TURLOCK, Calif. - Camille Gaito held No. 22 Hawaii Pacific to just one hit and the Tritons put together a four-run two-out rally in the top of the fifth inning as the No. 16 UC San Diego softball team shutout the defending NCAA Division II national champions, 5-0, in its opening game of the Mizuno Tournament of Champions on Friday morning at Pedretti Park.
The Tritons also defeated Dominican University, 11-0 (5), before dropping its final game of the day to Montana State-Billings, 5-2. UCSD's 2-1 record on Friday puts the Tritons at 22-7 overall on the season.
Gaito gave up a single and a walk to lead off the top of the second inning, but retired the final 18 batters in succession, lowering the sixth-best ERA in the country to 0.49. The win marks her fifth shutout this season and increases her record to 14-1. She currently has the most victories in the West Region along with HPU starter Breanne Patton, ahead of Western Washington's Erika Quint (13-0).
Patton surrendered a leadoff double to Kris Lesovsky to open the game, however, would not allow another Triton base runner until Caitlin Brown singled with two-out in the Tritons' fifth at-bat. UCSD (21-6) put two runners aboard when Dyanna Imoto was plunked by the next Patton offering. After Lyndsay Gaylord pinch-ran for Brown, HPU third baseman Caira Pires booted Emily McQuaid's grounder, allowing Gaylord to score and leaving two on for UCSD's all-time batting average leader, Lesovsky.
Lesovsky roped her second double of the day to right center to score McQuaid and Imoto, increasing her average with runners in scoring position in 2011 to .375 (6-for-16). The double gave Lesovsky 161 hits for her career, moving her into a tie with Charissa Hammett (1984-87) for ninth most in school history. Freshman Taylor Sepulveda followed Lesovsky's lead with her second double of the season, driving-in Lesovsky to make it 4-0 UCSD.
Clever base running in the sixth would secure the Tritons' final run of the day, as speedster Katrin Gabriel advanced from first to third on a pair of stolen bases with one out. Jennifer De Fazio, who is hitting .800 (8-for-10) with a runner on third base and less than two out in 2011, cracked UCSD's fourth double of the day to center to score Gabriel and give the Tritons' a five-run cushion. Gabriel's second theft of the day was the 41st in her UCSD career- eighth-most in school history.
Despite giving up just a single earned run, Patton absorbed her first loss of the season (14-1) and just HPU's (22-7) third loss in its last 13 contests. UCSD avenges its 2-0 loss to then-No. 2 Hawaii Pacific in last year's opening game of the Tournament of Champions on March 26, 2010. The win is also the Tritons' first over a ranked opponent since their 9-0 win over No. 10 Cal State Stanislaus on February 2, 2008.
Tess Granath (6-4) followed Gaito's gem with a two-hit performance in the second game of the day. She went five innings and struck-out a season-high eight batters on her way to her third shutout of the season. Lesovsky was 3-for-4 with two runs, 2 RBI and a double in game two while Esther Strom and Rhiannon Ousley went 2-for-2 respectively. Ousley contributed 3 RBI in the win.
A three-run homerun in the top of the first got the Tritons into a four-run hole against Montana State-Billings. Imoto and Sarah Woofter would both drive in a run in the bottom of the second, but the Tritons were unable to recover, dropping their first game of the tournament, 5-2. Imoto, Woofter and starter Jenn Manuel (2-2) were 1-for-2 in the third game of the afternoon.
UCSD will take on Western Oregon and Grand Canyon on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively. To access Live Stats coverage of the Tritons' final two games of the day, click here. Due to a limited amount of scorekeepers, games that will have Live Stats coverage will be determined at game time.
