SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Softball team (9-7) looks forward to hosting their own tournament this weekend at Campus Diamond, playing six games across four days.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Parking Impacts to Lot 30 — Due to ongoing construction, parking in Lot 30 next to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium and the usual main parking lot for Campus Diamond will be extremely limited. Fans are encouraged to park in Lot 22, the garage next to the Thunderdome. UC Santa Barbara Athletics will provide assistance getting to and from the ballpark for seniors and people with mobility issues.
Introducing the Yardi Youth Pass — In partnership with Yardi Systems, UC Santa Barbara is offering free admission to all home baseball games for young Gauchos in 6th grade or below. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning 60 minutes prior to each game from the Yardi Youth Pass table outside the front gate of Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. Availability may be limited due to the stadium's capacity.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos played plenty of tough opponents at last weekend's Mary Nutter Classic, especially on Saturday against No. 25 San Diego State and (RV) Washington. Overall, Santa Barbara went 1-4 on the weekend with a 3-2 win over Oregon State.
THE SCHEDULE
UC Santa Barbara begins the aptly named UC Santa Barbara Tournament with a doubleheader against Saint Mary's on Thursday, game one beginning at 12 noon. On Friday and Saturday, the Gauchos play one game each day—Creighton and then UNLV—both at 2:15 p.m. They will play both teams again on Sunday, first against Creighton at 10 a.m. before UNLV at 12:45 p.m.
SCOUTING THE GAELS
Saint Mary's (6-7) is coming off quite a successful weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic. They beat three Big West foes—Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, and Hawai'i—and (RV) Northwestern. After No. 25 San Diego State beat the Gauchos on Saturday, the Gaels played the Aztecs the following day, losing a close 6-5 game.
The Gaels offense does not have a lot of thump, hitting just three homers as a team, but five of their eight qualified hitters have a batting average over .300. Of those five, four of them have an on-base percentage of .394 better. Sophomore Camille Lara leads the team hitting .341.
In the circle, Saint Mary's has a handful of solid pitching options. Four pitchers have pitched 12 or more innings with an ERA of 3.06 or lower. Odhi Vasquez is their most-used pitcher, logging 28 innings to the tune of a 1.75 ERA and a 3-1 record.
SCOUTING THE BLUEJAYS
Creighton (7-3) did not play last weekend after their games at the San Marcos Classic in Texas were canceled due to inclement weather. They will not have that problem at this weekend's tournament in Santa Barbara. Naturally, this will be their first action against West Coast opponents.
Catcher Lily West leads the Bluejays in batting average and on-base percentage, slashing .441/.500/.500. Two Creighton hitters—Erika Perez and Sydney Potter—have massive .679 and .656 slugging percentages, respectively, both with two homers. The pair also lead the team in doubles and RBIs.
Pitching-wise, Brooklyn Patchen (five) and Brooke Shifflett (three) have started the majority of Creighton's games, combining for a 2.31 ERA. Once a team gets past them, Abby Rusher boasts a 2.28 ERA in seven relief appearances.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV (9-5) went 2-3 at last weekend's Garnet & Black Invitational, splitting against Boston University and Fordham before losing to host No. 21 South Carolina.
The Rebels have three hitters hitting .400 or better, but senior Ariana Martinez is the unequivocal leader. Her .488/.558/.884 slashline equals a blistering 1.442 OPS. Martinez's four homers, 20 RBIs, nine runs, five doubles, and seven walks are all at least tied for the most on the team.
UNLV has used only three pitchers, all logging considerable work at 19 innings or more. The trio has been incredible with a minuscule 1.60 ERA, each with two complete games apiece. Yanina Sherwood has been their primary pitcher so far with 37.1 innings over five starts and eight appearances.
FOLLOW ALONG
All six of the Gauchos' games on the weekend will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available as always at ucsbgauchos.com/SoftballLiveStats.
