LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego softball team concluded its 2007 regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Cal State San Marcos on Saturday at the Triton Softball Field on the UCSD campus. The Tritons posted a 7-3 victory in game one and rallied for a 5-2 win in game two. With the sweep, UCSD improves to 34-23 on the year while dropping the Cougars to 10-31 in their inaugural softball season.
Junior Melissa Ward tossed four dominant innings to start the game and returned to get the final four outs to pick up her 26th win on the year which set a new single-season record at UCSD. She allowed only three hits with no walks and two strikeouts in her 5 1/3 innings of work.
Fellow junior Jenny Maze went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the game one victory while senior Brittni Carino had two hits and scored three runs. Sophomore Allison May had two hits, one of which was her third home run of the season.
All three of CSUSM's runs came in the sixth inning off UCSD reliever Nicole Fullerton. The Cougars connected on six hits in the inning while Lauren Turner, Tasha Stokes and Holly Russell each picked up an RBI in the inning.
Erica Coelho took the loss for CSUSM as she allowed seven runs, all of which were earned, on 10 hits while walking five and striking out two. She falls to 4-14 on the season.
In game two, the Cougars jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, scoring two unearned runs in the top half of the first inning. CSUSM capitalized on a key throwing error by UCSD first baseman Jenni Habib. Two of their four total hits in the second game of the twin bill came in that first inning.
The Tritons finally got on the board with one run in the third inning to cut the Cougars' lead in half as junior Danielle Lukk poked a sacrifice fly to straight-away center field, scoring May.
UCSD broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring four runs on five hits. The Tritons got RBI singles off the bats of Maze and sophomore Megan Grace, along with a RBI double by senior Dallas Hernandez and a suicide squeeze bunt that was laid down by Habib.
Head coach Patti Gerckens used three pitchers in the game for the Tritons as Christine Zankich went three full innings in the start and allowed the two unearned runs on three hits while Kelsey Ferguson picked up the win after throwing the next three innings in which she allowed only one hit. Fellow sophomore Lauren Chastain picked up the save as she retired all three batters she faced in the top half of the seventh inning.
Amanda Sanchez took the loss and fell to 1-2 on the season for CSUSM. Holly Russell had a RBI single in the first inning while Danielle Turcker accounted for two of the other three Cougar hits.
The Tritons will return to action next weekend, traveling to Arcata, Calif., to take part in the inaugural CCAA Championship Tournament that is being hosted by Humboldt State on May 3-5. UCSD will face No. 7 Cal State Stanislaus in the first round on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. The winner of that game will face the winner of the other first round game between No. 3 Humboldt State and San Francisco State.
