LA JOLLA, Calif. - The combination of flawless defense and timely hitting proved successful for the UC San Diego softball team Friday as the Tritons swept the first half of the weekend's four-game home series with Cal State East Bay.
UCSD starters Camille Gaito and Christine Zankich combined to allow just one Pioneer run, with the fielders outside the circle doing their part to keep CSUEB off the scoreboard. Friday's two-game set marked the first doubleheader of the young season in which the Tritons didn't commit an error. UCSD took Friday's first game 9-0 and the second contest finished in a 3-1 Tritons' victory.
"It was a great feeling to get two wins today," UCSD head coach Patti Gerckens said. "Seeing [Zankich] out there shutting them down, it was refreshing to see her defense give her some help for a change."
With Friday's results, the Tritons improve to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Pioneers fall to 1-5 overall, with all of their games coming in league action.
Out of the gates Friday, UCSD flashed some leather behind Gaito. Junior shortstop Sarah Woofter fielded the first four CSUEB outs, as Gaito induced groundout after groundout. In the top of the fourth, senior catcher Nicole Saari made a spectacular catch on a foul ball that pushed her all the way to the backstop netting. An inning later, when freshman Nicole Spangler sent a throw from third base into the dirt, junior first baseman Jennifer De Fazio had her back with a nice scoop to record the out.
Not to be outdone, the Pioneers' defense also came to play in the early going. UCSD's leadoff hitter Katrin Gabriel lined a ball down the line to open the Tritons' first turn at the plate but CSUEB third baseman Devon Mercurio snared it for the putout.
Pioneers' starter Catherine Schorn could not hold down the UCSD attack though as the Tritons struck for four runs in the second inning and another five scores in the fourth frame, finishing with a 9-0 win.
In the second, Rhiannon Ousley and De Fazio knocked in a run each to help UCSD take a 2-0 lead. Gabriel, after dribbling a single to the pitcher scoring one runner, worked herself into a rundown that allowed the Tritons' fourth and final run of the rally to score.
The fourth inning featured RBI hits from Kellin Haley and De Fazio, before Ousley, Gabriel and De Fazio ended up scoring thanks in part to two costly Pioneers' errors.
Gaito, who finished with six baserunners allowed, improves to 4-2 with the victory.
Both UCSD's Zankich and CSUEB's Lauren Zweigle came out firing in game two, with neither pitcher allowing a hit through the first three innings. Another Pioneers' error allowed Gabriel to reach base to leadoff the fourth inning, before Mandi Eliades moved her to second on a sacrifice bunt. Following a Kris Lesovsky single through the middle, Saari came through with an RBI bunt single that put the Tritons ahead, 1-0.
CSUEB rallied back to tie the game 1-1 in the top of the fifth inning, after two straight hits to open the inning by Danielle Foster and Mercurio and a groundout led to the tying score.
The Tritons broke the deadlock in the bottom of the sixth when a one-out double by Lesovsky was followed up with a long triple from Saari that bounced just inches inside the leftfield line. Freshman Nicole Spangler promptly dropped a looping single into leftfield to put UCSD ahead 3-1. Zankich, after holding the Pioneers hitters scoreless in the final frame, improved her record to 2-1 in 2010.
The Tritons and Pioneers will complete their four-game series on Saturday, with the first game scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
