After six away games to begin the season, the UCSD softball team finally got a taste of home-field advantage at Triton Softball Stadium Feb. 10 and 11, taking three of four games from No. 25 San Francisco State University.

With the wins over the Gators, UCSD improves to 3-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and 5-5 overall.

Senior first baseman Sara Robinson was enthused with the stout defense and hot bats the Tritons displayed in front of their first home crowd of the season.

“”We’ve had some challenges in the past with San Francisco State so it was a great to start off on a good note,”” she said.

The Tritons stormed out to a 6-0 lead after only four innings, powered by junior third baseman Jenny Maze’s three-run homerun in the first. UCSD would eventually cruise to a comfortable 6-3 win Feb. 10. Junior left-handed pitcher Melissa Ward went the whole way, allowing only five hits and striking out six.

In the nightcap, the Gators managed the win, splitting the double-header with an 8-3 victory. Tied 2-2 after five innings, San Francisco State scored six in the final two innings to take home the win.

UCSD responded with an offensive outburst Feb. 11, sweeping the second doubleheader 10-2 and 5-4.

“”[The wins] gave the girls confidence and showed them they have a lot of potential this year,”” head coach Patti Gerckens said.

With UCSD leading by eight after the top of the fifth inning in the morning game, umpires called the game on account of the mercy rule.

“”The mercy rule goes into effect when a team has outscored its opponent by eight or more runs after the fifth inning,”” Robinson said. “”The umpires call the game on account of the eight-run advantage being considered insurmountable.””

In the final game of the four-game series, the Tritons fell behind in the top half of the first, 0-2, but responded with three runs of their own, taking the 3-2 advantage. UCSD would add one run in both the third and fifth innings to go ahead 5-2 before San Francisco State added a run in the sixth to make things interesting going into the final inning.

Even after the Gators added another run in the seventh inning to make the score 5-4, the Tritons were able to escape with the narrow victory.

The wins were much needed after UCSD opened up the season 2-4 at the Best of the West Tournament hosted by Cal State Stanislaus.

“”We learned we needed to work on some things at the tournament and we stepped up in a lot of areas against [San Francisco State],”” Gerckens said. “”Our goal is that each game we play we get a little better.””

The Tritons will try to ride the wave of momentum into the Schutt Sports Division II Leadoff Classic Feb. 15 through Feb. 17 in Arizona, where they will face Southeast Oklahoma State, Dixie State University and Western Oregon University.