UCSD’s softball team had a rocky weekend to close out its regular season, splitting a pair of games on April 30 with California Collegiate Athletic Association foe Sonoma State and dropping two games at San Francisco State.
The Tritons’ weekend looked like it was off to a great start, as they took the first of two games from Sonoma State by a score of 3-2. Though the Seawolves jumped to a 2-0 lead in the fourth, Tritons freshman starting pitcher Tina Rowe held on through seven innings as her team battled back for three runs, improving her 2004 record to 12-7.
UCSD’s three-run rally took off in the sixth inning, sparked by a single from sophomore center fielder Jenny Spencer. Sophomore shortstop Desiree Franciscus then walked, setting the stage for the CCAA’s leading hitter, senior second baseman Kim Aggabao, who singled, scoring Spencer. Junior catcher Jamie Hurst’s single brought home both Franciscus and Aggabao, who had been moved over by a sacrifice bunt from senior first baseman Jodie Bland, bringing in the eventual winning run for the Tritons.
What had looked like a good start to the weekend for UCSD quickly turned into a repeat of the 18th Annual Cal State Bakersfield Mountain Dew Classic, played April 23 through April 25, which was plagued by a rash of one-run losses. Lacking enough run support, starting pitcher Bland lost the game, 2-1, dropping her record to 13-12.
Junior left fielder Breanne Cope started off the seventh inning, down 1-0, with a walk. Senior third baseman Amy Mettee then sacrificed Cope to second, which allowed her to score off a double by Spencer. Spencer attempted to extend her double to a triple and was thrown out. UCSD couldn’t get the offensive fire started again, despite Franciscus reaching base on an error and Aggabao singling.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the score tied, 1-1, the Seawolves brought the winning run home, giving Sonoma State the victory. Aggabao, Bland and sophomore right fielder Niki Anderson all went 2-for-3 in the game.
May 1 began with another one-run loss for UCSD, by a score of 3-2 against San Francisco State. Freshman starter Rowe was unable to reproduce her performance from the day before, bringing her record down to 12-8 with the loss.
The Tritons jumped out to an early lead in the first inning, benefiting from an RBI double from Aggabao, who leads the CCAA in doubles. Bland then tacked on the second run in the third, with an RBI double of her own. However, the Gators got one run in the sixth inning and were able to bring in two more runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and victory.
If there was a silver lining to UCSD’s 3-1 loss in the second game on May 1, it was that it didn’t extend to the bottom of the seventh inning. Starting pitcher Bland ended the regular season with a 13-13 record after taking the loss.
The Tritons once again scored early, as Franciscus singled in Spencer, who had tripled, in the first inning. Unfortunately, this was all the scoring UCSD could muster, and it could not hold up against San Francisco State’s three-run home run in the fourth inning, putting the Gators ahead once and for all. Aggabao finished 1-for-3, bringing her batting average up to an amazing .411, the second-highest in UCSD history, behind Erin Bridges’ .415 in 2000.
The Tritons now wait on the final NCAA West Regional Poll to see if they advance to the playoffs. UCSD was ranked eighth going into the weekend. Only the top six teams advance and it is unlikely that they will be granted a playoff berth.
