SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State softball team plays their final non-conference games of the regular season this weekend with a series at UC Santa Barbara. The Aztecs (15-11, 3-6 MW) will meet the Gauchos (8-18, 5-4 Big West) for a 1 p.m. PT doubleheader Saturday and a noon PT Sunday game.
SDSU is coming off another tough series loss at Boise State last weekend, falling, 2-1, and 5-1, on Friday before shutting out the Broncos, 3-0, in the series finale on Saturday.
Riley Thies leads San Diego State with a .333 batting average (9-for-27) in limited plate appearances, while adding seven runs, five walks, six stolen bases and a .455 on-base percentage. Taylor Adams has been the Aztecs' most consistent hitter, batting .315 (23-for-73) with two home runs, 11 RBIs, a team-high 16 runs, a double, 15 walks and six stolen bases. Shelby Thompson (.299, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 15 R, 3 2B, 5 BB), Danielle Romanello (.274, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 5 2B, 13 BB) and Jillian Celis (.269, 1 HR, team-high 16 RBI, 8 R, 6 2B) are also hitting at least .269 for SDSU.
The San Diego State pitching staff has combined for a 3.27 ERA with seven shutouts in its 15 wins. Maggie Balint (10-5, 2.28 ERA, 92.0 IP, 77 K, 30 BB, .208 opp. avg.) has five shutouts by herself, while Marissa Moreno (0-3, 4.15 ERA, 30.1 IP, 14 K, 18 BB), Karina Faasisila (2-2, 4.20 ERA, 1 SV, 26.2 IP, 19 K, 10 BB) and Hannah Johnson (3-1, 4.57 ERA, 30.2 IP, 17 K, 3 BB) have also logged plenty of innings for the Aztecs.
UCSB is coming off a sweep over Cal Poly last weekend in three close games, winning, 9-8 and 7-6 on Friday, and 9-6 on Saturday.
UC Santa Barbara is hitting a robust .300 as a team, including a .471 average by Madelyn McNally to go along with 21 runs, a homer, nine RBIs, three doubles, three triples, six stolen bases, a .526 on-base percentage and a .609 slugging mark. Sammy Fabian (.349, 10 RBI, 12 R), Ashley Donaldson (.338, 11 RBI, 14 R, 4 2B, 1 3B), Maci Fines (.333, 11 RBI, 5 R, 3 2B) and Rayna Cohen (.319, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R) are also hitting above .300 for the Gauchos. The UCSB pitching staff has a 5.64 team ERA with Emily Schuttish counted on to do the bulk of the pitching, going 6-5 with a 3.01 ERA in 69 2/3 innings.
Against common opponents this year, SDSU is 2-1, while UC Santa Barbara is 1-4. San Diego State leads the all-time series with the Gauchos, 31-25, and has won five straight (last loss was a 5-2 decision at the Stanford Classic on March 9, 2007).
Following the series with UCSB, the Aztecs resume Mountain West play with a series against San José State from April 17-18 at SDSU Softball Stadium.