SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Gauchos softball will travel to Northern California to participate in the Capital Classic, with games scheduled to take place in Sacramento and Davis. They will face off against BYU, Santa Clara, Utah State, and Sacramento State between the first and third of March.

LAST TIME OUT
After a disappointing 0-3 record in the UC Santa Barbara Tournament the Gauchos aim to bounce back this week. Northern Colorado won both games against UC Santa Barbara by a combined three runs (headlined by an unsuccessful late rally by the Gauchos that went into extra innings). The Gauchos wrapped up the tournament with a loss to Michigan. Madelyn McNally continued to impress, with hits in all but one game so far this season and back to back complete games pitched. The weekend was also highlighted by Elicia Acosta's triple and Camryn Snyder's 122 pitches in her first complete game of the season.

WADDELL EARNS WEEKLY AWARD
Freshman Ainsley Waddell was recently named The Big West Freshman of the Week after an impressive weekend at the UNLV Desert Classic. At the plate the Sequoia High School product put a .500/.526/.778 slashline together. Of her nine hits three went for extra bases including her first career home run in the Blue and Gold. She was equally as dominate on the mound throwing 12.1 innings, striking out 13 and posting a 1.70 earned run average. Additionally, she also earned her first win with a complete-game outing against UNLV.

SERIES HISTORY
BYU: The Cougars hold the all-time series lead over the Gauchos at 2-10. UC Santa Barbara's last win against BYU came in the eighth inning of a 12-10 thriller in 2013.

SANTA CLARA: Historically, UC Santa Barbara has handled the Broncos with an overall series record of 42-8. After dropping their game to Santa Clara last year, the Gauchos aim to follow up their 9-6 win from the 2022 season.

UTAH STATE: The Aggies possess a narrow 28-34 series lead over their former Big West foe. UC Santa Barbara last defeated Utah State 9-6 in 2022 during their two game road trip to Logan, Utah.

SACRAMENTO STATE: After last week's games between the Gauchos and Hornets were canceled due to inclement weather, the two teams will not be waiting long to add to their series. UC Santa Barbara leads 26-19, with the Gauchos last winning 12-6 during the 2019 NorCal Kickoff.

FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos begin the Capital Classic in Davis against BYU tomorrow, Saturday, March 2 at 9 a.m. They will play Santa Clara at 11:30 tomorrow as well. For those unable to attend the games in person live stats will be available. The games will not be streamed through any provider.

NEXT UP
Following the Capital Classic, the Gauchos return to Campus Diamond to participate in their second hosted tournament. This will see the team square off against Lehigh and Utah Tech.