SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Feb. 17, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Softball team (4-2) was back in action as the Gauchos faced the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in a double header. After the two games today, the Gauchos earned two wins, sweeping the Thunderbirds on the day. 

FROM HEAD COACH JO EVANS
"I'm happy with how aggressive our hitters were to start the day," Evans said. "We put pressure on SUU all day. Cam Snyder set the tone on the mound. Game Two started as a pitching duel, but our team stepped up and our aggressive play gave us another win. Ilona Sullivan came into game two and did a great job of holding SUU's offense at bay." 

GAME 1: GAUCHOS – 10, THUNDERBIRDS – 2
The contest started off hot for the Gauchos as they came out with their bats on fire. In the first inning alone, UC Santa Barbara put up four runs before scoring two in the second and another four in the third, making the score 10-2 by the end of the third inning. Camryn Snyder was able to keep the Thunderbirds at bay and keep them from scoring the remaining two innings, giving the Gauchos the 10-2 win in just five innings.

Madelyn McNally came across home plate the most for the Gauchos, registering three runs, while also adding on an RBI. Bella Fuentes built on last weekend's success, recording three RBI's along with one run on two hits. Along with them, Chloe Stewart, Ashley Donaldson, Hannah Damore, Jazzy Santos, Alexa Sams and Sam Denehy all added on a run each. 

GAME 2: GAUCHOS – 9, THUNDERBIRDS – 2
UC Santa Barbara kept that same momentum into the second game of the day. The Gauchos came out with two runs in the second put themselves ahead from the start. However, the Thunderbirds battled back with one run in each of the second and third innings to tie the game. However, the Gauchos went on a stretch of runs, securing one in the third inning and then six in the fifth to ultimately give the Gauchos the 9-2 win.

Stewart's performance in this second game helped her team out tremendously. She ended with the most Gaucho runs, putting up two. Donaldson was also a key contributor with three hits and 2 RBI's while adding on a run. Daryn Siegel's three RBI's and one run contributed to her team's success as well. Ilona Sullivan came into the game as a relief pitcher and held down the Thunderbirds' offense. She struck out four batters along the way to her first win of the season. 

OVERALL
Today's two wins had Stewart, Donaldson, Fuentes, McNally and Denehy all hitting above .500 with the team batting at .388 as a whole while the team boasted a .933 fielding percentage. From the mount, Sullivan managed a 0.00 ERA while the team registered an ERA of 1.75 altogether. 

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will be back at Campus Diamond for the last time until Big West play as they play the final game of this series with Southern Utah. First pitch will be at 12 p.m. with a live stream through ESPN+.