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Veteran Pitchers Lead No. 8 UCSD to Sweep

While it was pitching that led to a sweep, UCSD also got some clutch offensive performances, including junior rightfielder Megan Grace’s two-run shot (above) to left field in a 6-1 win in the series opener on March 7. (Andrew Ricci/Guardian)

SOFTBALL — During the middle of last week, the UCSD softball
team was named the eigth best team in the nation, the highest top-25 ranking
for the 2008 squad. The Tritons proved that the accolade was completely
deserved and swept all four games of their weekend series with Sonoma
State University
.
The Tritons utilized a combination of consistent hitting and stellar defense to
back up their phenomenal starting pitching. Senior left-hander Melissa Ward and
junior Lauren Chastain combined to throw all 28 innings over the weekend and
only gave up three runs in that span.

The Tritons were given the high national ranking even though
they dropped three of four games the previous weekend to Cal State San
Bernardino. The series against the Coyotes was a frustrating one for the
Tritons, as they were unable to achieve timely hitting and their normally
immaculate pitching allowed 27 runs. Rather than dwell on the losses, however,
UCSD showed its resilience and bounced back with four quality wins to regain
its early season momentum.

“The four-game sweep was definitely much more uplifting than
last weekend; we played really well,” head coach Patti Gerckens said. “We
needed to win four and we won four.”

Sophomore catcher Nicole Saari uses her familiarity with of the position to slide out of the way of Sonoma State catcher Eva Sahatdjian’s tag in No. 19 UCSD’s 6-1 win in the series opener on March 7. (Andrew Ricci/Guardian)

In the series-opening game on March 7, the Tritons used two Sonoma
State
errors to put up five runs in
the second inning, more than enough support for the ever-dominant Ward. The
southpaw allowed only six base runners and picked up seven strikeouts. Senior
second-baseman Danielle Lukk’s fourth inning single up the middle gave UCSD its
sixth run. Although the Seawolves scratched a run across the board, the Tritons
emerged unscathed with a 6-1 victory.

The second game of the series was more of a pitcher’s duel,
when Chastain turned in her best outing of the year, hurling a one-hit shutout
in the Tritons’ 3-0 win. Junior first-baseman Jenni Habib collected three hits
while senior third-baseman Jenny Maze picked up two hits and an RBI.

While the Maze-Habib connection has carried the UCSD offense
for most of the season, the series’ second doubleheader on March 8 saw a more
consistent lineup emerge, a quality that makes the already dangerous Triton
attack all the more potent. In the first game, sophomore catcher Nicole Saari
and junior center-fielder Allison May each picked up two hits out of the eighth
and ninth spots, respectively. All but one Triton starter got a hit in the game
and Ward tossed another gem, limiting Sonoma
State
to only a two-out seventh
inning run en route to a 5-1 UCSD win.

The win pushed Ward’s season record to 8-5, which is in no
way indicative of stellar pitching all year. With an ERA of 1.88, her five
losses can be explained by relatively low run support, so being spotted 11 runs
in two games came as a welcome relief for the veteran pitcher.

“It’s been a while [since getting two wins in a weekend] so
it’s good to get the wins and get the confidence back up,” Ward said. “I can
relax a bit more out on the mound. It’s nice to know that if I give up a couple
hits or a couple runs that we’re still going to be in it.”

Chastain picked up where Ward left off in the series finale
and pushed her own season record to 8-1 with seven innings of one-run ball.
Maze smacked her fifth homerun of the year (and 30th in her career) while the
more balanced Triton offense continued to suceed, with freshman shortstop Sarah
Woofter driving a ball to deep left center for a two-run homerun of her own.

The Tritons have known all year that their hitters can
produce up and down the lineup and that it was just a matter of time that their
true offense stepped to the plate.

“We went out like the team we knew we were with our heads in
the right place and finally started to hit the ball,” sophomore catcher Nicole
Saari said. “People are just really starting to click; we have been working on
hitting a lot in practice lately.”

Riding a four-game winning streak and being branded with a
national ranking, the Tritons will next take their momentum on the road when
they travel to Cal State Stanislaus for a four-game series starting March 14.

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