SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – In the first day of the Gaucho Classic on Thursday, the UC Santa Barbara softball team was defeated by Idaho State in its only doubleheader of the tournament, 3-1 and 9-6.

Game 1
The first five innings were quiet for both teams, with the Bengals (5-7) putting up only one run in the third.

In the sixth, the top of the order for the Gauchos opened their scoring. Senior Maci Fines led the team off with a single up the middle. She advanced to second after sophomore Madelyn McNally reached first on an error by the Bengals' pitcher. 

Senior Rayna Cohen then made it to first after a fielder's choice that sent Fines back to the dugout. Junior Teah Thies singled through the left side, bringing McNally across home plate and tying the game at 1-1. 

Idaho State responded with two more runs in the top of the seventh, creating a late lead that the Gauchos couldn't make up and leaving the final score at 3-1.

ISU finished with a 5-3 advantage in hits, but had four errors while UCSB had none.

Game 2
Santa Barbara held Idaho State scoreless in the first before jumping out to a three-run lead in the bottom half of the inning.

McNally notched her second double of the season. Cohen was then struck by a pitch. The pair came home at the next bat with Thies roping a double to right field, collecting two more RBIs and bringing her to a total of nine - good for first on her team. 

Sophomore Korie Thomas came to the plate next and hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Thies, putting the Gauchos up 3-0.

Idaho State earned one run in the top of the second and two more on a home run in the fourth to tie the game. They ended the top half of the inning with a 5-3 lead.

Nayah Pola, Tyler Goldstein, Chloe Stewart, and Maci Fines each tallied a hit in the bottom of the fourth. Goldstein was the lone Gaucho to cross home plate, cutting the deficit to one. However, four more Bengals came across in the top of the seventh to make it 9-4.

Needing five runs to extend the game, the Gauchos would make a late run. With Thomas on base and two outs on the board, Polah hit her second home run of the season. The score was brought up to 9-6, but the Gauchos couldn't make up the difference and received their second loss of the day.

Next Up
UCSB continues the 2022 Gaucho Classic tomorrow with a game against Providence College at 2:00 p.m.