SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara softball team put up a good fight against a Boise State team out to a hot start to the year, but fell short in a 6-3 loss in the final game of the 2022 Gaucho Classic. 

The Gauchos (3-12) nearly doubled the Broncos in hits, 11-6. The first hit came from senior Maci Fines, who tallied her fifth double of the 2022 season - good for first on her team. Tyler Goldstein notched a double of her own to left center in the second inning. 

It was scoreless until the third, when a Boise State grand slam opened the scoring. The Gauchos responded in the bottom half of the inning with a run from Fines who led off with a triple to left center. 

Shortstop Madelyn McNally brought Fines home with a double down the left line, making it a 4-1 game. 

Fines notched her third hit of the game in the next inning, an RBI single to score a run from Lauren Lewis. It was the second time in the last four games that Fines recorded a season-high three hits. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Fines added another RBI to cut the deficit to 5-3. Sam Denehy entered as a pinch hitter and singled to center field. Soon after, Denehy registered her first run of the season on a Fines ground out to first. 

The Broncos put up one more run in the top of the seventh and held UCSB without a hit on its final three at bats. 

Camryn Snyder (3-5) pitched her fifth full game of the year, striking out five and giving up just six hits. 

Santa Barbara will remain at Campus Diamond next weekend for the South Coast Invitational from March 3-6.