ON DECK…
UC Davis (36-11, 10-5 Big West) at Long Beach State (21-23, 8-7 Big West)
49er Softball Complex | Long Beach, Calif.
Saturday, May 4, 2019 (DH) | 1 p.m. —
TV: ESPN3 (PxP: Trent Rush; Analyst: Erin Jones-Wesley)
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 2 p.m. —
TV: ESPNU (PxP: Trey Bender; Analyst: Leigh Dakich)
PLAY BALL: The nation gets a look at the UC Davis softball team this weekend as the Aggies head to Southern California for a three-game series against Long Beach State that will be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks. The series opens with a doubleheader streamed on ESPN3 on Saturday (May 4) at 1 p.m., before Sunday's (May 5) series finale at 2 p.m., broadcast live on ESPNU.
IN THE POLLS: Neither UC Davis, nor Long Beach State, are ranked in the latest national polls this week.
AGGIES IN THE RPI: Following a battle of the top two teams in the Big West Conference last week, UC Davis made a modest one-spot jump to No. 68 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings released on Monday morning… The Aggies rank second among their Big West sistren, trailing only Cal State Fullerton, which moved up five spots to No. 43 after its series win over the Aggies last weekend… Following Tuesday's game against Sacramento State, UC Davis will meet No. 91 Long Beach State and No. 97 Hawai'i to close out the regular season… The Aggies have been ranked among the top 100 in the RPI in each of the last seven weeks — the longest such run in the program's Division I history… This week's ranking is only four spots behind the program's best of No. 64 set back on March 31 of this year… When UC Davis made its debut at No. 98 in the season's first report on March 17, it marked the first time that the Aggies have been ranked among the top 100 since they were No. 95 on March 22, 2015.
"HI, MOM!": UC Davis is making its fourth all-time appearance on the ESPN family of networks this weekend, but the first time that the Aggies will face someone other than Cal State Fullerton. UC Davis battled the Titans in doubleheaders in 2014, 2016, and 2018, but is still looking for its first televised victory in six tries… Last season, in Fullerton, the Aggies and Titans battled to a pair of close contests, with the home team coming out on top by the scores of 4-2 and 4-3.
BIG WEST BIG PICTURE: With two weeks to go in the regular season, UC Davis is still in the hunt for a Big West title and enters the stretch run in third place in the league standings with a 10-5 record, one game back of next week's opponent, Hawai'i (11-4), and two games out of first place, currently held by Cal State Fullerton (12-3), while leading both CSUN (8-7) and Long Beach State (8-7) by two games… The Titans hold the tiebreaker against its closest competitors, save for its final two opponents in Cal Poly (4-11) and UC Riverside (5-10), by virtue of winning every series thus far this season…
SCOUTING THE 49ERS: Long Beach State enters the week with a 21-23 overall record and an 8-7 mark in Big West play, tied for fourth in the league standings after winning its last two conference series against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly… The 49ers are 7-11 at home this season, splitting their last eight games heading into this weekend… Senior utility Jamie Wren leads the offense with a team-high .364 average, scoring 33 times, smacking 11 doubles and six home runs while driving in 40 more runs… She is one of five Long Beach State regulars batting better than .300 on the year as the offense is hitting .295 as a team with 30 home runs… Junior right-handers Kellie White (9-10, 3.18 ERA) and Ashley Coleman (11-11, 3.21 ERA) have split the majority of innings in the circle… White leads the way with 77 strikeouts on the year, while opponents are hitting only .245 against Coleman in 2019.
SERIES NOTES: According to records that date back to 2005, Long Beach State leads the all-time series with UC Davis by a 32-10 count… The 49ers have won 10 of the 11 series with the Aggies, including taking 2-of-3 at La Rue Field last season… UC Davis' only series win came in 2010 when the Aggies took 2-of-3 at home… UC Davis is 5-16 against Long Beach State on the 49ers' home field, last dropping 2-of-3 in Long Beach in 2017… Six of the last seven meetings have ended in a shutout for either team.
SOUNDS LIKE A BROKEN RECORD: The Aggies' offense has been prolific this season, setting or tying five Division I single-season marks at the plate and closing in on seven more, while the pitching staff has set marks for wins (36) and shutouts (16), while approaching the records for team ERA (1.86 in 2009) and winning percentage (.529 in 2018). The offensive records include runs scored (230), home runs (29), RBI (200), walks (139), and sacrifice flies (15), with records for hits (397 in 2017), doubles (60 in 2009), triples (12 in 2001 and 2017), and total bases (521 in 2008), within striking distance.
SOFTBALL AMERICA ADDS YANEZ TO PITCHER OF THE YEAR LIST: Adding to a lengthy laundry list of honors and accolades already handed out in her name, UC Davis sophomore left-hander
Brooke Yanez has added yet another for the 2019 season, selected by Softball America to its midseason Pitcher of the Year watch list on April 18. Along with Florida's Kelly Barnhill, who was the No. 1 pick in the recent National Pro Fastpitch College Draft, and Louisiana's Summer Ellyson, Yanez has been garnering national attention all season long as the Aggies hit the midway point of their Big West Conference schedule. Read the full story here:
https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2019/4/18/softball-america-adds-yanez-to-pitcher-of-the-year-list.aspx?path=softball.
AGGIE SHORT HOPS…
• Two wins last week pushed the Aggies' to 36-10 on the year, extending the program's Division I-record win total and posting the most wins since they finished 53-15 en route to the NCAA Division II national championship in 2003
• The 10 Big West Conference wins this season mark only the fourth time that the Aggies have reached double digits and the most since the 2013 squad finished 11-13
• The record for Big West wins is 15 set by the 2010 team that advanced to the program's first NCAA Division I Tournament, finishing 15-6 in league play
• According to records that date back to 1990, the 21-6 record at La Rue Field this season marks only the second time that the Aggies have won 20 games at home, surpassing the 20-2 record in 2003
• In the other column we don't like to talk about much, the 11 defeats this season would be the fewest (if the number holds) since the 2003 team lost only 15 games en route to the national title
• Belated congratulations to Head Coach
Erin Thorpe, who won her 100th career game as an Aggie on March 12 against Sacramento State
• Sophomore
Alyse Rojas finished 2-for-4 atop the Aggie order on Tuesday at Sacramento State, racking up her team-best 13th multi-hit contest of the season and the 32nd of her career
• Rojas' 32 career multi-hit games rank tied for fifth on the school's Division I list (Christa Castello holds the record with 62), while her nine three-hit games are tied for the most in the school's Division I era along with Brianna Warner and Megan Guzman
• With her second hit at Sacramento State on Tuesday, Rojas moved into 10th on the program's Division I single-season list — a chart on which she already ranks second with her 61 hits in 2018
• Her 112 career hits puts her just 27 shy of the top five in the program's Division I history after only two years
• Rojas has hits in six of her last seven games, batting .481 (13-for-27) with eight runs scored, four extra-base hits, and three RBI
• Junior
Maddie Rojas' 13 career multi-RBI performances are tied for 10th on the school's Division I list (
Ashley Lotoszynski leads the way with 25)
• Junior
Marisa Given leads the team with a .366 average entering the final two weeks — just six points shy of teammate
Alyse Rojas' program Division I single-season record set last season
• Of senior
Meghan Bradbury's 38 hits this season, a team-high 20 have gone for extra bases
• Bradbury and Given's 11 doubles this season are tied for fourth on the program's Division I single-season list — just two shy of the record shared by Amy Nunez (2014), Elizabeth Santana (2010), and Marissa Araujo (2009)
• Bradbury's 39 RBI this season are a program Division I single-season school record and one of four current Aggies among the top 10: Given (4th with 29),
Alyse Rojas (7th with 25), and
Maddie Rojas (t8th with 24)
• Bradbury and junior
Isabella Leon have each drawn 23 walks this season, ranking tied for fourth on the program's Division I single-season list and just three back of Julie Stauder's record of 26 in 2008.
• Junior
Marissa Jauregui's 10 sacrifice hits have tied the program's Division I single-season record set by Jessica Gonzalez in 2010
• Offensively, Jauregui has collected hits in five of her last six contests, batting 6-for-17 (.353) with three runs scored and three RBI, raising her overall season average 40 points in that stretch
• Yanez's 23 wins in the circle ties her for fifth on the all-time single-season wins list with six other Aggie greats, while extending her all-time Division I program single-season record
• Her 23 wins are the most since Susan Churchwell won the same number in 2003, along with Amy Rosson's 29 wins that same year
• Sophomore
Riley Siegel helped the Aggie bats set another record in the series opener against the Titans, clearing the left field wall for her third of the year and the 29th of the season for UC Davis, breaking the previous team record of 28 set in 2008
• The 29 home runs are the most by an Aggie squad since the 2007 team slugged 35 and are tied for the fifth-most in a season according to records that date back to 1982
• With her four strikeouts in the series finale, Yanez moved her season total to 227 — moving into fifth place on the all-time single-season list (Amy Rosson, 226 in 2004) and second on the program's Division I single-season list (Jessica Hancock, 225 in 2008)
• With 13 more strikeouts, Yanez will match Rosson's 2003 total (240) for fourth on the all-time season chart
• In scoring the first run of the game in the series finale against the Titans, sophomore
Alyse Rojas touched home plate for the 40th time this season — taking over the single-season Division I record from teammate
Isabella Leon and posting the most runs by an Aggie since Lindsay Moore (46), Megan Turman (44), and Susan Churchwell (42) in 2003
AGGIE HONORS & AWARDS
•
Brooke Yanez - Big West Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 18, April 8, April 15)
•
Brooke Yanez - College Sports Madness Big West Player of the Week (April 22)
•
Brooke Yanez - Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Pitcher of the Week (March 19)
•
Brooke Yanez - Fastpitch News National Player of the Week (March 19)
•
Brooke Yanez - College Sports Madness Division I National Pitcher of the Week (March 18)
•
Meghan Bradbury - Big West Player of the Week (Feb. 11)
•
Meghan Bradbury - College Sports Madness Big West Player of the Week (March 11)
•
Meghan Bradbury - College Sports Madness Big West Player of the Week (Feb. 11)
•
Marisa Given - Big West Player of the Week (April 15)
AGGIES IN THE BIG WEST (as of April 29)…
Batting Average — 2nd (.286)
Slugging Percentage — 4th (.423)
On-Base Percentage — 4th (.363)
Runs Scored — 1st (229)
Hits — 3rd (336)
RBI — 3rd (199)
Doubles — 4th (54)
Triples — t1st (10)
Home Runs — 5th (29)
Walks — 2nd (136)
Stolen Bases — 2nd (41)
ERA — 1st (1.63)
Opponents Batting Average — 1st (.213)
Strikeouts — 1st (288)
Wins — 1st (36)
Fewest Hits Allowed — 1st (236)
Fewest Runs Allowed — 1st (96)
Fewest Earned Runs Allowed — 1st (72)
Fewest Walks Allowed — 2nd (101)
Fielding Percentage — 2nd (.971)
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. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, 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.
AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
