Irvine, CA- The Big West announced today that UC Riverside's Chelsea Ponce has been named the conference Softball Pitcher of the Week for games played Feb. 9-15.

This is the first weekly honor for the redshirt junior and the first time for a Highlander pitcher since Taylor Alvarez received recognition in 2012 (View list of UC Riverside's all-time Big West Player of the Week honorees).

Ponce allowed just two earned runs in 20.1 innings pitched over the weekend at Fresno Stat's Kick-Off Tournament, going 2-1 while striking out 10 batters and holding the oppositon to a .176 batting average. That helped the Highlanders improve to 6-4 on the year, the best start for the team since the 2006 season campaign.

In her first start of the tournament, Ponce helped UC Riverside beat the host Bulldogs for the first time in program history, ending an 11-game losing streak against Fresno State. She picked up her second win by pitching the final seven innings of a 13-inning, four-hour marathon against Sacramento State, allowing just four hits and striking out five.

Her lone loss of the weekend came in a 1-0, eight-inning decision to Sacramento State. Ponce is now 5-2 on the year with 35Ks in 43.1 innings pitched. She hasn't allowed more than four hits in any game this year, and has given up just four earned runs in 43.1 innings for a 0.65 ERA.

Ponce sits at the top of the conference for lowest ERA and most wins.