SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 15 Cal State San Marcos softball team (20-5, 8-4 CCAA) will host Pace (6-4, 0-0 NE-10) in a midweek, non-conference doubleheader at 12 p.m. on Wednesday before resuming its CCAA schedule with a four-game series against Cal State Monterey Bay (14-13, 6-10 CCAA). Friday's doubleheader against the Otters is slated to begin at 1 p.m. while Saturday's twinbill will be at 12 p.m. 

Prior to Saturday's doubleheader against Cal State Monterey Bay, the 2024 Cougar team will be presented their CCAA Tournament Championship rings in a short ceremony. 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Cougars recorded a 3-1 series win against Sonoma State this past weekend. 
• CSUSM dropped game one 10-0 in run-ruled fashion before bouncing back with a 4-3, 3-2 and 8-4 wins. 
• Aneesa Arredondo and Delaney Prater both hit .462 (6-for-13) on the weekend.           

COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• CSUSM remains second in the CCAA with a .333 batting average, ranking 34th in NCAA Division II. 
• The Cougars are also No. 2 in the conference in on-base percentage (.395) and slugging percentage (.450). 
• CSUSM has recorded a conference-best 10 sacrifice flies this season. 
• CSUSM ranks 17th in NCAA Division II with 12 double plays. 
• The Cougars have the third-best fielding percentage in the CCAA at .970. 
• CSUSM is posting 4.12 RBIs per game, ranking fourth in the league. 
• The Cougars have tallied 13 home runs and are averaging 0.52 per game, ranking third in the CCAA. 
• CSUSM has registered 221 hits this season, ranking fourth in the CCAA. 
• Four Cougars are ranked in the top 10 in the CCAA in batting average – Jillian Albayati is in third (.429), followed by Delaney Prater in fourth (.421), Paige Donnelly in seventh (.395) and Savannah Coyle in ninth (.381). 
• Albayati ranks second in the nation with 3.35 assists per game. 
• Coyle is ranked 14th in Division II with three saves while Jayline Sloss has two and is ranked 25th. 
• Donnelly's 18 RBIs rank sixth in the CCAA. 
• Jayline Sloss has the seventh-best ERA in the CCAA at 1.63. 
• Madison Waymire ranks fifth in the conference with 21 runs. 

MIDWEEK TWINBILL

• This is the Setters' second time in three years to venture west for a series of doubleheaders in California. 
• Pace has split both of its doubleheaders so far on its trip, on Saturday at Concordia University Irvine and on Monday at Cal State Dominguez Hills. 
• The Setters are facing Biola in a twinbill on Tuesday before heading to San Marcos. 
• Pace ranks fifth in the nation with 7.85 strikeouts per seven innings. 
• The Setters are ranked 13th in Division II with a 3.70 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 
• Pace's ace Gisselle Garcia ranks fifth in the nation after only allowing 3.57 hits per seven innings. 
• Willa Poplawski's .829 slugging percentage ranks 29th in Division II. 
• In 2023, the Cougars split their series with Pace, dropping game one 7-4 before recording a 3-0 shutout. 
• The Setters were picked to finish first in the 2025 Northeast-10 Softball Preseason Coaches Poll. 

CSUSM AGAINST THE OTTERS

• The Otters dropped a 3-1 conference series to then-No. 21 San Francisco State last weekend at home. 
• CSUMB also dropped A conference series 3-1 to Chico State and Cal Poly Humboldt on the road. The one series the Otters have won this season was against Cal State San Bernardino, registering 3-1, 9-8 and 7-3 victories before falling 7-3 in the series finale. 
• The Otters have the worst ERA in the CCAA at 4.21. 
• CSUMB has registered a conference-best 10 sacrifice flies this season. 
• The Otters are recording a .272 batting average, ranking seventh in the CCAA. 
• Nevaeh Martinez has tallied a CCAA-high 10 doubles this season. 
• CSUSM is 15-19 in the all-time series against the Otters and is 9-8 when playing at home. 
• Last season, the Cougars dropped game one 2-1 in eight innings before winning three straight, 5-2, 4-3 and 4-2. 
• The Otters were picked to finish last in the 2025 CCAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll. 

2025 OUTLOOK

• CSUSM was picked to finish first in the 2025 CCAA Preseason Softball Coaches Poll. 
• The Cougars' roster of 26 consists of 17 returners, one transfer and eight freshman. 
• Athletically, the Cougars are made up of four redshirt seniors, six seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and eight freshman. 
• The Cougars' 53-game schedule includes 28 home contests and 25 road games.

THE ROBINSON FILE

• Head Coach A.J. Robinson was promoted to the top spot on July 31, 2024. 
• As the program's assistant coach from 2022-24, Robinson helped guide CSUSM to three NCAA Division II West Regional appearances, an NCAA National Championship appearance, a West Regional Championship, a CCAA Regular-Season Championship and a CCAA Tournament Championship.
• For the 2021 season, Robinson was a volunteer assistant coach at San Diego State and helped the Aztecs to an overall record of 28-16.
• Robinson's first stint at CSUSM was as a volunteer assistant coach from 2018-20 where he was named CSUSM Athletics' Volunteer Assistant Coach of the Year in 2020.
• Robinson was the founder and president of The Factory Softball Club in San Diego until 2024. In 2018 and 2019, he and his coaching staff earned West Region Travel Ball Coaching Staff of the Year honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).