The UCSD softball team played with mixed results in five doubleheaders from March 10 through March 26, going 4-6 overall.
The Tritons (11-12 overall, 8-7 California Collegiate Athletic Association) split a doubleheader against Sonoma State on March 26 in Rohnert Park, Calif. UCSD won game one by a 6-5 score before dropping the nightcap by the same score.
From the top of the lineup in the first game, the Tritons began a barrage of hits that caught Sonoma off-guard.
With two runs scored and one RBI, junior outfielder Jenny Spencer went 2-for-4, while junior shortstop Desiree Franciscus went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Senior catcher Jamie Hurst went 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBIs, both of which came on her first home run of the season.
Senior pitcher Kelley Bryant threw 2.2 innings of relief to pick up the win and improved to 3-2 for the season. Bryant struck out three and allowed only one run on three hits while walking two. Sophomore Tina Rowe, the starter, received a no decision for her 4.1 innings of work, in which she allowed four runs on eight hits.
Despite being down two runs early in game two, Sonoma State regained lost ground against freshman pitcher Melissa Ward who allowed four runs, one earned, on four hits in 1.2 innings.
Franciscus went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Hurst, junior outfielder Niki Anderson and sophomore second baseman Dallas Hernandez each added one hit and one RBI.
The team split its conference doubleheader with San Francisco State on March 25, winning game one by a 4-2 score, halting the Gators’ 11-game winning streak. But the CCAA-leading San Francisco State came back and won the nightcap 5-0.
In the opener, the Tritons scored first in the top of the third inning on an RBI double by Franciscus that scored Spencer.
UCSD scored three more runs in the top of the fourth on senior outfielder Breanne Cope’s three-run home run to left field, her first of the season.
Rowe picked up the win for the Tritons, going just over five innings, giving up five hits and two runs while striking out four and walking one. Bryant recorded her second save of the season, pitching the final 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.
The March 22 doubleheader against Cal State Bakersfield was disappointing for the Tritons, who dropped both games with scores of 7-3 and 4-3.
Rowe took the loss for UCSD in game one, allowing seven runs, only three of which were earned, on nine hits with no walks and three strikeouts in over five innings of work.
The loss in game two was especially tough to take as the Tritons rallied to tie the score at three apiece with two runs in the top of the seventh inning.
After shutting down Cal State Bakersfield for the next three innings, Bryant gave up a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fourth.
Anderson was the offensive hero for the Tritons in game two, with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the score at 3-3.
Anderson ended the game with an impressive line, going 2-for-3 with a triple, the homer, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Bryant took the loss for the Tritons while Ward recorded a no-decision, allowing three runs on seven hits in seven innings.
The Tritons swept Cal State San Bernardino in a March 12 doubleheader, 2-0 and 7-2, respectively, to snap UCSD’s four-game losing streak.
Rowe pitched game one brilliantly. She tossed a complete game shutout, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out four.
In the leadoff spot, junior Jenny Spencer went 2-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI, while freshman infielder Danielle Lukk also went 2-for-3 in the cleanup spot.
Anderson collected the other hit for the Tritons, with an RBI double in the third inning.
The Tritons shut down the Coyotes’ attempt to recover the ground it lost in game one with another win in game two.
After Cal State San Bernardino took an initial 1-0 advantage in the first inning of game two, UCSD responded in the bottom half of the inning with a suicide squeeze bunt by Hurst that scored Spencer.
The Tritons culled six runs in the second inning, as six straight hits led to all six runs for UCSD.
Anderson capped off the rally with a three-run home run.
Ward picked up the win for UCSD, allowing two runs on five hits in her five-plus innings of work.
Bryant tossed the final two innings, allowing no runs or hits while striking out two.
Previous to the sweep of Cal State San Bernardino, UCSD dropped its third and fourth consecutive games March 10, losing to Cal Baptist by scores of 2-1 and 4-0 in a doubleheader.
Game one was a tightly contested pitcher’s duel. Rowe took the loss for the Tritons in game one, despite allowing only two runs while scattering eight hits and striking out four.
In game two, freshman Jenny Maze collected two of UCSD’s four hits, while Spencer and Cope accounted for the others. Ward allowed four runs, two earned, on six hits and struck out two batters in five innings of work.
The team will be back in action April 1 through April 3 at the Tournament of Champions hosted by Cal State Stanislaus in Modesto, Calif. UCSD will take on Seattle University and Western Oregon on April 1 to start the tournament.