LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego softball team dropped both games of its Sunday doubleheader to No. 10 Cal State Bakersfield by scores of 7-1 and 5-1 at the Triton Softball Field on the UCSD campus. With the losses the Tritons fall to 20-24 overall and 8-14 in CCAA play while the Roadrunners improve to 40-8 overall and 17-3 in league action.
UCSD got on the board first in game one as pinch runner Randelle Bundy scored on a Christie Hill wild pitch in the bottom half of the first inning. The ?Runners answered right back in the next frame, scoring four times on four hits and two Triton errors to take a 4-1 lead. CSUB then added three more runs in the fifth inning on five hits, highlighted by a Bethany Snow three-run blast to center field.
The Tritons could manage only two more hits the rest of the way as Hill improved to 19-6 on the season after giving up only four hits in the contest. UCSD sophomore Melissa Ward fell to 13-10 on the season after giving up seven runs, only four of which were earned, on 11 hits in her 4.2 innings of work.
In game two, neither team could mount any real offensive threat through the first three innings. CSUB got on the board in the fourth inning with two unearned runs and added two more unearned runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-0 lead. The ?Runners then added another run on a wild pitch in the sixth inning for a 5-0 lead before the Tritons finally got on the board in the bottom half of the sixth as Elizabeth Vazquez led off the inning with a solo homerun to center field.
UCSD could not muster any more offense the rest of the way as freshman pitcher Lauren Chastain took the loss and fell to 2-8 on the year. She allowed only one earned run while scattering 14 CSUB hits. She walked one and struck out three in the loss.
Melissa Wooldridge picked up the win for CSUB and improved to 12-2 on the season after allowing only one run on seven hits while walking three and striking out seven.
Amber Mills went 3-for-4 in game two while Hilary Taylor went 2-for-3 with three RBI in the victory for the ?Runners. Mills went 5-for-7 on the day with two runs scored and a RBI while Taylor finished the afternoon with four hits in seven at-bats.
Head coach Patti Gerckens and her squad returns to action with a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Cal State San Bernardino. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. in the CCAA twin bill. The Tritons will then conclude their 2006 home season with a non-conference doubleheader against Grand Canyon University on Friday afternoon. The first game with the Antelopes is also set for a 1 p.m. start.
