CSUN (17-14, 1-7 BW) and Long Beach State (11-23, 6-2 BW) will now take place on Tuesday, April 2 at 1 p.m. at LBSU Softball Complex. The series is currently tied 1-1 with sophomore outfielder Makayla Medellin of the Beach hitting a walk-off to clinch game one, 4-3. Medellin paces the Beach in hitting at a .321 clip and is tied for the team lead in total hits with 26. From there, the Matadors roared back and bested the Beach, 7-3, in game two of the doubleheader. Redshirt senior infielder Shaylan Whatman stood out for CSUN by contributing a team-best 3-for-4 at the plate knocking in 5 RBI. 

On Friday, Long Beach State will visit UC San Diego (12-21, 5-3 BW) in La Jolla, Calif. while Cal Poly (17-11, 7-2 BW) embarks on the trip across the Pacific Ocean to take on Hawai'i (12-16 (5-3 BW). Senior pitcher Sophia Fernandez tossed a Beach best 41 strikeouts. The Tritons are led by freshman outfielder Lexi O'Gorman who remains a Top-10 hitter in The Big West (.365) in seventh place overall. 

Cal Poly comes into the series versus Hawai'i sporting the No. 1 hitter in all of Division I, with senior outfielder Jessica Clements hitting an average of .516 of the course of 27 games. The Mustangs also feature an additional pair of hitters (Kiara Blanchard, and Juju Sargent) who place Top-15 in The Big West (12th and 13th) with identical batting averages of .337. Sophomore pitcher Key-An Campbell-Pua and company will look to slow down the hot bats of the Mustangs. Hawai'i also holds a lot of power at the plate by leading the league in home runs with 26 total.  

League leading Cal State Fullerton (20-12, 8-1 BW) starts their Saturday at CSUN (17-14, 1-7 BW) on April 7 (DH) at 1 p.m/3 p.m.  The Titans currently have a staff ERA of 2.52, 47th best in the nation (tops in The Big West), anchored by the duo of junior pitcher Haley Rainey (1.72 ERA, 105.0 IP, 94 K) and junior Staci Chambers (2.60 ERA, 78.0 IP, 63K). CSUN infielder Lulu Sanchez will look to put a dent in Fullerton's bullpen as the freshman is slashing a Matador best .333. 

Saturday sees Cal State Bakersfield (3-28, 1-8 BW) take a trip to UC Santa Barbara (11-19, 5-4 BW) on April 6. The Roadrunners won their first Big West contest last week after suffering six straight conference losses. Pitcher/infielder Dani Hunter is doing it on both ends as the freshman leads the team in batting average (.333) and has two of the Runners' three victories this season to the Stockton, Calif. native's name. UC Santa Barbara enters the matchup with the third-best hitter in The Big West, senior infielder Madelyn McNally (.438), and has a dual threat of their own in freshman pitcher Ainsley Waddell.  

The final series of the week features UC Davis (12-16, 3-6 BW) and UC Riverside (8-20, 2-7 BW) colliding in Riverside, Calif. at Amy S. Harrison Softball Field. Aggie ace senior Kenedi Brown places third in the conference with 72 total punchouts across 83.0 innings in the circle. Highlander senior infielder Kat Montuya is tied for the league lead in doubles at eight.  

A total of 12 contests will air live on ESPN + this week. Check our Big West website online for dates and times.   
 

Senior utility/outfielder Ashely Donaldson recorded a hit in all four games last week going 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored for UC Santa Barbara this weekend. The senior's batting average improved by 41 points and now carries a seven-game hitting streak with three multi-hit games over that span. 

Infielder Dallas Millwood was one of three Rainbow Wahine to hit a .429 batting average and a .429 on-base percentage this past week at UC San Diego. The senior went 3-for-7 at the plate with a double and three RBI. She led UH with a .571 slugging %.   In the rain-shortened series at UCSD, Millwood went 3-for-4 and tied her season-high driving in three of UH's five runs on the day. In the third with the bases loaded, Millwood drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single up the middle. In the seventh, she hit a ground-rule RBI-double.

Outfielder Nadia Witt of UC Riverside knocked in three RBI and a run this past weekend at Cal State Fullerton and secured the graduate student's second straight season with a 20-game on-base streak.   

 Hottest Hitters in Division I 

- Jessica Clements of Cal Poly currently leads the nation in batting average at an astounding .505 clip. The senior ranks in second place in slugging percentage (.701), On Base Percentage (0.568), Hits (49) and Triples (3). Cal Poly comes into the month with a 7-2 Big West record and will take on Hawai'i this week. 

Megan Delgadillo also ranks within the Top-15 in the nation in batting average, hitting at a .461 mark that qualifies for 14th overall. Currently, Delgadillo leads The Big West in runs scored (35), hits (53), and stolen bases (31), while coming in second overall batting average (.457). Cal State Fullerton sits atop the conference with an 8-1 mark in league play and 22-12 overall record.   

 Big West, Big Arms 

- Sophomore pitcher Isabella Alonso went the distance in a complete game win over Long Beach State on Friday to even the three-game series at 1-1. Scattered seven singles on the day, allowing three unearned runs while struck out four batters and did not allow a single out of the infield until the fifth inning. Alonso accumilated the seventh compelte game of the 2024 campagin. 

Kenedi Brown tossed 13 innings while allowing just one run for UC Davis verus Cal State Bakersfield. The right hander struck out 12 batters and surrendered just six hits on the weekend. The senior pitcher picked up a win and a save in the Aggies' two victories.

Triton right-hander India Caldwell tossed the 10th complete game of the season to go 1-0 on the weekend and 9-6 overall. In game one, Caldwell earned the juniors first Division I shutout holding Hawai‘i to a .192 batting average despite allowing five hits. Only giving up one walk, the junior transfer tallied two strikeouts. Coming into game two as relief, Caldwell allowed no earned runs on two hits with no walks and one strikeout in her one inning of work. Caldwell is now second overall in conference for ERA (2.20), innings pitched (105), batters struck out looking (71), and wins (9). 

 New Head Coach on the Block  
- Cal State Bakersfield brings on Letty Olivarez as its new program leader. Olivarez brings over a decade of coaching experience from the Pac-12 (Arizona State) and The Big West (CSUN). Most recently, Olivarez spent five seasons as an assistant coach at San Jose State. Olivarez earned the first win versus Utah State. 3-2 on Feb. 16.

 Big West Weekly Recognition  
- Cal State Fullerton senior outfielder Megan Delgadillo led the Titans in batting (.636) during a 3-1 week including a sweep over conference foe UC Riverside take home to The Big West Field Player of the Week award for the second time this season. This is the fifth weekly distinction of Delgadillo's collegiate career (Feb. 10, Feb. 24, 2020 | Feb. 28, 2022 | Feb. 19, 2024). During an effort against nationally ranked T-No. 21 Oregon, Delgadillo delivered by contributing three RBI, six runs, and a lone walk and stolen base for the Titans. In conference play versus the Highlanders, Delgadillo went 5-for-8 at the plate with two doubles, three RBI, five runs, a walk and seven stolen bases. Overall, the Riverside, Calif. product went 7-for-11 in four games. Currently, Delgadillo leads The Big West in runs scored (35), hits (53), and stolen bases (31), while coming in second overall batting average (.457). Cal State Fullerton sits atop the conference with an 8-1 mark in league play and 22-12 overall record.  

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Haley Rainey recorded the 10th and 11th wins of the junior's season and a complete game to clinch The Big West Pitcher of the week award. This is the first Big West weekly distinction of Rainey's collegiate career. The Adna, Wash. native tossed an ERA of 2.25 on the week and came up big in the Titans sweep over UC Riverside. Rainey only allowed four runs, and five walks while striking out 22 batters in three games. 19 or Rainey's 22 total punchouts came in two starts over the Highlanders. Currently, Rainey resides atop the Big West standings in ERA (1.68) Opposing Batting Average (.206), Innings Pitched (112.2) and Batters Struck Out (103), and Wins (12). The Titans boast the best record in the league at 8-1 and travel to CSUN for a series this weekend.   

Outfielder/pitcher Ainsley Waddell extended the freshman's hitting streak to nine games for UC Santa Barbara to earn another Big West Freshman of the Week award. This is the third weekly distinction of Waddell's collegiate career (Feb. 19, March 11, 2024). The San Carlos, Calif. native contributed a team-high .538 batting average on the week for the Gauchos. Waddell totaled seven hits (three for extra bases) while scoring twice and brought in a run. Currently, the freshman leads The Big West in doubles (8) while ranking second overall in RBI (23), and fifth overall in Hits (36), and Batting Average (.367). UC Santa Babara is 11-19 overall with a 5-4 record in conference play.    

 Notable Returners/All-Big West Preseason Team  
- Cal State Fullerton has been selected as the top team in the Big West heading into the 2024 season, as voted by the league's 10 head coaches. The Titans earned 77 points accompanied by six first-place votes in the polling to claim the top spot in the preseason poll for consecutive seasons. Big West regular season champion Long Beach State was separated from Cal State Fullerton by just two points, (75 points, four first-place votes) in the preseason poll. Both teams qualified for the 2023 NCAA Softball Championship last year with the Titans earning the right of passage courtesy of an at-large bid. This was the first time since 2018 The Big West had more than one representative in the postseason. 

Coaches in the league also voted on an 11-person Preseason All-Big West team. Cal State Fullerton claimed two spots on the preseason team with the pairing of senior outfielder Megan Delgadillo and junior pitcher Haley Rainey earning the honors. The Beach boasts a league-best three representatives on the 11-member Big West preseason coaches' team with junior infielder Jacquelyn Bickar, junior pitcher Shannon Haddad, and senior outfielder Sara Olson. The LBSU trio all garnered First Team All-Big West honors a year ago. 

CSUN (28-24, 19-8 BW) comes in third place with 65 points. The Matadors finished third place in The Big West last year after being polled fifth in last year's edition.  UC Santa Barbara (26-22, 13-14 BW) was selected as the fourth team with 52 points, UC Davis (29-22, 15-12 BW) came in fifth. Hawai'i (30-23, 13-14 BW), and Cal Poly (19-23, 12-15 BW) finished sixth and seventh in the polling while UC Riverside (26), UC San Diego (22), and Cal State Bakersfield (9) round out the preseason rankings. These three squads will be looking to shake up the league after improving from a year ago.

Last year's Big West Player of the Year, senior outfielder/catcher Anna Dethlefson made the preseason list after leading the league slugging percentage (.627), doubles (15), and stolen bases (40). Teammate senior pitcher Kenedi Brown also made the list after ranking third in the league in ERA (1.73) and strikeouts (16) a year ago. UC Santa Barbara sports the duo of senior catcher/designated player Ashley Donaldson and senior infielder Madelyn McNally on the preseason team. Cal Poly junior outfielder Jessica Clements made the team after setting the team record in career-hitting percentage at .384. Senior infielder Maya Nakamura of Hawai'i also earned preseason honors after batting .390 in 2023.