ON DECK…
UC Davis (18-11, 0-0 Big West) at CSUN (15-22, 0-0 Big West)
Friday, March 30, 2018 | 3:00 p.m. | Matador Diamond | Northridge, Calif.
Saturday, March 31, 2018 | 1 & 3:00 p.m. (DH) | Matador Diamond | Northridge, Calif.
UC Davis Notes | CSUN Notes

FOLLOW ALONG…
March 30 - Live Stats | Live Audio
March 31 (GAME 1) - Live Stats | Live Video
March 31 (GAME 2) - Live Stats | Live Audio

PLAY BALL: After more than a week off due to final exams, the UC Davis softball team will spend part of its spring break in Southern California this week, heading to Northridge, Calif., for a three-game Big West Conference-opening series with CSUN beginning Friday (March 30) at Matador Diamond. The two teams will play a single game on Friday at 3 p.m., before locking horns in a doubleheader on Saturday (March 31) beginning at 1 p.m.

IN THE POLLS: Neither the Aggies, nor the Matadors, are ranked in this week's national polls. UC Davis has, however, played five games against four teams that were featured among the top 25 (Tennessee, Arizona, California, and Oklahoma State) and played two more that were among those receiving votes (San Diego State & Fresno State) in either or both national polls at the time of the game.

"HI, MOM!": The Big West Conference announced that the Aggies' doubleheader against preseason favorite Cal State Fullerton on April 28 will be two of seven games broadcast on ESPN3, the league announced. It will be the program's first appearance since 2016 - also against the Titans - and their third time overall after also making an appearance in 2014 (also at Cal State Fullerton).

SCOUTING THE MATADORS: CSUN enters the weekend with a 15-22 overall record, and a 5-8 mark at Matador Diamond this season, after posting a perfect 3-0 record at the Matador Classic over the weekend thanks to wins over Pacific (twice) and Georgia Tech… Senior shortstop Savannah Horvath leads the way offensively for CSUN, doing just about everything for the Matadors, batting .389 with 40 runs scored, 13 doubles, 11 home runs, and 30 RBI… Sophomore infielder Megan Stevens is second on the team with a .330 average and has driven in a team-high 31 runs to go along with seven home runs… The Matadors lead the league in home runs with 31 - nine better than second-place Long Beach State… Junior right-hander Taylor Troost has a team-high seven wins in the circle to go along with a 3.74 ERA, while freshman right-hander Jillian James is 6-11 with a 3.62 ERA, a team-high 114 strikeouts in 123.2 innings, and a .235 average against.

SERIES NOTES: CSUN leads the all-time series with UC Davis, 33-13, including a 13-17 mark in the Division I era… The Matadors have won 11 of the last 13 in the series dating back to the end of 2013 - a run that followed seven consecutive victories by the Aggies from 2011-13, including a series sweep in 2012… CSUN has won six of the 10 series against UC Davis, including the last four after the Aggies won all four of the series from 2010-13… UC Davis is 7-8 against the Matadors on the road after CSUN swept the three-game series from the Aggies in their last trip to Matador Diamond in 2016.

SINCE WE WERE LAST TOGETHER: UC Davis hasn't played since splitting a pair of contests at their own NorCal Challenge on March 18, finishing the tournament with a 3-1 record. The Aggies took a pair from Santa Clara by the combined score of 13-1, while splitting with Fairleigh Dickinson in a pair of games decided by two runs or fewer. UC Davis' Causeway Cup contest against Sacramento State was postponed after weather affected the tournament's opening day schedule, but has yet to be rescheduled.

FOR OPENERS (BIG WEST STYLE): Entering its 11th season in the Big West Conference, the Aggies are 4-6 in league-opening series and 11-19 overall heading into this weekend's series at CSUN… UC Davis has twice opened the conference schedule against the Matadors, taking 2-of-3 from CSUN in both 2010 on the road and 2011 at home… The Aggies have opened conference play against only four of the league's seven softball playing members, facing Long Beach State four times (2008, 2009, 2014 and 2015), Hawai'i three times (2013, 2016 and 2017), CSUN twice (2010 and 2011), and UC Riverside once (2012)… UC Davis has lost four of its five conference-opening series on the road after dropping 2-of-3 at Hawai'i to open the 2017 league schedule.

JUST WIN, BABY: The team's 3-1 finish at the NorCal Challenge clinched a winning non-conference record for the Aggies with games against Sacramento State and California still to come - the most in the program's Division I history, surpassing the 16 wins in 2009, and only the program's second winning non-conference record in the Division I era along with the 2011 squad that finished 15-14. As Big West play begins, UC Davis now stands just four wins shy of last year's win total and eight wins shy of the program's Division I record for victories (26) set in 2010.

KIBBY KEEPS THEM QUIET: Sophomore right-hander Katie Kibby had herself a quiet week in the circle. After finishing off a 2-1, nine-inning, win over Northern Colorado, the managerial economics major went 2-0 in the NorCal Challenge, scattering just six hits and allowing just one run over 12 innings of work, striking out nine and holding opponents to a .143 average in the process. Over her last seven starts (47 innings), Kibby has allowed just six earned runs (1.15 ERA) on 25 hits (only five for extra bases), walking just nine, while striking out 35 - including a career-high 10 in a win over Northern Colorado - and has lowered her ERA by two-and-a-half runs from 4.63 at the start to 2.11 entering this weekend.

"THESE GO TO ELEVEN" FOR LEON: Sophomore cognitive science major Isabella Leon had her 11-game hitting streak snapped in the opening game of the final day of the NorCal Challenge, but picked right back up with a double and an RBI in the night cap against Santa Clara. The 11-game hitting streak is the longest by an Aggie this season and was the longest since Christa Castello hit safely in 11 straight last season. In her last 13 games, Leon is batting .357 (15-for-42) with nine runs scored, two doubles, and four RBI.

THAT'S BROOKE… WITH A "K": Already with five double-digit strikeout performances this season - including a career-high 15 in a win over Utah State on March 10, which were the most by any UC Davis pitcher since Justine Vela hit the same number against Santa Clara on Feb. 21, 2012 - freshman animal science major Brooke Yanez is racking up the K's in her rookie season, ranking second in the Big West (and No. 17 in the NCAA) with 130 (including a league-high 41 looking) on the year as the team heads into conference play. The total already ranks seventh on the school's Division I single-season list and is the most by a UC Davis pitcher since Vela finished with 175 in 2013.

BIG TIME IN THE BIG WEST: In addition to her strikeout numbers, Yanez also enters the week with the league's top ERA (1.38), second-best batting average against (.169), and the third-most innings pitched (106.1), in the first 16 games of her collegiate career, standing as one of only four pitchers in the conference with double-digit victories in the circle (11). Nationally (as of March 26), Yanez stands among the top 50 in the country in four other categories: No. 28 in hits allowed per seven innings (4.15), No. 30 in ERA, No. 39 in strikeouts per seven innings (8.6), and No. 41 in wins.

FEEL A BREEZE?: The Aggies' 183 strikeouts as a staff rank fourth in the conference entering this weekend's opener, but are already the most for a UC Davis squad in the circle since 2013, when it struck out 289 batters on the year. That has gone a long way in helping the Aggies enter their conference-opening weekend with the league's lowest ERA (2.17), batting average against (.202), and the fewest hits (150) and runs (73) allowed, in the Big West.

"LOTO" NUMBERS: The records continue to fall at the feet of senior Ashley Lotoszynski, who moved into a tie for fourth place on the school's all-time list for career doubles with 34 with a two-bagger against Santa Clara in the NorCal Challenge finale, matching Lindsay Moore's total from 2000-03. Other records being chased by the agriculture and environmental education major include:

- Her 84 RBI are a program Division I record, standing one shy of Robyn Kamisher (1995-98) and Heather Hunter (1993-96) for ninth all-time
- Her 11 home runs are tied for third on the Division I list, and three shy of Nunez for 10th on the all-time list
- Her 57 walks are third on the Division I list, and tied with Mickie Weekly (1985-88) for 10th on the all-time list
- Her 75 runs scored rank third on the Division I list, nine back of Christa Castello for second

YOUTH IS SERVED: With eight freshmen and 16 underclassmen on the roster, it's no surprise that the younger Aggies are leading the way in 2018. Three of the team's top four hitters entering conference play are new to the program (freshmen Alyse Rojas, freshman Aly Gomonet, and sophomore transfer Marisa Given), while the fourth - sophomore Isabella Leon - ranks second on the team with a .341 average in 28 games.

BETCHA CAN'T HIT JUST ONE: Freshman human development major Alyse Rojas likes her hits in pairs… or trios… or, in one case, a quartet. The Vacaville, Calif., native enters conference play with a team-best 12 multi-hit games in 28 contests overall this season, including a career-best 4-for-4 against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 17 at the Bulldog Classic.

GO-GO-GOMONET: Freshman neurobiology, physiology, and behavior major Aly Gomonet rebounded from a difficult weekend at the plate during the Aggie Invitational with a solid weekend at the NorCal Challenge, leading UC Davis with a .429 average (6-for-14), scoring a pair of runs from the top of the Aggies' line up. The four-game hitting streak is second only to a seven-game run from Feb. 23 to March 8, while her nine stolen bases (in 10 attempts) lead UC Davis and rank tied for fourth in the Big West entering conference play.

WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER: Seven different players have accounted for game-winning RBI in the Aggies' 18 victories this season, led by senior Ashley Lotoszynski with five -- including the game-winner in four straight UC Davis wins from Feb. 28-March 10. Eight different players have crossed home plate with the winning run this season, led by sophomore Isabella Leon's four -- one of six Aggie players with multiple game-winning runs this season. Three UC Davis players are among a select group with multiple game-winning RBI and runs scored this season: Lotoszynski (five and two), freshman Alyse Rojas (four and three), and Leon (two and four).

ONE-HIT WONDERS: Kibby's one-hitter against Saint Mary's on Feb. 28 marked the third such performance of her career, the fourth by a UC Davis pitcher this season, and the 10th by an Aggie during the program's Division I history - a span that also includes a combined no-hitter from Jessica Threat and Alex Holmes against Utah Valley in 2011, and a Justine Vela no-no against Idaho State in 2012.

UC DAVIS SOFTBALL ONE-HITTERS (Division I only)
Jessica Hancock vs. Utah (Feb. 28, 2009) - W, 1-0 (9)
Jessica Thweatt (start, 6 inn.) & Alex Holmes (relief, 1 inn.) vs. Albany (March 12, 2011) - W, 2-0
Justine Vela at CSUN (April 7, 2012) - W, 3-0
Justine Vela vs. Fordham (Feb. 24, 2013) - W, 2-0
Justine Vela vs. Pittsburgh (March 10, 2013) - W, 2-0
Katie Kibby at Long Beach State (April 9, 2017) - W, 5-0
Brooke Yanez vs. Fresno State (Feb. 16, 2018) - W, 2-0
Brooke Yanez vs. No. 18/16 Oklahoma State (Feb. 24, 2018) - W, 3-1
Katie Kibby vs. San Diego State (Feb. 25, 2018) - W, 2-0
Katie Kibby at Saint Mary's (Feb. 28, 2018) - W, 8-0 (5)

UC DAVIS SOFTBALL NO-HITTERS (Division I only)
Jessica Thweatt (start, 3 inn.) & Alex Holmes (relief, 4 inn.) vs. Utah Valley (March 5, 2011) - W, 1-0
Justine Vela vs. Idaho State (March 11, 2012) - W, 5-0

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 6-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

LIVE AT LA RUE!
Single-game tickets and tournament passes for UC Davis softball are now on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at UCDavisAggies.com.