Teams: UC Davis at Cal Poly
Records: Aggies, 11-4 (22-25); Mustangs, 10-5 (21-20)
Where: Bob Janssen Field – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
When: Saturday at noon, 2 p.m.; Sunday at noon
Who to watch: It’s no wonder that freshman Elizabeth Santana was named the Big West Conference Softball Player of the Week.
The Fontana, Calif. native is on a seven-game hitting streak, leading the Aggies with 11 doubles and having also contributed two homeruns and 16 RBI on the season.
Last week alone, Santana went 7-for-11 at the plate, including five hits in Saturday’s doubleheader against UC Riverside.
Did you know? The stakes are high in the home stretch toward the end of the regular-season.
With six games remaining, the Aggies rank No. 1 in the Big West as they enter their series against the second-ranked Mustangs.
Preview: After dominating a pivotal week of league play, UC Davis will head to the coast to face Cal Poly for the last road trip of the 2010 campaign.
Last weekend, Cal Poly dropped two games in its series against Cal State Northridge, a pair of losses that resulted in a tie between the two squads for second in the conference.
Nevertheless, the Mustang pitching staff has logged an earned run average of 2.77, marking the best in the Big West.
Cal Poly lefty Anna Cahn has contributed to that ranking with her individual 1.89 ERA.
As coach Karen Yoder says, every opposing pitcher has her own go-to pitches, but the Aggies have succeeded recently in adjusting to each one.
UC Davis took the top spot in conference last weekend as the Aggie offense put the bat on the ball.
In game three against UC Riverside, five Aggies including Jessica Gonzalez, Alex Holmes, Heather Zimmerman, Kelly Harman and Marissa Araujo delivered at least two hits apiece.
Not only that, Harman and Sarah Axelson each got enough power behind the ball to launch it over the left field wall.
So if one thinks the squad will be concerned with pressure from its opponent or end-of-the-season jitters as it faces Cal Poly, one is mistaken.
In fact, UC Davis looks at this next series just like it would any other.
“I’d love for our team to just come out strong and win every inning,” freshman pitcher Dana Waldusky said. “We really need to take it one game at a time.”
Yoder couldn’t have agreed more.
“You can’t take anyone for granted right now,” Yoder said. “Our destiny is in our hands. We need to relax and be prepared for this week.”
– Grace Sprague
