ON DECK: After five straight homes games, the Toreros head back out on the road this weekend with five games at the Matador Classic at CSUN (Northridge, Calif.). On Friday they play Toledo (8:30 a.m.) and Grand Canyon (1:10 p.m.). On Saturday they have an 8:30 a.m. rematch with Grand Canyon, and on Sunday they face No. 24 Oregon State (10:00 a.m.) and CSUN (12:30 p.m.).
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS: Toledo is 3-14 on the season, but have won two of their last three games... They were 24-32 in 2015... They are led by Jessica Lemieux (.381 BA) and Kaitlyn Bergman (.333 BA)... The Rockets hit just .218 as a team... Marla Gooding has a team-high nine starts and is 3-6 with a 4.69 ERA... Head Coach Kristen Butler is in her second season... This is the first ever meeting between USD and Toledo.
SCOUTING THE ANTELOPES: Grand Canyon is 17-7... They were in town for the San Diego Classic I last weekend, going 2-2, but did not face USD... They are hitting .369 on the season and have seven starters hitting at least .350... They have three pitchers who have made at least seven starts... Taylor Nowlin is 6-3 with a 1.84 ERA... Ann Pierson (13th season) is the only head coach in program history... This is the third straight season the Toreros have played the Antelopes... USD is 0-2 all-time against Grand Canyon.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS: Oregon State is 16-4-1 on the season... They are ranked No. 24 in one poll and receiving votes in another... This is the Beavers' third straight weekend in California... They were 26-26 last season and finished eighth in the Pac-12... They are hitting .359 as a team, which is 15th in the nation... McKenna Arriola has a team-best .467 average... Meehra Nelson is 10-2 with a 2.00 ERA... Head Coach Laura Berg (4th season) entered the year with a 78-81 career record at OSU... USD is 2-10 all-time against OSU and has lost the last three games.
SCOUTING THE MATADORS: CSUN is 12-9 and went 4-2 last weekend... They have three players hitting above .300... Taylor Glover is hitting .500, tied for 16th best average in the nation... Rebecca Bell leads the team with eight starts and is 1-2 with a 4.55 ERA... Tairia Flowers (6th season) was the 2015 Big West Coach of the Year... USD is 2-2 all-time against CSUN... They last met in 2014 at San Diego State where CSUN won 4-2.
LAST TIME OUT: After a rough weekend in the San Diego Classic I, USD bounced back with a thrilling 6-5 win over Pittsburgh Tuesday morning. USD was down one run in the final inning, but Olivia Sandusky came through in the clutch with a walk-off two RBI single.
TORERO TIDBITS...
McELVAIN'S MILESTONE: Tuesday's 6-5 walk-off win over Pittsburgh gave Head Coach Melissa McElvain (15th season) 300 victories for her career. She is already USD's all-time leader in wins and is coming off a career-best 29-win campaign in 2015.
O YEAH!: Junior CF Olivia Sandusky`s hot start continued Tuesday when she delivered the game winning two-RBI single Tuesday against Pitt. Sandusky is now hitting .441 on the season with a .521 on-base percentage, both of which lead the WCC. She also leads the team in slugging percentage (.695), runs (17), hits (26), and total bases (41).
SPEED AND D: The Toreros enter the weekend leading the WCC is stolen bases (22) and fielding percentage (.967), which would tie the program record set in 2014.
TOUGHER THE BETTER: Sunday's game against Oregon State will already be the Toreros' fifth game against a ranked team. USD has played a combined five ranked teams in the previous three years.
SOFTBALL NOTES:
NO-NO FOR LB: Junior Lauren Berriatua threw the fourth no-hitter in school history to help the Toreros beat Saint Peter's 11-0 in five innings February 27. In just her second start as a Torero, the College of San Mateo transfer faced the minimum of 15 batters, struck out nine, and needed just 59 pitches. It was USD's first no-hitter since current assistant coach Cassidy Coleman threw one against BYU April 4, 2014. The other USD no-no's came from Jenny Lahitte (April 7, 2012 vs. Saint Mary's) and Amy Lopez (January 29, 2000 vs. CS San Bernardino).
GOING BACK TO (AND STAYING IN) CALI: After playing their first five games in Arizona, the Toreros won't leave the state of California for the remainder of the regular season. USD plays tournaments in Riverside, Northridge, Santa Barbara, Santee, and San Diego, and hosts BYU, the only WCC softball school outside of California.
BACK FOR MORE: The Toreros return 13 letterwinners from last year's 29-23 team, including All-WCC honorees UTIL Kailey Hill, UTIL Tatum Schultz, and SS Danielle Mavridis.
WE GOT THE KALE: Sophomore Kailey Hill, the 2015 WCC Freshman of the Year, set a school record with 12 home runs in 2015. Hill was USD's lone representative on the preseason All-WCC team. She played primarily right field last season, but will be the team's starting first baseman in 2016.
SAVING GRACE: Senior Grace Hernandez's four saves in 2015 were the second most in a single-season in school history (Amy Lopez 5; 2000). If Hernandez can collect five saves this season, she will tie Lopez's school record with nine career saves.
FRESH FACES: USD has eight newcomers this season (seven freshman and one transfer). Due to impressive performances in the fall season, Coach McElvain expects OF Taylor Spence (Thousand Oaks, Calif), 3B Lauren Kane (San Clemente, Calif.), and P Lauren Berriatua (College of San Mateo) to make an immediate impact for the Toreros. Spence (Westlake HS) was the Marmonte Offensive Player of the Year last season, Kane (San Clemente HS) hit .536 with 13 home runs on her way to winning Sea View League MVP, and Berriatua was an astonishing 29-2 with a 1.02 ERA and was a NFCA All-American with the College of San Mateo last season.
PRESEASON POLL: The USD softball team was picked to finish fourth in the WCC preseason Coaches poll. Last year's WCC champion, BYU (25 points), was chosen to finish first. Pacific (19) was picked second, followed by LMU (17) and USD (14). Saint Mary's (10) and Santa Clara (five) rounded out the poll.
