NORTHRIDGE, Calif. (May 11, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara softball team (26-19, 13-11 Big West) will conclude the regular season against CSUN this weekend. The Gauchos and Matadors will play a three-game set starting on Friday, May 12, and concluding with a single game on Saturday, May 13.
The Gauchos come into the weekend after going 1-2 in a three-game series against UC Riverside. UC Santa Barbara took game one 2-0 behind the stellar pitching of Camryn Snyder. Snyder through a complete-game, three-hit, shutout to earn her 13th victory of the year. The next two games of the series would go to the Highlanders, including a 5-2 nine-inning game.
For the Gauchos offensively, Sam Denehy has been on a tear the last 10 games. Denehy is hitting .429 in 28 at-bats over the last 10 games, including two doubles and five runs scored. The senior has seen an increase in at-bats going from the bottom of the order to now hitting second in the Gaucho lineup. Daryn Siegel over the last five games is hitting .389 in 18 at-bats. The sophomore has recorded seven hits including a double and triple while driving in four runs.
In the circle for the Gauchos, Camryn Snyder and Malaya Johnson have combined to go 3-1 for the Gauchos in the last five games. Over the five-game stretch, Snyder and Johnson have pitched 34 of the 37 innings for UC Santa Barbara, striking out 14 batters and recording an earned run average of 1.65.
CSUN enters the weekend off a three-game sweep of UC San Diego. The Matadors won an eight-inning 4-3 game in game one of the series. They went on to win game two 4-2 and finished the series off with a shutout 1-0 win.
The Matador offense is led by Kaylee Escutia and Mikayla Carman, both hitting above .320 on the season. Escutia paces CSUN with a .325 batting average. The sophomore has recorded 39 hits, including eight doubles, two triples, and two home runs. Escutia has recorded nine multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games during the 2023 season. Mikayla Carman recently earned Big West Field Player of the Week after hitting .364 for the weekend with a .455 slugging and a .364 on-base percentage. She scored one run with a double and a sacrifice hit. She added two putouts in the field.
For CSUN in the circle, the Matadors boast three pitchers whom all have a sub-3.0 earned run average. Allie Gardiner leads the team with a 2.54, but sitting just behind her are Lauryn Carranco and Isabella Alonso who hold a 2.63 and 2.82 respectively.
All three games of the series will be streamed through ESPN+. The Gauchos will also provide an audio-only broadcast for all three games on portal.stretchinternet.com/ucsb/. Lastly, live stats will be available through ucsbgauchos.com
