PHOENIX – The UC Santa Barbara softball team swept day one of the Purple Classic, beating San Diego and Montana in back-to-back games. The Gauchos tallied 23 hits, 10 going for extra bases while allowing the opposition to score just four runs across 14 innings.
GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 7, TOREROS 0
UC Santa Barbara defeated the University of San Diego 7-0 at GCU Softball Stadium on Friday. UC Santa Barbara's
Sophia Clark pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits while striking out five and recording her first career shutout.
The game began quickly with
Tehya Banks homering down the left field line in the first at-bat of the game, putting UC Santa Barbara ahead 1-0 in the first inning. By the end of the second inning, the lead was extended with two more runs.
Emily Carr scored on a bases-loaded walk by Banks, followed by a run scored on a wild pitch, bringing the score to 3-0.
In the fifth inning,
Jazzy Santos tripled down the right field line to drive in Banks, and
Ainsley Waddell's sacrifice fly brought Santos home.
Delaina Ma'ae capped off the inning with an RBI double, pushing the score to 6-0.
UC Santa Barbara added one more run in the sixth inning when Waddell singled through the right side, allowing Banks to score once again. The game concluded with UC Santa Barbara maintaining a shutout against the Toreros, finishing with a final score of 7-0.
GAME TWO: GAUCHOS 9, GRIZ 4
UC Santa Barbara defeated the University of Montana 9-4 in their second game of the day. The Gauchos collected 14 hits, including two home runs, while the Griz managed six hits and one home run in the contest.
In the first inning, UC Santa Barbara took an early lead.
Jazzy Santos doubled to deep right field, and
Jaelyn Toledo followed with a single up the middle.
Ainsley Waddell's single through the right side brought Santos home, and Toledo later scored by stealing home, ending the inning at 2-0.
The Griz tied the game up in the top of the fourth inning on a two-run home run, but the deadlock did not last long. In the bottom of the fourth inning, UC Santa Barbara extended its lead. Waddell homered down the right field line. Subsequent hits by
Emily Carr and
Giselle Mejia set the stage for
Daryn Siegel's RBI double, and
Dani Rauscher added another RBI single. The inning concluded with UC Santa Barbara leading 5-2.
UC Santa Barbara's offense surged in the sixth inning.
Kaylin Garcia, pinch running for Mejia, scored on a single by
Tehya Banks. Santos then hit a three-run homer to deep center field, pushing the lead to 9-2.
Montana managed to score two runs in the seventh, but it was not enough to overcome the Gauchos' advantage. The game concluded with UC Santa Barbara emerging victorious, 9-4.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will now prepare for North Florida and Grand Canyon as they take on the two tomorrow, Feb. 21 at 12:15 p.m. (PT) and 5:30 p.m. (PT), respectively. Both UNF and GCU have been receiving votes in the NFCA/GoRout Top 25 Coaches Poll and both are ranked in the top 10 of the D1 Softball Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Both games will have live stats available and the game against GCU will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
