HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball heads West this weekend for the Silicon Valley Classic II, hosted by San Jose State and Santa Clara. The Norse will play Cal State Northridge and UC Davis on Friday, March 8, in San Jose, California, before heading to Santa Clara, California, for match-ups against Cal State Fullerton, Nevada and Santa Clara on March 9-10. First pitch against CSU Northridge is set for 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET, followed by a 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET game against UC Davis. On Saturday, the Norse start off with CSU Fullerton at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET before a 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 ET game versus Nevada. The tournament concludes against host Santa Clara on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 ET. All five meetings will mark the first in program history for the Norse.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse went 0-3 before the rest of their games at the Bruin Classic were cancelled due to inclement weather. NKU opened up the tournament with a tight contest against host Belmont but eventually fell in eight innings, 6-5. Dayton claimed a 3-1 win over the Norse, while Alabama A&M shut the Norse out, 4-0.
 
SCOUTING CSU NORTHRIDGE: The Matadors hold a 6-11 record, but have not shied away from  tough opponents as three of their losses have come against teams ranked in the top-25. CSUN has struggled to score in its last three outings, plating just one run in that span. Juniors Megan Stevens and Jessica Alexander have been leading the team with 10 RBI each and have a combined 13 doubles and four home runs between them, with Stevens ranking 11th nationally with eight doubles on the year. Sophomore pitcher Jillian James has pitched 58.2 innings for the Matadors and ranks 19th nationally with 79 strikeouts on the year. She sports a 3.68 ERA and a 3-5 record. 
 
SCOUTING UC DAVIS: The Aggies sport an impressive 13-4 record, with losses to Weber State, Miami, Idaho State and Boise State. UC Davis' roster features Brooke Yanez, who was named the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year and hauled in NFCA All-Pacific Region honors in her rookie campaign. This year, Yanez holds a 1.38 ERA and a 9-1 record, fanning 80 batters to rank 18th nationally with 10.0 strikeouts per seven innings. Also earning All-Big West First Team honors alongside Yanez in 2018 was Alyse Roas, who ranks second on the team with 13 hits. However, it has been Meghan Bradbury, Megan Bower and Roas' older sister, Maddie, who have been driving in the bulk of the runs for the Aggies at 15, 15 and 14 RBI, respectively. As a team, UC Davis ranks 52nd nationally with a 2.35 ERA and is 76th in both batting average (.291) and slugging percentage (.447).
 
SCOUTING CSU FULLERTON: The reigning Big West champions sit at 12-7 this season, most recently dominating New Mexico in a 19-1, five-inning victory. The Titans return three of their four First Team All-Big West honorees from a season ago, including NFCA All-Region honorees Deshea Hill and Julia Valenzuela. Ariana Williams has been leading the team at the plate with a .436 batting average, 18 RBI and five home runs, while Hill is second on the team with 13 RBI. Alexa Neil has been having a successful rookie season so far, batting .377 with a team-best 19 runs scored. The Titans have seen six different pitchers this season, but Sophie Frost and Dani Martinez have spent the most time in the circle. Martinez holds a 2.60 ERA with 44 batters struck out in 40.1 innings, while Frost has six wins, a 3.45 ERA and 32 strikeouts on the year. As a team, the Titans rank 21st nationally with a .976 fielding percentage, and are No. 29 in the nation with 1.16 home runs per game.
 
SCOUTING NEVADA: The Wolf Pack is 9-6 this season and has won seven of its last eight games.  Nevada lost an all-region honoree to graduation, but returns All-Mountain West First Team honoree Kenzi Goins for her junior campaign. Goins is currently tied for the team lead with 11 RBI and has also scored 11 runs of her own. The utility player is batting .340 and slugging .553 on the season, with a batting average bested only by Sierra Mello's .353. The duo is part of a group of five players who have clubbed at least four doubles on the season, helping Nevada rank 10th nationally with 2.07 doubles per game. Nevada's pitching has been effective as well with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.91 to sit at No. 34 nationally. Kendall Fritz leads the pitching staff with 57 strikeouts and a 3.59 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched, but it is Kali Sargent who boasts the national ninth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10.00 in her 20.1 innings pitched.
 
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The Broncos hold a 2-10 record this season, with wins over Army and Northern Colorado. Santa Clara has had a long rest period after the Colorado State Classic was cancelled last week. Sammy Needham has driven in seven runs and has also clubbed seven doubles for the Broncos while sporting a .471 batting average, while freshman Regan Dias is not far off with six RBI and a .400 batting average. The two have also scored eight runs apiece, while Eleni Spirakis is the leading run scorer for the Broncos, crossing the plate 12 times this season. Lauren Anderson has spent the most time in the circle, striking out six and walking 15 in 36.1 innings pitched. She has one of the team's two wins, while Dias has the other.