RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara softball team improved to 6-17 in Big West Play with a split in its doubleheader at UC Riverside, winning 8-2 in the first game and falling 6-3 in the second on Saturday afternoon at Amy S. Harrison Softball Field. 

Game 1: 
On the Stat Sheet
• Lexy Mills (5-12) improved her batting average to .358, going 3-for-4 at the plate today; she also drove in her 14th batter of the season. Mills was the pitcher of record for the first game, facing 29 batters -giving up six walks and two earned runs. 
• Tyler Goldstein extended her on-base streak to 14-straight, setting a new team and season high. She also notched her first triple of her junior campaign. 
• Rayna Cohen and Ally Nodohara went 2-for-3 today, both registering a double apiece. 
• Maci Fines and Ashley Donaldson tallied the two other Gaucho hits, as the team collected 11 total in game one. 

How It Happened
• UC Riverside would open scoring in the bottom of the first after back-to-back walks set up movement on the base path just before a fielder's choice advanced runners to second and third. A double from Gigi Araki brought both Highlanders across the plate to give them an early 2-0 lead. 
• Santa Barbara scored three unanswered runs in both the third and fourth. The third inning was led off by a Nodohara single followed by a hit from Fines. With two Gauchos on base, senior Rayna Cohen hit an RBI double to plate Nodohara, but a throwing error from Riverside's center fielder made it so Fines could make it home, while Cohen advanced to third and was eventually driven home by Lexy Mill's single on the next at-bat. 
• Tyler Goldstein had a lead off triple in the fourth and came home after Korie Thomas put up a sacrifice fly. Nodohara hit a 2-2 ball into right field, tallying her ninth double of the year and causing a pitching change for the Highlanders. 
• A wild pitch came next, giving Nodohara time to advance to third. With one out, Fines reached on UCR's second error of the day which also brought home Nodohara. Fines came to score next, after Ashley Donaldson hit an RBI single to the opposing pitcher, bringing the score to 6-2. 
• UCSB controlled the rest of the game, notching two more runs in the top of the fifth to improve their lead to 8-2 and take game one. 

Game 2: 
On the Stat Sheet
• Fines went 1-for-3 at the plate, registering her 50th hit of the season and setting a new career high. 
• The Gauchos were limited to four hits by the Highlanders, Lexy Mills, Rayna Cohen, and Sam Denehy were responsible for the remaining three in game two of the day. 
• Ashley Donaldson tallied another RBI, giving her sixteen on the season. 
• Freshman pitcher Ava Bradford (0-1) earned the start, making it her first of the year. Bradford faced 30 batters - walking two and giving up five earned runs. 

How It Happened
• Both teams had a quiet first inning. It wasn't until the second when UC Riverside got on the board after a pair of hit-by pitches would place runners on first and second. A runner was then plated after a Santa Barbara error was committed by the catcher. 
• UCSB answered in the third with two runs of its own, taking the 2-1 lead. However, The Highlanders quickly tied the game at 2-2 when it was their turn at-bat. 
• In the top of the third a Chloe Stewart walk and a double from Fines would put two Gauchos in scoring position just before Ashley Donaldson came up to the plate and reached on a fielder's choice and Stewart beat the throw home. Fines and Donaldson would steal home and second base, respectively, as Cohen was up to bat. 
• The Gauchos found one more run in the fourth, but unfortunately the lead did not last long as UC Riverside kept punching back. The Highlanders had a two-run shot by Halyee Kela and tacked on two more insurance runs for a four-run fifth that sealed the doubleheader split, ending the game at 6-3. 

Next Up
The Gauchos will wrap up at UC Riverside tomorrow with a single game starting at 12pm to see who takes the series. Watch it live on ESPN+.