Coming off a seven-game losing streak, three-straight wins kept the UCSD softball team’s slim postseason hopes alive, as the Tritons won their final game against Cal State San Bernardino and followed up the crucial league win with a two-game sweep of nonconference Grand Canyon University on April 28.
Game one against Grand Canyon started off with quick scores, as the Antelopes took control early, scoring once in the third and again in the fifth. Things looked grim for the Tritons going into the bottom of the seventh, as they trailed 2-0.
Senior shortstop Desiree Franciscus started UCSD’s rally attempt with a one-out single up the middle. Junior second baseman Dallas Hernandez kept things moving for the Tritons and advanced the runner to second with a single through the left side. After junior catcher Nikki Palmer struck out, the Tritons were left with runners on first and second with two outs. Senior outfielder Niki Anderson loaded the bases with a single to left field and senior outfielder Jenny Spencer followed suit, driving in a run for UCSD. With a full count, freshman pinch hitter Allison May connected, sending the ball just over second base, scoring Hernandez and Anderson for the comeback win.
Of the five UCSD hits in the end of the seventh, three came off the bats of the three seniors who were playing the final home games of their UCSD careers.
“It was really a team effort, with so many people coming through in the clutch,” Spencer said of the win.
Freshman pitcher Lauren Chastain picked up the complete game victory and improved to 4-8 this season after allowing only one earned run on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Still hot, the Tritons continued their offensive barrage in game two, scoring all five of their runs in the first two innings. Only three of those five runs were earned, as the Antelopes racked up three errors.
Sophomore infielder Elizabeth Vazquez went 3-for-4, including a run, while freshman outfielder Katie Levien went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Spencer contributed a hit and two runs, while Franciscus also had a hit and an RBI in the victory.
Grand Canyon’s only run in the second game came off a solo homer in the fifth off of sophomore Melissa Ward. Despite allowing the one run, Ward improved to 14-11 on the season, walking two and striking out six. The win marked her 20th complete game of the season in only 24 starts.
Before busting out of their slump with the wins over Grand Canyon, the Tritons faced Cal State San Bernardino for two road games on April 26, entering the series with a six-game losing streak.
Though the Tritons lost the first game 4-0 to extend the losing streak to seven, the team returned to fighting form in the second game, scoring four unanswered runs by the middle of the third. By the end of the fifth inning, the Tritons led the contest 6-3. Hitting their stride in the sixth, the Tritons racked up an additional six runs to move ahead 12-3. The Coyotes attempted a comeback, scoring twice in the sixth and adding three more in the seventh, but it was not enough to top the Tritons, who won 12-8.
Levien, who started in place of the team’s leading hitter, Spencer, stepped up, boosting the Tritons with three hits in three at-bats, driving in five runs and scoring two runs herself. Levien’s two-run homer in the fifth inning elevated UCSD to a five-run lead.
Chastain pitched 4 1/3 innings in the win, despite needing early relief from sophomore Nicole Fullerton, who threw for the Tritons until the seventh, when Ward came in to get the final out after San Bernardino scored three times, cutting the margin to 12-8.
With the split against San Bernardino and the pair of wins over Grand Canyon on April 28, the Tritons improved to 23-25 overall for the season. In order to be in contention for the NCAA Division II West Regional, UCSD must win at least three of its next four games. Only teams with records above .500 are eligible to participate in the tournament and the Tritons currently stand two games below the .500 mark.
Next weekend marks the end of the 2006 regular season; the Tritons will finish this season off with two doubleheaders against Sonoma State on May 5 and San Francisco State on May 6. Should the Tritons move on to Regionals, they will play May 11 through 14.
