UC San Diego softball (2-12, 0-0 Big West) clashed with cross-town rival University of San Diego (5-11, 0-0) on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Triton Softball Stadium. The Tritons entered the game on a seven-game losing streak and had not played at home since Feb. 9.
An afternoon game in sunny San Diego seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, if not for a motivated Toreros club. USD entered on a three-game losing streak of its own, setting the stage for two cross-town rivals to turn their seasons around — at each other’s expense. Unfortunately for the Tritons, it was the Toreros who ultimately prevailed, winning 6-2.
Fans received pink bandanas at the entrance to celebrate Wednesday afternoon’s Breast Cancer Awareness game as freshman right-hander Callie Christian took the mound for the Tritons. Christian and the Tritons’ defense warmed up to The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Going Back to Cali,” apropos for a team returning home after a long road trip in Utah.
Christian struck out the leadoff hitter, but the Toreros smacked a triple into the left-center gap to create an early jam in the first inning. The next hitter scorched a groundball up the middle, grazing off Christian’s glove and settling in front of the shortstop for an infield single. The runner scored, and USD took an early 1-0 lead.
After a mound visit from assistant coach Kiarra Crockett-Pope, Christian forced an immediate groundout and a swinging strikeout on a high heater to end the inning.
In the bottom of the first, senior outfielder Morgan Eng drew a leadoff walk. Eng successfully stole second base a few pitches later but was subsequently called out for leaving first base too early. UCSD’s momentum waned, and the score remained 1-0 Toreros.
In the second inning, the Toreros generated more trouble with a few walks, a hit-by-pitch, and an infield error. However, the Tritons switched pitchers and brought in senior right-hander India Caldwell, who got out of the jam unscathed, preserving the one-run deficit.
In the second and third innings, neither team was able to generate any offense.
In the fourth inning, the Toreros struck again at the expense of the Tritons’ recurring two-out woes. With two outs and the bases juiced, Crockett-Pope visited the mound again to calm her pitcher. This time, it was to no avail. The Toreros blooped a single into right field, scoring the game’s second run. On a 2-2 count to the ensuing hitter, Crockett-Pope issued her third mound visit of the game — and second in consecutive hitters. Caldwell’s next pitch was a ball, leaving a 3-2 count with the bases loaded. On the payoff pitch, the Toreros hit a line drive down the third base line with the potential to clear the bases. However, senior third baseman Alexa DeMarse made an incredible diving catch to end the inning, saving three runs.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Tritons manufactured two base runners to open the inning. Graduate middle infielder Jaden Hill contributed a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third base, but the next two Tritons could not convert. Both hitters popped-out in the infield, stranding two runners in scoring position. The score remained 2-0, and between innings, the stadium speakers played Bon Jovi’s “Shot Through The Heart” — once again, very apropos given the Tritons’ heartbreaking fourth inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Tritons’ hearts would be shot, smashed, and shattered entirely. The Toreros hit a one-out triple into the left-center field gap, and the ensuing hitter blooped a single into shallow left field, scoring the Toreros’ third run of the game. The next hitter followed with a line drive double into centerfield, scoring the runner from first. The RBI double made it 4-0 Toreros. The next hitter laced a single into right field, and USD had runners on the corners with two outs. USD then hit a triple to clear the bases, increasing its lead to 6-0. For a Triton team that averages 2.85 runs per game, this lead would be too wide to overcome.
The Tritons went for a small ball strategy to create a spark in the bottom frame, and it worked very well. After sophomore middle infielder Elise Nishimura was hit by a pitch, junior outfielder Haley Garcia spun a blooper that landed in fair territory beyond third base and spun out of bounds. The Tritons had runners on first and second base with one out. Eng then laid a perfect bunt down the first-base line to load the bases. After a flyout not deep enough to score the runner from third base, junior catcher Lily Hermosillo grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning. The Tritons left three runners stranded, and the lead stood at 6-0 in favor of the Toreros.
In the sixth inning, USD changed its pitcher, and the Triton offense caught fire. Sophomore infielder Zara Wasserman drove a double off the right field wall, and senior outfielder Reilly Erickson followed with an RBI single to center field. Erickson advanced to second base on the throw to home plate.
Suddenly, the Toreros forgot how to play defense and made two errors on consecutive hitters. Nishimura reached on an error committed by the second baseman, and junior outfielder Haley Garcia reached on a dropped fly ball by the third baseman. Erickson scored on the error elicited by Garcia’s at-bat, and it appeared the Tritons would continue to pass the baton as the Toreros fumbled the lead away. However, with the bases loaded, Eng grounded into a force-out to end the inning.
The Tritons could not recapture their sixth-inning momentum in the seventh and lost the game 6-2. UCSD will look to rebound on Friday, March 7, in the first of a three-game home series against Cal State Fullerton to kick off Big West play.
