STANDINGS REPORT
Cal Poly sits atop the Big West standings as we near the midpoint of the conference season, but surprising UC Riverside sits just a game behind the Mustangs and own a series win over them as well. Third place belongs to another surprising team in UC Davis with a 5-3 mark, while the top four is rounded out by Cal State Northridge (5-4). The matchups this weekend are between the top and bottom halves as teams are jockeying for position for the stretch run.
UCSB SNAPS A COUPLE STREAKS
UC Santa Barbara's series against UC Riverside last weekend saw a couple of streaks finally come to an end for the Gauchos. First and foremost, UCSB’s victory in game three snapped an 11-game losing string, the longest for the club since an 11-game slide back in the 1990 season. The Gauchos' Keilani Jennings also hit a homer in the first game of the set, the first roundtripper for the club since March 12, a stretch of 17 games.and 505 at-bats. UC Santa Barbara is still the lone team in the Big West to not have double-digit homers to this point in 2010.
MATADORS RAMP UP THE "O"
Cal State Northridge had struggled at the plate during a recent four-game losing streak, hitting just .198 with 20 hits, two homers, seven RBI, eight runs and 19 strikeouts against only seven walks. The Matadors have turned things around in a big way during their current four-game win streak, batting .341 with 45 hits, five homers, 31 RBI, 36 runs and a better strikeout-to-walk ratio of 21 to 14. The club also scored 10+ runs in back-to-back games for the first time since a doubleheader sweep over Siena in on February 27, 2007.
GOOD LUCK CATCHING THEM
Long Beach State has been running wild on the basepaths this season, ranking second in the Big West with 38 steals and tying for third in attempts with 42. But during conference play, the 49ers have upped their stolen base efficiency to the highest level as they have stolen 12 bases in as many attempts. LBSU is one of two teams to not be thrown out on a steal attempt in conference play, but the only one that has double-digit attempts without a caught stealing.
PATTON STEPPING UP FOR THE MUSTANGS
Rebecca Patton has been strong for Cal Poly during her freshman year, going 6-4 with a 3.46 ERA in 85.0 innings. The start of conference play has seen Patton take her game to a different level as she ranks fourth in ERA (1.68), tied for first in wins (5), third in innings pitched (33.1) and second in strikeouts (25) against Big West foes. Patton’s recent hot streak has helped offset the struggles of All-American pitcher Anna Cahn in league action as Cahn is just 2-2 with a 3.96 ERA.
THAT BIG YELLOW BALL HURTS
Big West batters have been hit by pitches 191 times this season with Cal State Northridge leading the league with 45 batters dinged by pitches. The Matadors total is far and away the most in the conference as the next highest total is 32 by UC Davis. But as much as the batters around the league have taken one for the team, the pitchers have doled out their fair share of plunkings with 210 hit batters. The wildest team in the league has been Cal State Fullerton which has beaned 41 batters, 11 more than second place Cal State Northridge.
UCR CHUGGING ALONG
UC Riverside's series win against UC Santa Barbara marked a couple of big milestones for the program. First, the series victory marked the first time that the Highlanders have won three consecutive Big West sets since the program joined the league in 2002. Also UCR’s 21-21 record on April 18 is the latest the team has been at .500 or better since 2006. That year, UC Riverside was 22-17 on April 22 before losing its final 10 games of the season.
WE'LL JUST STAY RIGHT HERE
Much has been made of the success of Big West teams on the basepaths this season as the league is a collective 228-for-281 in steals, but Cal Poly has been the exception. The Mustangs have attempted just five steals in 35 games, with three successful swipes. The next lowest number of steals and attempts is 17 and 27, respectively, by Pacific. In fact, Cal Poly hasn’t even attempted a stolen base in nine conference games, haven’t attempted a steal since March 20 against Princeton and haven’t successfully stolen a base since March 13 against Iowa State.
HIGHLANDERS DOUBLE DOWN
When you hear the ping of the bat when UC Riverside is batting, chances are the Highlanders just hit a double. The club leads the Big West with 57 two-base hits and has three players among the four that are tied on the league leaderboard for first in the category. The double is a big part of the UCR offense as 21% of its hits are of the two-base variety. That number is the best in the league and makes the Highlanders the only club over 20%.
BERISTIANOS ON FIRE
UC Santa Barbara’s Jessica Beristianos was left with a .222 batting average after an 0-for-5 performance in a doubleheader against Fresno State March 30, but conference play has seen a new player for Gauchos. Beristianos is batting .414 (12-29) with four doubles and four RBI in her nine outings against league foes. She has collected multiple hits in four of those nine contests and has at least one hit in seven of the nine games. Beristianos has also picked up her defense with just one error in 36 chances after posting nine errors in her previous 123 chances.
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 24 wins from 400 for her career.