UC San Diego softball (12-21, 2-10 Big West) took on UC Davis (17-17, 6-6 Big West) in a three-game series on March 13 and March 14 at Triton Softball Field. UCSD won the first two games on March 13, snapping a 13-game losing streak with a pair of multirun wins. The Tritons hoped to sweep the Aggies on the morning of March 14, but they lost 4-1.
Sophomore designated hitter Maalia Cherry opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to right field — her seventh of the season, and the only Triton run for the entire game.
The Aggies tied it in the third with a solo home run to center field. The fourth and fifth innings yielded no runs for either team.
In a confusing moment in the top of the fifth, UCSD coaching staff called an appeal on what seemed to be a valid play at home — an Aggie runner appeared to cross home, and a second was tagged out at the plate. Play halted for almost 10 minutes before umpires declared that the first runner left the base early, overturning the run. The score remained 1-1.
“We have people in our dugout watching for that, so one of our coaches caught it,” head coach Nikki Palmer said to The UCSD Guardian in a postgame interview. “The runner left early, so she’s out.”
Despite their disallowed run in the fifth inning, the Aggies were quick to retake the lead in the top of the sixth. A fumbled catch by junior second baseman Jackie Tremper allowed the first Aggie runner to reach home. A fielder’s choice then scored two more Aggies, extending their lead to 3-1. With only two outs, the next Aggie at the plate hit a double that scored a runner from first to cap off a three-run fifth inning.
The Tritons were unable to reach any bases in the sixth or seventh, and the final game of the series went to the Aggies 4-1.
Despite their struggles in the final game — defensive errors and pitching changes that didn’t work out — the Tritons took the series 2-1. The team took a week-long pause, returning to play a three-game series on the road against Cal State Fullerton on March 20 and March 21, and another three at home against Long Beach State on March 27 and 28; the Tritons lost all six games.
“We just got to keep playing our game, keep up our momentum, and just go get them,” Palmer said.
The Tritons will head to Riverside on Friday to kick off a three-game series against the Highlanders.
