PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Softball team (9-6) faced two tough opponents—No. 25 San Diego State (10-3) and Washington (7-7), who received votes—on Saturday night at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Gauchos hung close in the 4-0 defeat against the Aztecs before falling victim to the Huskies' powerful offense, 10-0.
GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 0, AZTECS 4
Both teams went scoreless in the first, with Gauchos starting pitcher
Malaya Johnson stranding a leadoff baserunner. The Aztecs started the scoring in the second, stringing together three hits to take a 3-0 lead. They tacked on another in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out infield single, now 4-0.
Offensively, the game was uneventful for the Gauchos. Santa Barbara's only baserunner through five innings came on
Bella Fuentes' single in the second.
In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back one-out singles ended Johnson's night as
Sam Stoll came on in relief. After getting a flyout, a dribbler extended the inning. Stoll was up for the task, getting a strikeout to strand the bases loaded and prevent further damage.
Tehya Banks singled with one out in the sixth, flipping the lineup to the top of the order. However, a ground ball double play ended the inning.
Erin Mendoza led off the seventh with a bunt single, giving the Gauchos a chance at a rally.
Ainsley Waddell followed with a walk, putting the tying run on deck still with nobody out. Unfortunately, the next three Gauchos were retired to end game one 4-0 Aztecs.
GAME TWO: GAUCHOS 0, HUSKIES 10
Santa Barbara left two runners on to end the top of the first. After an infield single led off the Huskies' half,
Grace Luderer induced a ground ball double play on the next pitch and retired the three hitter for a clean inning. The following inning, Luderer earned a strikeout to end the inning, stranding two.
In the third, Washington used a single and a homer to take a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, the Huskies had an eight-run inning. A one-out bunt single stopped rolling right on the third base line to put runners on first and second. Then, an awkward but successful double steal put two runners in scoring position—back-to-back singles scored both of them. Back-to-back-to-back homers—a three-run and then, naturally, two solo shots—followed, meaning that suddenly a close game snowballed to a 9-0 Huskies lead. An RBI fielder's choice scored the last run of the long inning.
Saige Anderson hit a pinch-hit single, but the Gauchos failed to score in the top of the fifth. Thus, the game ended with a 10-0 final score.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos now have one more game as part of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic tomorrow against San Jose State. With first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m., fans can once again watch via streaming through FloCollege.
