SAN DIEGO - San Diego begins a six-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Santa Clara for a three-game series.

The Toreros (23-17, 2-1 WCC) final road stretch of the season begins with a doubleheader against the Broncos (5-28, 0-3 WCC) at noon PT and 2 p.m. USD concludes the series Sunday at noon.

Live statistics will be available for each game via USDToreros.com.

LAST TIME OUT

• USD went 2-2 last week, dropping its final nonconference game of the season against UNLV, 6-4, and winning two-of-three games against Saint Mary's to open conference play.

• Taylor Spence led the Toreros offensively in the four games last week, batting .636 (7-for-11) with three runs, two RBIs and a walk. Madison Casiano also had a nice week, going 5-for-9 (.556) with a double and an RBI.

• Hannah Boos shouldered a majority of the load in the circle, pitching a team-high 15 2/3 innings and holding opponents to a .231 batting average in three appearances. She allowed five runs on 15 hits and racked up nine strikeouts.

TOREROS TRENDS

• Taylor Spence has at least one hit in 27-of-40 games this season. Spence leads the team in batting average (.390), hits (48), runs (29), on-base percentage (.449) and stolen bases (16-for-17).

• Sara Silveyra has at least one hit in four of the past five games, including each of the past three contests. She has accumulated six hits and three RBIs during that span.

• Kailey Hill enters the weekend on a four-game hitting streak, accumulating five hits, three doubles and six RBIs in that span.

• Lindsay Clare has at least one hit in five of the past eight games, producing six hits and five RBIs in that span.

• Savannah Shields has scored at least one run in each of the past four games.

• Shannon McKeon has been used primarily as a pinch runner this season and has scored a run in five of the past seven games.

• Delaney Heller has at least one strikeout in 28-of-29 appearances and threw a season-high six against Colorado State (March 2). She has permitted one or fewer walks in 14 of her past 15 outings, and has not allowed a walk in her last three appearances.

• Madison Casiano has at least one hit in four of the past six games and has at least two hits in three of the past six games.

• Halle Kyler threw complete games in each of her first four starts. She has registered two or more strikeouts in 14-of-21 appearances and threw a season-high eight strikeouts at Cal State Bakersfield (March 17).

• Hannah Boos has held opponents to two or fewer runs in eight of her past 10 outings (51.2 IP) and has at least one strikeout in 17 of 19 appearances this season.

IN THE WCC

• USD leads the conference in the following categories.

Hits, 283

Doubles, 44

Plate appearances, 1,232

ERA, 3.04

Wins, 23

Saves, 6

Runners picked off, 3

Fewest sac bunts allowed, 15

Runs allowed, 140

Earned runs allowed, 119

Fielding percentage, .972

Assists, 366

Double plays turned, 19

WCC WEEKLY HONORS

• San Diego swept the WCC weekly honors for the second time this season on April 2 when Katie Vretzos was named the player of the week and Hannah Boos earned pitcher of the week honors.

• In the first five weeks of the season, USD claimed five of the 10 player and pitcher of the week honors.

• Hannah Boos became the third Torero pitcher to earn WCC Pitcher of the Week honors in the first five weeks of the season on March 12. She went 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA on the weekend. Boos held opponents to a .139 batting average and permitted just one run on five hits and three walks in 10 1/3 innings.

• Delaney Heller earned WCC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 6. She pitched in all five games and produced a 2.37 ERA. She held opponents to a .231 batting average and racked up 14 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.

• Taylor Spence was named the WCC Player of the Week on Feb. 26. She hit .500 over six games with three runs, two RBIs, 3-for-3 stolen bases and a .500 slugging percentage.

• Senior Kailey Hill and Freshman Halle Kyler swept the WCC weekly honors on Feb. 12, marking the fifth consecutive season the Toreros have had at least one player win a weekly award during the first week of the season.

• Hill was named the WCC Player of the Week after hitting .529 (9-for-17) with seven RBIs, two home runs, a double, two runs and a .941 slugging percentage over six games this past weekend. She capped her weekend by hitting a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning against CSU Bakersfield to break a 2-2 tie and give the Toreros their fifth straight win.

• Kyler was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week, pitching in four of six games and earning a 3-0 record with a 1.42 ERA. She held opponents to a .133 batting average and threw complete games in both of her starts. She struck out seven batters and allowed just one run on two hits in 5 1/3 innings in her collegiate debut against Campbell.

PRESEASON PICKS

• Junior outfielder Taylor Spence was selected to the All-WCC Preseason Softball Team in a vote by conference coaches. Spence led the Toreros offensively in 2017, hitting .403 with 60 hits, 31 runs, 15 walks and 12 stolen bases.

• The Toreros were selected to finish fourth in the Preseason Coaches Poll. BYU was selected to finish first with 25 points, followed by Pacific and Loyola Marymount with 19 points apiece, then the Toreros (13), Saint Mary's (9) and Santa Clara (5).

FRESH FACES

• USD added freshmen Hannah Boos, Hayley Hensley, Halle Kyler and Katie Vretzos, along with junior transfers Shelbi Evans and Emili Olague. Boos and Kyler are expected to eat up innings in the circle, while Vretzos will add depth to the infield and Hensley will contribute where needed. Evans will add experience behind the plate and Olague will help sure up first base.

MCELVAIN RETURNS FOR 17TH SEASON

• Head coach Melissa McElvain returns for her 17th season with the Toreros. She holds a 357-465 (.434) all-time record at USD and has the most wins of any coach in program history. She has coached 74 all-league honorees, including the 2011 PCSC Coastal Division Player of the Year (Taylor Hensley), two PCSC Freshmen of the Year (Jennifer Ellenbeck; 2007 & Rebekah Bradford; 2004), the 2014 WCC Pitcher of the Year (Cassidy Coleman), and two WCC Freshmen of the Year (Kailey Hill, 2015 and Lauren Kane, 2016).

• McElvain's has helped guide four players to six NFCA All-West Region honors: Taylor Hensley (2010 & 2012), Cassidy Coleman (2014), Mary Grabowski (2016), and Taylor Spence (2016, 2017).

• Along with the on-field success, McElvain's squads have featured 88 Toreros who have earned PCSC Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition and nine players who have claimed 14 WCC All-Academic Team honors since joining the conference in 2014.

NEW FACES ON MCELVAIN'S STAFF

• Coach McElvain has a completely new staff for 2018, including assistant coaches Mark Viramontes (hitting) and Danielle O'Toole (pitching), and volunteer assistant coach Katiyana Mauga.

• Viramontes spent the past two seasons as the volunteer assistant coach with the Toreros baseball team. He brings 19 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including 12 years with D-I programs. He has spent time at some of the nation's premier collegiate baseball teams, including San Diego, Saint Mary's (CA), San Diego State and California.

• O'Toole graduated from Arizona in 2017 and is a current member of the U.S. National Team and National Professional Fastpitch's Chicago Bandits. She'll primarily be responsible for handling the pitching staff. O'Toole boasts a lengthy resume of softball and academic accomplishments during her collegiate career at Arizona and San Diego State. She earned NFCA All-America first team honors in 2017 and was a three-time NFCA All-West Region selection.

• Named the 2017 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, O'Toole was named one of 10 finalists for the USA Softball Player of the Year award. She was a two-time All-Pac-12 first team selection and a two-time All-Mountain West honoree. O'Toole earned Mountain West Pitcher of the Year honors in 2014 and Mountain West Freshman of the Year recognition in 2013.

• Mauga was a classmate of O'Toole's at Arizona and finished her collegiate career as one of the best power-hitters in NCAA history. She was named an NFCA second team All-American, 2017 Pac-12 co-Player of the Year and finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year. Mauga finished her collegiate career second in NCAA history in career home runs and was the only player in NCAA history with 20 or more homers in all four seasons.

2018 SCHEDULE

• USD's 2018 schedule features 51 games, including 10 against eight teams that participated in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. USD will play 23 games at the San Diego Softball Complex.

• The Toreros open the season with 36 nonconference games and will participate in five tournaments.

• USD will play 10 games against eight teams that competed in the 2017 NCAA Regionals, including two games against teams that competed in the 2017 NCAA Super Regionals.

• USD has two six-game home stretches - one is the first weekend of the season (Feb. 8-11), the other is the last (April 28-May 5). The Toreros longest road stretch is 11 games from Feb. 16-25.

THIS YEAR'S TEAM

• USD returns 14 players, including eight starters, from last year's team that finished third in the WCC. The Toreros welcome four freshmen and two junior transfers to this year's squad.