SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Softball team continues Big West play this weekend as they host UC San Diego in the second weekend of conference play. The Gauchos are tied with Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State at 2-1 in Big West action.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Santa Barbara comes into the series 8-16 overall and 2-1 in Big West play. The Gauchos picked up their first series win over Hawai'i since 2018 after winning games one and three last weekend.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Gauchos and Tritons will meet for just the 21st, 22nd and 23rd times this weekend with UC Santa Barbara leading the series 12-8. Recently though, the Tritons have posted a 7-3 record against the Gauchos over the last 10 games.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
The Gauchos had an offensive outburst last weekend scoring 21 runs across the three-game series against Hawai'i. UC Santa Barbara currently sits tied for second at 2-1 with Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.
 
UC Santa Barbara currently has five players hitting over .300 on the season. Madelyn McNally paces the team hitting at a .439 clip. Ainsley Waddell and Alexa Sams sit just behind her hitting .342 and .333 respectively. Alana Snow has been swinging a hot bat as of late, over the past four games she is hitting .667 improving her batting average to .320. Rounding out the hitters is Jazzy Santos who is hitting .316.
 
In the circle, the Gauchos limited the Rainbow Wahine to just a .239 batting average and posted a 3.68 ERA over the series. Ainsley Waddell and Malaya Johnson threw a combined 12.1 innings allowing just four earned runs and striking out eight. Emily McCoskey came in relief in game one and pitched a solid 5.1 innings striking out five and keeping the Gauchos in the game to help them secure a win.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS
This will be the first Big West road series for the Tritons as they travel up the coast to Santa Barbara. UC San Diego currently posts a 0-3 road record heading into the weekend.
 
Offensively the Tritons are paced by three .300 hitters in Lexi O'Gorman, Deena Pederson and Hailey Mulligan. The trio has combined for 20 extra-base hits, 42 RBI and 37 runs scored. Pederson is also a threat on the bases having stolen 14-of-15 bases. Another threat to look out for is Morgan Eng who has stolen 19-of-21 bases so far this season.
 
In the circle, the Tritons are led by India Caldwell who has appeared in 21 games making 13 starts and posting a 2.68 ERA over 94.0 innings pitched. Caldwell has struck out 62 batters and as a staff they have struck out just 99 over 180 innings. The other two starters for UC San Diego, Gabby Williams and Shelby Thompson, each have over an 8.50 ERA. As a team the Tritons have a 5.85 earned run average and post a 1.71 WHIP.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
After their weekend series against San Diego State the Fresno State Bulldogs will travel south to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos in a midweek contest. As they enter the weekend the Bulldogs post a 19-8 overall record and a 1-2 record in the Mountain West.
 
Fresno State is led by outfielder Natalie Elias who is currently hitting over .400 on the season. Elias has recorded at least one hit in 20 of the Bulldogs past 21 games. Four other players are hitting .320 or better for Fresno State in Kennedy Bunker (.395), Sophia Medellin (.378), Lauren Almeida (.360) and Keahilele Mattson (.329).
 
In the circle, Fresno State is led by Taylor Gilmore who posts a 10-2 record in 23 appearances with a 2.43 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. She has struck out 72 batters and allows team to hit just .237 against her over 81.1 innings pitched. Serayah Neiss is the only other pitcher with multiple appearances on the season with eight. She boasts an 8-4 record and a 4.20 ERA.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos and Tritons will start their series on Sunday, March 24 with a doubleheader. The first pitch of game one will be at noon. UC Santa Barbara and the Tritons will then wrap up their series with a single game on Monday, March 25 at 1 p.m. After the series, the Gauchos and Bulldogs will meet on Wednesday, March 27 for a single game starting at 2 p.m. For those unable to attend all games will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats available