SOFTBALL ‘mdash; UCSD was in desperate need of some victories coming into last week’s series against conference rival Cal State Dominguez Hills, having lost four of its last five games. Although the Tritons managed to get a couple wins, they had to settle for a split in their four-game road series.
After the series, UCSD (25-20, 15-12 California Collegiate Athletic Association) is tied for fourth place in the conference. The Tritons will finish the season by playing a four-game set at Cal State Monterey Bay this weekend. CSUMB (32-23-1, 18-10 CCAA) is currently second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. To qualify for the playoffs, UCSD must finish in the top four.
‘Now the pressure is on against Monterey Bay this weekend,’ junior catcher Nicole Saari said. ‘We need to get wins no matter what it takes.’
The first game against CSUDH was a pitchers’ duel; UCSD fell short 1-0. Senior pitcher Lauren Chastain tossed a solid game, giving up only six hits in six innings of work. Unfortunately for the Tritons, their offense was almost nonexistent. UCSD only mustered two hits ‘mdash; both singles ‘mdash; against the Toros. Sophomore infielder Jennifer DeFazio’s single came during the second inning when the game was scoreless and senior first baseman Jenni Habib’s came during the seventh with the Tritons down 1-0.
UCSD bounced back and took the second game 5-0. The Triton offense looked strong in the victory, scoring five runs on 10 hits, including a lead-off home run by sophomore outfielder Kristyn Lesovsky.
‘We played very well as a team,’ freshman pitcher Camille Gaito said. ‘I can’t wait to see Kris Lesovsky hit some more home runs.’
Gaito powered the Tritons with a phenomenal performance, picking up her seventh win of the season in a complete game shutout. Gaito allowed only two Toro hits, and UCSD had a 2-0 lead going into the fifth inning.
Chastain added on to the Triton lead with an RBI single. Even with a 4-0 lead, the Tritons continued to hit, loading the bases during the seventh inning. UCSD then scored its final run of the game when CSUDH issued a walk to sophomore catcher Nicole Monroe.
The Tritons fell short in the third game, losing 6-3. The Tritons had six hits in the game, but failed to produce with runners on base. UCSD left a total of seven runners stranded.
‘Their pitcher came out strong,’ Saari said. ‘We couldn’t string our hits together.’
With the score 6-2 in favor of CSUDH, Habib led off the sixth inning with a double, and would come around to score the final run for UCSD later in the inning, courtesy of a Toro error. The Tritons attempted a two-out rally in the final inning when sophomore infielder Sarah Woofter and Saari hit back-to-back singles, but the two never came across to score as the rally failed.
UCSD dominated the final game of the series, coming out on top with a 10-2 drubbing of CSUDH. Gaito notched the win for UCSD, her eighth of the season. Gaito tossed 4.2 innings while holding the Toros scoreless. Senior outfielder Allison May put the first runs on the scoreboard with a two-run single to right field. May finished the game with two hits. Saari had two hits and two RBI in the victory. The score was 7-2 in favor of UCSD at the start of the seventh inning when Lesovsky officially sealed the victory for UCSD. Lesovsky hammered a three-run homer, adding to her team-high totals in home runs and RBIs this season. She has smashed eight homers and driven in 31 runs for the Tritons so far.
‘We did well,’ Monroe said. ‘Our pitchers did an outstanding job and our bats came alive too. I just hope we carry the same attitude and momentum to next weekend.’
Readers can contact John Beck at [email protected].