LA JOLLA, Calif. - With three series remaining in the regular season schedule for the UC San Diego softball team, the chances to rise up in the conference standings are numbered.
At least on paper, this weekend's road series against Humboldt State might represent the Tritons' best opportunity to improve their postseason positioning. For UCSD, at 25-13 overall and 15-9 in league play, the Lumberjacks are the only remaining regular season foe with a sub-.500 CCAA mark (9-11). Friday's doubleheader between the two squads will start at 1 p.m. while Saturday's two-game set will begin at 10 a.m. All four games will take place at Arcata High School. The final two series for the Tritons feature Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State San Bernardino.
HSU does own a 19-6 all-time record against the Tritons and while posting an impressive 11-3 mark at home this season, the Lumberjacks' offense has been as strong as any other team in the conference. While the third-place UCSD squad battles in Arcata, first-place Sonoma State (17-5) plays at CSUSB (13-10) and second-place CSUMB (17-7) travels to challenge Cal State Dominguez Hills (13-11).
The NCAA Division II regional rankings released on Wednesday featured the Tritons at the No. 4 position for the second-consecutive week. Hawaii Pacific, at 33-4 overall and 20-2 within the Pacific West Conference, remains at the No. 1 spot. Directly behind HPU is the CCAA's own SSU, a squad looking to tackle a tough CSUSB squad this week on the road. Holding down the No. 3 position is Grand Canyon, another member of the PacWest that has gone 33-8 overall and 14-6 in league action.
Sophomore right-hander Camille Gaito has been a key contributor to the success of the Tritons' pitching staff in 2010. She has amassed a 13-6 record so far, while throwing roughly half of UCSD's innings (121.1 of the 254). Gaito's earned run average of 0.63 ranks third nationally at the Division II level, behind Torie Bunzell's 0.54 (Quincy Hawks) and Tiffani Bishop's 0.55 (Florida Tech Panthers). The closest CCAA hurler to Gaito on the leaderboard is Sonoma State's Julianne Martinez, who ranks 17th nationally with an ERA of 1.20.
This weekend's opponent, HSU, has pushed its record to 20-19 overall and 9-11 in the CCAA with a current seven-game winning streak. With heavy rains weakening playing conditions in Arcata, the last two weekends of HSU softball had to be postponed. The Lumberjacks swept a rescheduled four-game set with Cal State East Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. HSU owns the league's third-best offense, with freshman first baseman Chrissy Stalf (.361 avg.) leading the way.
