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University of California, Santa Barbara

Sams hit versus UH
Jeff Liang
2
Winner Hawai'i UH 8-15
1
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 7-16
Winner
Hawai'i UH
8-15
2
Final
1
UC Santa Barbara UCSB
7-16
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Hawai'i UH 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 1
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0

W: Campbell-Pua, Key-An (2-5) L: Johnson, Malaya (1-3)

0
Hawai'i UH 8-16
9
Winner UC Santa Barbara UCSB 8-16
Hawai'i UH
8-16
0
Final
9
UC Santa Barbara UCSB
8-16
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Hawai'i UH 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 3 6 0 0 X 9 7 0

W: Waddell, Ainsley (3-7) L: Borges, Chloe (0-3)

Game Recap: Softball |

Gauchos Bounce Back Win Results in Series Victory Against Hawai'i

SANTA BARBARA, Calif – On the final day of the series for the UC Santa Barbara Softball team, the Gauchos earned the series win. After dropping game one, 2-1, Santa Barbara bounced right back to earn a 9-0 victory in game two of the day. This is the first series win against Hawai'i since the 2018 season.

FROM HEAD COACH JO EVANS
Thoughts on the day: "We played well today, but unfortunately couldn't get a timely hit in the first game," explained Evans. "Malaya (Johnson) threw well and was in control the whole game. Game one was a disappointing loss for us but I am proud of our players for how they bounced back. We showed great resiliency, we hit throughout the lineup and Ainsley (Waddell) was a completely different pitcher than she was yesterday. I am super proud of her for being able to bounce back. They (Hawai'i) made some mistakes and we made them pay."

Message between games: "It was a tough way to end the first game, but we cooled ourselves off and regrouped," said Evans. "We scored so many runs with two outs and that just shows a lot about ourselves. We could have felt sorry, but I am just so proud of our players for fighting through it."

GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 1, RAINBOW WAHINE 2
The Gauchos carried over their offensive prowess into the first inning of game one today. Santa Barbara got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning. UC Santa Barbara got an RBI single from Alexa Sams, scoring Madelyn McNally from third base. The Gauchos were unable to hold the lead, as Hawai'i scored two times in the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Rainbow Wahine would hold on to the lead for the rest of the game to claim the 2-1 win.

Sophomore Malaya Johnson got the ball to start for the Gauchos and took the loss. Despite the loss the right-hander went all seven innings, giving up two runs while striking out three.

In the batter's box, the Gauchos were paced by junior Alexa Sams, who went 2-for-3 on the day with an RBI. Senior Alana Snow also furnished a standout performance at the dish, going 2-for-3 with a double. Senior Madelyn McNally also contributed for Santa Barbara, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate while adding a double.

GAME TWO: GAUCHOS 9, RAINBOW WAHINE 0
Game two was all Gauchos from start to finish. Santa Barbara took the lead for good in the first. The Gauchos scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Ashley Donaldson. The two runs came after Alana Snow pushed across McNally on an RBI groundout.

The Gauchos then tacked on six runs in the second inning. The big hits in that inning were a two-run single off the bat of Emily Carr and a two-run double from Donaldson. The Gauchos took full advantage of two-out error by the Rainbow Wahine.

Ainsley Waddell went the distance for UC Santa Barbara carrying a no-hitter through 4.2 innings. The freshmen, in the end, allowed just one hit, no runs and struckout five on her way to her third win of the season.

Offensively, the Gauchos were paced by senior Ashley Donaldson, went 2-for-2 on the day with a double and four RBI. Freshman Emily Carr furnished a standout performance at the plate as well, going 1-for-2 with two RBI. Senior Madelyn McNally also contributed for UC Santa Barbara, putting together two hits in three trips to the plate.

GAME NOTES

  • The Gauchos out-hit the Rainbow Wahine in all three games of the series.
  • Ashley Donaldson's four RBI performance in game two is her second career four-RBI game. Her last came against Manhattan during the 2022 season.
  • The Gauchos outscored the Rainbow Wahine 21-11 across the three-game series.
  • Two of the Gauchos five highest-scoring games of the season came over the three-game series.
  • The Gauchos now have five hitters hitting .310 or better.


UP NEXT
The Gauchos will host UC San Diego on Sunday, March 24 and Monday, March 25 for their second Big West series of the season. The Gauchos and Tritons will play a doubleheader on Sunday with a single game on Monday. First pitch of the doubleheader will be at 12 p.m. For those unable to attend the game will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats available. 

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