SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara softball team split a doubleheader against Cal State Fullerton at Campus Diamond on Friday, securing an impressive 8-0 victory in the first game, followed by a narrow 7-6 defeat in the second contest. With their win in game one, the Gauchos won their 18
th conference contest, the most in a single season in program history.
GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 8, TITANS 0 (5 INN.)
In game one, UC Santa Barbara's offense surged with a five-run third inning, complemented by a complete-game shutout from
Malaya Johnson. The senior finished the game allowing seven hits across five innings with one strikeout and twirling just 64 pitches.
The scoring opened in the third inning when
Giselle Mejia led off with a single, followed by a fielding error that allowed
Emily Carr to reach base, advance runners and extend the inning.
Bella Fuentes then drove in two with a single to center field, and
Jazzy Santos capped the inning with a three-run homer to left field. The score stood at 5-0 after the third inning.
The fifth inning saw UC Santa Barbara extend its lead with three more runs;
Ella Myers walked and scored on a single by
Delaina Ma'ae,
Jaelyn Toledo added another RBI with a single, and Mejia brought home the final run with a single up the middle that would invoke the run-rule. The game concluded with UC Santa Barbara winning 8-0 and extending their winning streak over the Titans to six games.
GAME TWO: TITANS 7, GAUCHOS 6
In game two, UC Santa Barbara used the momentum from game one and opened strong with a first inning that saw
Tehya Banks hit a solo home run to left field, followed by a walk to
Ella Myers.
Emily Carr and
Bella Fuentes added singles, loading the bases, and
Jazzy Santos flied out to right field.
Delaina Ma'ae then walked, bringing in Myers for a second run, giving the home team a 2-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
However, the Titans responded in the fourth inning with five runs on five hits, including a two-RBI single. UC Santa Barbara answered back with three runs of its own in the same inning, with Myers delivering a critical three-RBI triple to right field, scoring Banks,
Dani Rauscher, and
Jaelyn Toledo and tying the game at five a side.
Sophia Clark got through the first three innings of the game, allowing no hits and but was relieved by Myers following the Titans fourth inning outburst. Myers came in and relieved Clark and dominated the fifth inning, but Cal State Fullerton got back to their rhythm in the sixth inning.
The sixth inning saw Cal State Fullerton score two runs, putting them back in the lead. UC Santa Barbara managed to add one more run when Fuentes walked with the bases loaded, scoring Rauscher. However, the inning ended with the Gauchos trailing 7-6.
Malaya Johnson kept the Cal State Fullerton offense quiet in the seventh inning putting the Titans down in order and giving the Gauchos a momentum boost.
Despite a lead-off double by Ma'ae in the seventh inning, UC Santa Barbara was unable to bring in any additional runs, resulting in a narrow 7-6 defeat to the Titans.
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton will play the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. Following the contest, UC Santa Barbara will honor their seniors. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available.
