Prospects for Triton dominance in the California Collegiate Athletic Association were dashed when the Triton softball team was defeated in its first doubleheader sweep of the 2005 season, falling by scores of 2-1 and 6-0 on March 6 to San Francisco State.
Tough times:
The pair of home-game losses bumped UCSD’s record to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in CCAA play.
The Tritons tied the game at one in the bottom of the first inning, but despite the fact that several players performed well, San Francisco State’s victory was secure by the fifth inning.
“The first game was well-played, but we didn’t get the hits at the right time and we got very defensive,” senior team captain Jamie Hurst said.
Sophomore Brittni Carino had a hit and scored a run in the first game, while Hurst also collected a hit to go along with her RBI.
Freshman Danielle Lukk had the other UCSD hit in game one, scoring on Hurst’s RBI single.
Sophomore Melanie Meurer and junior Niki Anderson each collected a hit in the second game of the twin bill.
Sophomore Tina Rowe suffered the loss in game one for UCSD, despite allowing only one earned run on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Freshman Melissa Ward took the loss in game two, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits in six full innings of work.
“[Freshman] Nicole Fullerton came in at the top of the seventh inning with bases loaded and did an awesome job,” Hurst said.
As for the visiting San Francisco State team, junior pitcher Sonja Garnett played outstanding, throwing two complete games and improving to 9-2 on the season.
“We struggled with Garnett for a long time,” Hurst said.
Garnett allowed only one run on three hits in game one, while in game two she completely dominated the Tritons, tossing the shutout while allowing only two hits and facing the minimum number of batters in the nightcap.
She struck out three in both contests, shutting down the Triton attempts to recover lost ground.
San Francisco State’s victory translates to a CCAA record improvement to 11-7 overall and 6-2 in league action.
UCSD returns to action next week with a pair of doubleheaders at home. The Tritons will host Cal Baptist in a nonconference matchup on March 10. UCSD will then host Cal State San Bernardino on March 12.
