LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego softball team swept both games of a doubleheader against visiting Cal State San Bernardino on Wednesday evening at Triton Softball Field on the UCSD campus. The Tritons won game one by a narrow 4-3 margin before taking the nightcap by a 3-0 score.
UCSD improves to 26-22 overall and 17-11 in CCAA play while dropping the Coyotes to 21-23 overall and 12-14 in league action. The wins also move the Tritons into a tie for fourth place in the conference standings with San Francisco State.
Head coach Patti Gerckens' team survived in game one despite three errors, all of which led to two CSUSB runs in the third inning. That two run inning gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead, but UCSD rallied with three runs in the bottom half of the fourth, highlighted by RBI singles off the bats of freshmen Nicole Saari and Amanda Eliades.
Junior Melissa Ward would make that lead stand, picking up her 19th win of the season after going the distance and allowing one earned run on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Tawni Baker took the loss for CSUSB and fell to 8-13 on the year after allowing three earned runs on five hits while walking six and striking out six.
In game two, the Tritons took an early 1-0 lead after Eliades drove in Brittni Carino in the bottom half of the first with a two-out single to left field. Carino reached after singling up the middle and stealing second base to move into scoring position.
Eliades came up big once again in the bottom of the third, singling to right field and scoring both Danielle Lukk and Carino to put the Tritons up by a 3-0 score. The hit was her third of the day and gave her four RBI in the two contests.
Ward picked up the win again for the Tritons in game two, improving to 20-9 on the season. She becomes only the third player in program history to reach 20 wins in a single season after tossing her 25th complete game of the season, allowing no runs while scattering five hits and striking out three.
Jordan Dahl takes the loss for CSUSB and falls to 9-6 on the season. She allowed three runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts in her five full innings of work.
The Tritons return to action on Saturday, hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills in another CCAA doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m.
