Junior first-baseman Jenni Habib has started all 14 games for the Tritons and leads the team in batting average and RBIs, hitting.412 and driving in 11 as UCSD is off to a fantastic 11-3 overall start. (Erik Jepsen/Guardian file)

SOFTBALL — After a disappointing weekend split against
conference rival Chico State,
the UCSD softball team used a week of quality practices to regroup and refocus.
The Tritons’ back-to-basics approach paid off as they placed second at the
Schutt Sports Leadoff Classic in Phoenix.

UCSD stormed through the pool and bracket play with a
perfect 5-0 record before falling to Barry
University in the championship
game. The successful weekend puts the Tritons’ overall season record at 11-3,
but even with such a commanding win-loss record, the Tritons feel like they
have yet to play to their full potential and are expecting to continually
improve.

“We still think that we didn’t have our strongest weekend
again [in Arizona],” junior
first-baseman Jenni Habib said. “But it was good for us to know that we can get
the runs when we need them and back up the pitchers and give them the support
that they deserve.”

The tourney’s opening game pitted the Tritons against Grand
Canyon University.
After scoring only six runs the entire previous weekend versus Chico
State, UCSD matched that total in
one game in a shutout victory.

Senior pitcher Melissa Ward threw her second complete game
shutout of the year while allowing only five runners to reach base. Pacing
UCSD’s offense was sophomore catcher Nicole Saari who hit her first collegiate
homerun, a solo shot in the second inning.

Senior southpaw Melissa Ward led UCSD to the title game but couldn’t muster enough to win it all. (Erik Jepsen/Guardian file)

UCSD picked up a second win later that evening with a clutch
7-4 win over Missouri Western
State. After squandering a four-run
lead in the fifth inning, the Tritons got back-to-back hits from Saari and
sophomore shortstop Amanda Eliades with the bases loaded to seal the win.

UCSD finished off the last round of pool play with another
shutout, this time thanks to the right arm of junior starter Lauren Chastain,
as she took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against New Mexico Highlands.

Habib picked up three RBIs while going 3-3 at the plate in
the team’s 5-0 win, guaranteeing them a top seeding for the next round of
bracket play.

The Tritons entered their Feb. 15 game needing to go
undefeated in bracket play to make it to the championship.

The southpaw Ward again took the mound, this time against Eastern
New Mexico University,
and again threw a complete game shutout. Whereas her earlier shutout was given
plenty of offensive breathing room, this victory was made possible by a bizarre
play that would have left even Abbot and Costello confounded.

Leading off the bottom of the seventh in a scoreless game,
senior third-baseman Jenny Maze singled to right. Employing the small-ball
strategy, head coach Patti Gerckens called for the sacrifice bunt to move the
winning run into scoring position.

Senior second-baseman Danielle Lukk placed a perfect bunt
down the first base line but the crashing first-baseman overthrew the bag and
sailed the ball down the right field line, allowing Maze to try third base on
the initial error. The right fielder picked up the loose ball and fired it
across the field to get the lead runner out, but once again the throw sailed
wide, this time allowing Lukk to advance from first to second. Against all
odds, the opposing fielder tried to nail Lukk at second and, sticking with
tradition, overthrew the bag, allowing Maze to easily trot home from third as
the winning run.

“Once the throwing errors began, I really wasn’t thinking,
but instead just running on instinct and adrenaline,” Lukk said. “Of course,
once I realized Maze had made it home I was stoked. We had played a great game
and it was good to get a great team win.”

In the semifinal game on the morning of Feb. 16, Gerckens
once again gave Ward the nod and the veteran team leader responded with her
first career no-hitter.

The Tritons used Lukk’s fourth inning homer and Ward’s six
strikeout no-no to beat Dixie College
State 1-0, sending them to the
championship game versus Barry University.

“[The no-hitter was] exciting,” Ward said. “I’ve gotten
close a couple of times so it felt great to get a no-hitter in before I
graduate.”

In a cruel twist of irony, UCSD witnessed the second
no-hitter of the day, but this time from the losing end. Just hours after
Ward’s gem, Barry’s Megan Young handcuffed the Tritons to win the tournament
championship.

“It was good to play well but it’s unfortunate that we
couldn’t take the whole thing,” Gerckens said. “Our bats kind of cooled down
toward the end of the tournament. [Young] was a good pitcher, but we just need
to learn how to make adjustments quicker.”

A second-place finish in a tough tournament is nothing to
scoff at, but the Tritons are aware that a more balanced attack will bring them
first-place success.

“We were able to have a great weekend with a few clutch
hits, but there is even more offense in this team that is ready to bust out in
the future,” Lukk said. “All we have to do is stay relaxed, stay confident, and
play like we have nothing to lose.”

The Tritons took on Division-I cross-town rival University
of San Diego in a doubleheader on
Feb. 20. UCSD lost the first game 1-4 but responded and came back from a
four-run first inning hole to beat the Toreros 6-5 in the nightcap. More
details were unavailable at press time.

Next, the Tritons will host Cal State Dominguez Hills in a
four-game series over the weekend before hitting the road for another four-game
series against Cal State San Bernardino as they hit the heart of their
California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule.