SAN DIEGO – The San Diego softball program (19-24-1, 4-2 WCC) enter the weekend in a tie-for-second place in the West Coast Conference, with a three-game road set to come with their second place counterparts BYU (25-13, 4-2 WCC) on Friday and Saturday.
 
Friday will open with a doubleheader at 4 and 6 p.m., PT before the series concludes with an 11 a.m., game on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT

• The Toreros built an early lead, but were unable to hang on, dropping a 9-5 decision to Grand Canyon on Wednesday night.
• Five players reached base at least twice, with Clareese Santiago and Emma Giaime tallying two RBI each to lead the offense.
• Kelsey Tadlock delivered four innings of one-hit softball during her start in the loss.

 
OPPONENT HISTORY

• San Diego is hoping to secure key wins in conference play, but trail 7-31 in the all-time series.
• The Toreros are seeking their first ever win in Provo, with all seven wins in the series coming in San Diego or at a neutral site.

 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• The month of April has been kind to the Toreros offense and San Diego is hitting .346 over their last five games.
• San Diego has already played in 14 games separated by one run or fewer this season, with several additional games featuring late-game, high leverage situations.
• The Toreros are 14-4 in games where they register two or more extra base hits.
• The Toreros are also 10-1 overall when they score six or more runs in a game. The Toreros are 2-0 in WCC games where they reach the threshold.
• Madison Earnshaw is off to a roaring start in conference play, going 3-0 with a 0.37 ERA (19.0 IP) in three games.
• Since the start of March, the Toreros are 16-10-1 and have surged back to second place in the WCC.
• The Toreros have been adept at inducing ground balls and as a result, lead the conference in double plays per game (0.39). Izzy Owen (first), Amanda Limon (second) and EJ Joyner (fifth) dominate the WCC leaderboard in fielding assists.

 
TORERO TIDBITS

• The Toreros have already had four players take home five WCC weekly honors, as Giaime, Owen (twice), Courtney Rose and Joecellia Roberts have been honored by the league as either Player of the Week or Pitcher of the Week.
• Earnshaw (304) sits in sixth all-time in strikeouts at San Diego and needs eight more to pass Colleen Norman (311) for fifth.
• Earnshaw also sits in fifth all-time in appearances with 106. Next up is Cassidy Coleman (108) in fourth.
• Giaime has featured excellent control since entering the collegiate game and ranks second in the WCC in walks allowed per game (1.26), which also ranks 44th in the nation.
• Taylor Johnson continues to draw hit-by-pitches at an enormous rate, ranking 13th in the nation and first in the WCC in hit-by-pitches per game (0.34).
• Owen ranks second in the WCC in hits (50), batting average (.370) and third in doubles (nine).
• Mikalyn Emanuelli has the most stolen bases for a player not caught in the WCC, going 12-for-12 so far this season. Only three players have more total stolen bases, with each having been caught at least three times.

 
HOW TO FOLLOW
All three games will be broadcast via BYUtv. Live stats will be provided by statbroadcast. To stay up to date with Toreros softball, follow the team on Instagram & Twitter by searching "USDsoftball".