Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside hit the marquee this weekend in Big West softball as the two clubs look to gain a leg up on each other and the rest of the league in a three-game set starting Saturday in Fullerton.

WORST TO FIRST...IN TWO DAYS
The unpredictable nature of conference play was in full display over the weekend as one team entered a series in last place only to find itself alone in first by the end of the next day. Cal State Fullerton had only a 5-27 record going into its home series against UC Santa Barbara, but a three-game sweep and a glance at the out of town scoreboard saw the Titans standing alone in first place in the league. It's a place they are accustomed to as the program owns a league-record eight championships in 24 previous seasons. Spearheading the sweep was an improved offensive attack which produced 27 runs over the three games. How improved is that? Cal State Fullerton scored 37 runs total in 16 games in the month of March.

NEVER HAD A START LIKE THIS
UC Riverside had a daunting task in front of it during the first weekend of conference play, head up to San Luis Obispo to take on the defending Big West champion. The Highlanders were up to the challenge as they took a series from the Mustangs for the first time since 2003, marking only the second Big West series win over Cal Poly for UCR in program history. The 2-1 league start is also the best record the Highlanders have had following the first weekend of conference play in their DI history.

CARDIAC CATS
Pacific took two of three on the road from Long Beach State over the weekend with some late-inning heroics. After dropping game one to the 49ers, the Tigers got the eventual game-winning homer from Nikki Armagost in the top of the fifth to break a 2-2 tie on the way to a 3-2 victory. That would pale in comparison to the comeback Pacific put up in the finale. Down 2-0 against All-America pitcher Brooke Turner, the Tigers rallied for four runs on five hits in the finale. The team’s comeback literally came out of nowhere as Pacific managed just two hits and had only one baserunner advance to second base in the previous six innings. The Tigers nearly gave it right back in the bottom half of the seventh, allowing the 49ers to load the bases with one out, but the club got a foul out and a ground ball to end the threat.

HOLMES GIVES IT ALL
Alex Holmes’ talent was evident a year ago as the UC Davis stud claimed first team All-Big West honors as a designated player and honorable mention status as a pitcher. This year, Holmes is back at that level as the rest of conference play looms. The junior is batting .284 with a team-best 31 hits and has added 12 runs, 10 RBI, eight walks and three steals. In the circle, Holmes leads the league in strikeouts (95) in addition to winning a team-high eight games and posting a 3.45 ERA 107.2 innings.

GETTING HER MONEY’S WORTH
Cal State Fullerton's Trina Harrison might be batting only .225 on the season, but she has made a huge impact on the Titan offense. Out of Harrison’s 20 hits to this point in 2010, 13 have gone for extra bases (4 2B, 9 HR) helping her a .573 slugging percentage. Harrison leads the Big West in homers, while ranking second in RBI (24) and total bases (51). Harrison has also been on fire in her last seven games as she is batting .364 (8-22) with four home runs and 15 RBI with only three strikeouts.

STOLEN BASE MACHINES
A couple of Big West speed demons are doing their best Rickey Henderson impersonation and stealing bases left and right. UC Riverside's Alexa Shore leads the league with 18 steals, while UC Santa Barbara's Jessica Ziegler is right behind her with 17 steals. They are the only two players so far in the Big West with double-digit steals and are seemingly shoe-ins to get over 20 thefts. Why is that noteworthy? The last time a Big West player recorded over 20 steals was 2005 when former Pacific All-American Gina Carbonatto swiped 23 bags. In addition, the last time that two league players stolen 20 or more bases was 2003 when former UC Santa Barbara standouts Leslie Simien (32) and Chantal Pershing (30) accomplished the feat.

SHE SHORE CAN!
In what can be considered an excellent segway, UC Riverside's Ariel Shore has silently put together an astounding season for the resurgent Highlanders. In addition to leading the Big West in steals, Shore ranks sixth in batting average (.316), second in runs scored (26) and tied for fifth in hits (31). The true freshman has also showed a dependable glove with just two errors in 49 chances. The offense that Shore has provided has been vital to UC Riverside’s success as the club is 14-7 in games in which she has scored a run.

STREAK FINALLY OVER FOR MUSTANGS
Cal Poly's recent eight game losing streak was something that the Mustangs were not used to under Jenny Condon. The club’s previous longest losing skid under Condon was six back in 2006. The eight-game streak is also the longest for the program since 2004 when it fell in 10 in a row. It was also rare for Cal Poly to not get off to a good start in conference play as the Mustangs dropped their opening Big West series for just the second time under Condon.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE MISCELLANEOUS
Its time to look at some of the miscellaneous stats that have accumulated around the Big West to this point:
•  UC Santa Barbara's Jessica Ziegler has 13 multi-hit games to lead the Big West, but her team’s batting average is fifth.
•  Pacific has the only pair of teammates with 10+ multi-hit games in Lindsey Pierce (12) and Megan Hom (12).
•  UC Riverside's Brittany Keeney leads the league with seven multi-RBI outings and is the lone player in the Big West to have two games of five+ RBI. Additionally, Keeney is the only player in the league to have at least two two-RBI, three-RBI and five RBI games.
•  The longest hit streak in the Big West this season has been eight games by Cal State Fullerton's Torrie Anderson. Four other players have collected seven-game hit strings (Jaci Carlsen, CSUN; Brooke Putich, UCSB; Jessica Ziegler, UCSB; Lindsey Pierce, PAC).

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 25 wins from 400 for her career.