Softball Faces Saint Mary's on the Road This Weekend

Santa Clara.....  

• Plays their first West Coast Conference road series of the season at Saint Mary's this weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. 
• Opened their WCC slate at home last weekend, losing all three games to BYU.    
• Has four players that have been recognized with WCC Weekly Honors this season.  Three Broncos have garnered WCC Players of the Week honors: Ashley Trierweiler on April 3, Emma Bickford on March 20 and Lauren LaHood on February 27.  The latest to be recognized is Sage Hager who was named WCC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after throwing a no-hitter against Nevada on April 5.
• Hager's no-hitter was the fifth thrown by a Broncos pitcher since 2000.   
• Has won 12 of the last 18 games.  
• Was scheduled to play five games at a tournament in Idaho State during the weekend of March 17-19 but it was canceled due to extended winter conditions in Pocatello, Idaho.
• Has a slashline of .292/.389/.412 with 179 runs scored (5.1 runs per game)
• The 19 home runs hit this season is 11 more than they hit all last season.  It is the most home runs in a season since hitting 19 in 2016.  
• Ashley Trierweiler leads the team in hitting with a .520 batting average, a .629 on-base percentage and an .847 slugging percentage.  She also leads the team in hits (51), doubles (9), runs (39), home runs (7), walks (28), and stolen bases (14).  She also leads the West Coast Conference in all mentioned categories (tied for first in doubles and home runs).  
  • Trierweiler currently has successfully reached base in 29-straight games and has a hit in 24 of the last 25 games including a 21-game hit streak that was snapped against Nevada (April 5) in the second game of the doubleheader.
• Sammy Needham had her 24-game streak of successfully reaching base snapped against Dartmouth (March 15).  
• In the circle, Santa Clara has a 3.87 ERA.  
• Hannah Edwards leads the team with a 3.03 ERA while Sage Hager tops the team with eight wins.
• Sage Hager had a seven-game win streak until the loss to BYU on April 8.    

LEAGUE LEADERS (as of April 13)

• Trierweiler (.520) is second in the nation in batting average behind Wichita State's Sydney McKinney (.556).
• Needham (.349) is fifth in the West Coast Conference in hitting.  
• Trierweiler (seven) and Morgan Salmon (five) are tied for first and sixth in the WCC in home runs. 
• Five Broncos occupy the top 10 RBI producers in the WCC - 3. Morgan Salmon (27 RBIs), 4. Trierweiler (25), T8. Sammy Needham (20) and T8. Lauren LaHood (20), T10. Emma Bickford (19)
• Trierweiler (14 SBs), Bailey McLaughlin (9) and Lauren LaHood (8) are first, fourth and tied for fifth respectively in stolen bases.
• Bickford is the toughest batter to strikeout in the WCC, fanning once every 23.8 at-bats.  (four strikeouts in 95 at-bats).  
• Sage Hager is second in the WCC in wins with eights.
• Hannah Edwards is seventh in the conference in ERA with 3.03

WCC Preseason Poll / Coaching Staff

• SCU, under fourth-year head coach Gina Carbonatto, enters the season picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference as voted on by the six conference head coaches. 
• Last season, the Broncos finished third with a 7-8 conference record, the second highest conference victory total since 2006.  The 21-30 overall record was the highest win total since also the 2006 campaign when they went 24-34.
  • Carbonatto has served as the assistant coach for Great Britain's Under-22 women's softball team since 2018.
  • Last summer Carbonatto coached Great Britain's U-22 that competed in the European Under-22 Women's Fastpitch Championship in Kunovice, Czech Republic.
  • Bronco players Cameron McGinnis and Morgan Salmon were selected to play on Great Britain U-22 team earning two of the 13 roster spots.
• On Carbonatto's SCU staff are pitching coach Jen Deering, who is also in her fourth season, hitting coach Kristi Villar who joined the Broncos from South Dakota State last July and graduate assistant Montana Dixon in her second season.  
• For the upcoming season, Carbonatto will be the third base coach and Deering the first base coach.

2023 Roster

• The 21 player roster has 14 returnees including the top six hitters (by batting average) and top three pitchers.
• The 14 returnees account for 311 of the 341 hits and 20 of the 21 wins in 2022.
• Seven newcomers, all from the prep ranks, dot the roster.
• All but one player hails from California.  The lone out of stater, Emma Bickford, is from Sammamish, Washington.
• Breakdown by Class:
  • Graduate (3): Emma Bickford, Sammy Needham, Allyson Ferreira
  • Seniors (2): Regan Dias, Lauren LaHood (RS)
  • Juniors (4): Cameron McGinnis, Bailey McLaughlin, Ella Romero, Ashley Trierweiler (RS) 
  • Sophomores (5): Lauren Bryson, Abigail Charpentier, Sage Hager, Hannah Edwards (RS), Morgan Salmon
  • Freshmen (7): Robynn Balmediano, Leiora Davidson, Hazyl Gray, Jacqueline Lemus, Marie Martorella, Mariah Montalvo, Bethany Shih.

All-West Coast Conference Honors

• Three Broncos - Emma Bickford, Hannah Edwards and Ashley Trierweiler - were named preseason All-WCC.
• All five Broncos who were named All-WCC last season return - First Team: Trierweiler; Second Team: Edwards and Lauren LaHood; Honorable Mention: Sage Hager and Sammy Needham