked up a 23-43 record through the season's first two weeks, but the conference certainly has not shied away from playing the nation's top clubs. The eight league programs have played a combined 18 contests against teams ranked in one of the two major polls and a handful of contests against teams in the receiving votes section. The battle against the nation's best is certainly not over as many ranked clubs, including current #1 defending national champion Washington, appear on the Big West ledger prior to conference play.
WORKING HER WAY BACK
An assortment of injuries forced UC Riverside's Marissa Alvidrez to miss 14 games in 2009, attributing to her lowest batting average of her college career (.247). Alvidrez is showing signs of health at the plate this season as she has posted a .333 batting average for UCR through the season’s first eight contests. While she has not hit one out of the yard yet, Alvidrez has hit three doubles and has shown a good eye with three walks and three strikeouts in her 21 plate appearances.
UCSB'S STRUGGLES AT THE DISH
UC Santa Barbara opened the season with an offensive flurry at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah, averaging 3.8 runs per game during a 4-1 showing at the tourney. It has been a struggle for UCSB since then as the Gauchos have not scored more than one run in their six games since and have been shut out three times. Overall the team is batting just .200 and has scored 22 runs in 11 games.
I'LL BE TAKING THAT!
The Big West might have some of the most untouchable stolen base records around, but there are a few players this season who have gotten off to quite a start pilfering bags. Ariel Shore of UC Riverside is tied for the league-high with five steals in six attempts, while UC Santa Barbara’s Jessica Ziegler also has five steals in one more attempt. It will be interesting to see if the duo can keep up their excellent pace as last season’s stolen base leader, former UCSB greay Christine Ramos, led the Big West with just 16 steals.
ENOUGH WITH THE RAIN
Rain may be a welcome sight to some in Southern California, but apparently its not the best if you’re trying to play some softball. Three teams last weekend had games postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather. UC Santa Barbara had its clash against Utah State in San Diego cancelled, UC Riverside couldn’t get its game in against Nevada in Stanford, while Pacific’s road game against San Jose State got the ol’ washout but a make-up date is expected to be announced.
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.
ANOTHER SEASON, ANOTHER COACHING MILESTONE FOR GROMACKI
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. This season, Gromacki might not only lead the Titans to its 1,000th win as a member of the conference, but the 11th-year coach is also just 31 wins from 400 for her career.