LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego softball team dropped both games of its Saturday doubleheader with conference opponent Cal State Stanislaus, losing game one by a 5-1 margin before falling in game two by a 13-2 score. With the losses, the Tritons fall to 15-15 on the season, 10-6 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play, while the No.3 Warriors improve to 20-4, 11-3 in CCAA competition.
Cal State Stanislaus scored first in the top of the third, scoring four runs, two of them unearned, as Jennifer Arnold picked up two RBIs with a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Tritons scored their first run of the game in the sixth inning as Allison May singled home Nicole Saari from second. May's single was the second UCSD hit of the inning and fifth of the game, as the Tritons would be held without an extra base hit in the contest. The Warriors picked up a run in the top of the 7th and reliever Nikki DeLeon set the Tritons down in order in the bottom of the inning to close out the victory.
Jessica Gaumnitz picked up the win for the Warriors, throwing five innings of shut-out ball, allowing only three hits with one strike-out and three walks.
Triton pitcher Melissa Ward tossed her second complete game of the weekend, going seven full, striking out seven, and walking only two, but took the loss for UCSD. Ward season record now stands at a still impressive 11-5, while she also tossed her 15th complete game in 17 appearances on the year.
The Tritons took their first lead of the afternoon in game two as centerfielder Brittni Carino singled, stole second, advanced to third of a ground-out, and was scored by a Jenni Habib single.
Cal State Stanislaus responded in the top of the second with five runs on RBIs from four different players. After UCSD picked up another run in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of Nikki Palmer's second home-run of the season, the team would be held scoreless the rest of the way, as the Warriors scored four runs in the top of both the fifth and sixth innings to invoke the mercy rule.
Lauren Chastain falls to 3-8 on the season with the loss for UCSD. She allowed five runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Nicole Fullerton, Christine Zankich, and Kelsey Ferguson came on in relief, with Ferguson tossing a scoreless 2/3 of an inning for the second game in a row.
Palmer, Carino, and Dallas Hernandez provided the majority of the Triton offense, accounting for two hits apiece.
Head coach Patti Gerckens' squad returns to action next weekend, traveling to Monterey, Calif., for doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday at Cal State Monterey Bay. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
