PHOENIX, Ariz. – Following a 1-4 showing at the Silicon Valley Classic, The UC Santa Barbara softballt eam will travel to compete in the Purple Classic, hosted by Grand Canyon University. The Gauchos will play 5 games across 3 days, leading off with a double header on Friday Feb. 20.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos split the first day of the Silicon Valley Classic with a loss to Illinois State and a dominating win against San Jose State. The Gauchos then dropped the next 3 to the likes of Cal, Santa Clara, and Utah, to end the tournament. The Gauchos head into this weekend with a 2-10 record.
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
The Toreros started their 2026 campaign at the UC Davis Tournament, where they finished 3-2. San Diego then traveled home to compete in their co-hosted tournament with UCSD, in which the Toreros finished with a 2-2 record, bringing their season total to 5-4 as they head to Phoenix.
Michelle Delgado and Kaitlyn Wynia lead the team offensively, hitting .492 and .385, respectively. Taylor Johnson leads the team with two home runs through the first nine games.
From the circle, Charlie Johnson leads the team in ERA, posting a 1.64 across 21.1 inning pitched, Johnson has only allowed 16 hits and has recorded eight strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
The Griz opened their season at the UCSD La Jolla invitational, where they walked away with a 3-2 start much like the Toreros. The Griz then competed in the Troy Cox Classic / Dr. Diana Natalicio Memorial Tournament, where the team concluded with a 1-3 record after starting the tournament off with a 17-0 loss against no.4 ranked Oklahoma. Heading into the Purple Classic, the team sit at 4-6 on the season.
Offensively, the team is propelled by Mackenzie Bekofsky and Ana Cockhill, hitting .393 and .382, and recording five home runs between the two. Cockhill leads the team in RBI's, recording 12 in the first ten games of the season.
Defensively, Cameryn Ortega leads with an ERA of 4.40 in 20.2 innings pitched, Ortega has also recorded 17 strikeouts. In 20.2 innings pitched, Kaiana Kong has an ERA of 6.10 and has recorded 13 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE OSPREYS
The 11-1 Ospreys are currently in the best start to a season in program history. The Ospreys began in a dominating win over Auburn followed by a 4-1 record at the River City Leadoff, and an undefeated record at the UNF-JU invitational. The Ospreys are coming off a 2025 campaign that landed them their first ASUN title, and a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Bella Cimino and Addie Keef lead the way, batting .433 and .429, respectively. Cimino has nine RBI's and one Homerun on the season. Keef has 15 hits and four RBI's on the season. Grace Shaw leads the team with 12 RBI's.
ASUN Pitcher of the week Cameron Ponich, is tied for having the best ERA in the country at 0.00 through 17.2 innings. She is followed up by Kate Peters with a 0.89 ERA through 15.2 innings. Through 12 games the Ospreys have only allowed 18 runs by their opponents.
SCOUTING THE LOPES
Grand Canyon enters the Purple Classic with a perfect 10-0 record. Similarly to the Ospreys, the lopes are in the middle of their best start in program history. The Lopes swept their opponents at the GCU Kickoff Classic and the GCU Invite. The lopes remain at their home stadium for the third weekend in a row.
Offensively, the Lopes are led by Addison Shifflett and Jada Cooper, batting .438 and .435, respectively. Shifflet is coming off a Mountain West Freshman of the Week honoree. Alina Satcher leads the team in RBI's with 12 whilst also batting .389.
Taryn Batterton joins Ponich with a 0.00 ERA and tied for best ERA in the country. Batterton has pitched 20.2 innings and recorded 23 strikeouts. Oakley Vickers is close behind with a 1.45 ERA through 19.1 innings and 21 strikeouts to her name.
FOLLOWING ALONG
UC Santa Barbara games against Grand Canyon University will be on the Mountain West Network, and all other games will have live stats available.
