UCSD softball played two games against UC Davis and two against Chico State this weekend, April 18 and April 19, respectively, losing both games to Davis and getting a split against Chico.
California Aggie
The Tritons’ first of four games resulted in a 4-1 loss to the Aggies that saw UCSD freshman starter Stephanie Kurz suffering her seventh loss of the season in her complete-game performance. UCSD jumped to an early lead in the third, scoring its lone run, but Davis responded with one run of its own in the bottom of the third, in addition to two in the fourth and one in the sixth.
The Triton run came from junior Amy Mettee, who went 1-for-4, scoring off a throwing error. UCSD’s three other hits came from junior Kim Aggabao, sophomore Jamie Hurst and freshman Jenny Spencer.
“”We made some errors, which shouldn’t have happened. The score should have been 1-1,”” said UCSD head coach Patti Gerckens.
The second game against the Aggies started off very promising, with the Tritons once again taking the lead early, scoring once in both the first and second innings and adding one in the sixth. However, in the bottom of the sixth, Davis opened it up to score eight runs, knocking out starter Jodie Bland, a junior, and giving her a sixth loss on the season, putting her record at 5-6.
UCSD collected seven hits at the plate, including two from sophomore Breanne Cope, who also scored a run. The two other runs for the Tritons came from Mettee and Spencer, while RBIs came from Hurst and senior Kristin Hunstad.
“”We took the lead early, but in the sixth inning they really took off on us,”” Gerckens said. “”They executed a squeeze bunt, and we made a very bad mental play, which let in the winning run. From there they just started hitting off us; no matter where we pitched it, they hit it.””
The first game against the Wildcats saw UCSD coming from behind to pull off a 3-2 win, giving Kurz her ninth win of the season and putting her record at 9-7. The Tritons fell behind in the second inning, but scored two in the third and one in the fifth.
Hurst knocked in two of UCSD’s three runs, and Cope brought in the third. Mettee scored two runs for the Tritons, and Spencer scored the third.
“”Our pitching executed all day, and we played really well,”” Gerckens said. “”Jamie came up with a key hit and a suicide bunt, which helped put us ahead for the win.””
In the second game against Chico, UCSD lost 4-3 in extra innings, with the loss going to Bland, her seventh of the season. The turning point of the game came in the sixth inning when Bland walked in a run, tying the game at 3-3.
While the Tritons took a one-run lead in the first inning and added two more in the third, they failed to score in either of the two extra innings. Hurst once again brought in two RBIs, this time hitting a single, scoring Mettee and Spencer.
“”Both Stephanie and Jodie handled the situation of trying to find the inconsistent strike zone well,”” Gerckens said. “”We could have come home with three out of four wins, but we played better than our past few games.””
UCSD’s overall record is now 19-26, and its California Collegiate Athletic Association record is 10-16. The Tritons’ next games will take place at the CSU Bakersfield Mountain Dew Classic in Bakersfield, Calif., which will run from April 25 through April 27.
