LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Softball team (20-16, 9-3 Big West) looks to carry their momentum from a three-game sweep of Cal Poly into this weekend as they travel to the San Diego area to take on the Tritons of UC San Diego. With just about half of the conference schedule completed the Gauchos sit atop The Big West standings.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After dropping both games of their midweek doubleheader to Santa Clara, the Gauchos completed a three-game sweep of conference rival Cal Poly last weekend. UC Santa Barbara outscored the Mustangs 17-4 including an 8-0 run-rule win in the series finale. In the series finale, the Gauchos recorded six hits, all of which went for extra bases.
 
SCOUTING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego comes into the weekend with a 7-22 overall record and 5-7 Big West record. After being swept in their opening series by Fullerton, the Tritons got their first Big West win at Long Beach State before sweeping UC Riverside and grabbing a game against Cal State Bakersfield. Recently, they are coming off a 9-0 loss to No. 9 UCLA on Tuesday night.
 
Offensively, the Tritons are led by junior Haley Garcia. The outfielder is the only qualified hitter for the Tritons that is batting above .300 this season. Garcia is hitting .313 with three extra-base hits, all doubles, and eight runs batted in and is a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases. Morgan Eng will be a threat on the bases as well as she is 22-of-28 in stolen bases this season she is hitting just under .300 and has been walked and hit by a pitch more times than she has struck out.
 
The Triton's top arm in the circle is India Caldwell. The senior has appeared in 24 of UCSD's 29 games. The right-hander sports a 3.82 ERA over 96.2 innings while striking out 73. Opponents are hitting .288 off of her and has recorded five wins this season. Another arm the Tritons use behind Caldwell is Claire Adams. Between Caldwell and Adams, the two make up for over 75 percent of the Triton's innings.
 
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
1. UC Santa Barbara (9-3)
2. CSUN (8-3)
3. Long Beach State (8-4)
4. Cal State Fullerton (7-5)
5. Hawai'i (6-5)
6. UC Riverside (6-6)
7. Cal State Bakersfield (5-7)
8. UC Davis (5-7)
9. UC San Diego (5-7)
10. Cal Poly (0-12)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 4 with the first game beginning at 4 p.m. The series will conclude on Saturday, April 5 with a single game beginning at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcasted through ESPN+ with live stats also available.