LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 25th-ranked University of California San Diego softball team used a strong pitching performance in Game 1 and a pair of home runs in Game 2 to take both ends of a Friday doubleheader over Cal State East Bay, 4-1 and 10-1 in five innings.
Sophomore Alanna Phillips allowed just one hit inside the circle in her start and the freshman duo of Bobbi Aguirre and Isabel Lavrov each hit home runs on Friday afternoon.
UC San Diego (18-4, 11-4 CCAA) extended its win streak to nine games and has now won nine of its 11 games at home overall this season.
Game 1
Phillips (4-2) pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and walking none to lift the Tritons to the 4-1 win in the opening game of the twin bill.
With the score 0-0 entering the latter half of the third inning, UC San Diego would break open the game with RBI singles from senior Kendall Baker, junior Maddy Lewis and Aguirre.
Junior Sharona Mataele singled to center field to start off the bottom half of the fourth inning and would be run for by Kendall Woken. The senior then stole second and scored two batters later on a line-drive single to right field from sophomore Mikaila Reyes (San Diego/Torrey Pines HS), putting UCSD ahead 4-0.
Game 2
Aguirre and Lavrov each hit homers in the second game of the doubleheader to beat the Pioneers, 10-1, in run-rule fashion in five innings.
With the contest tied at 1-1, the Tritons manufactured three runs in the third inning behind an RBI single down the left field line by Lewis and a two-run bomb by Aguirre, her team-leading sixth home run of the season.
In the fifth and with UC San Diego holding a comfortable 6-1 lead, Lavrov would pinch-hit for sophomore Danielle Stedman with the bases loaded. With the count at 1-0, Lavrov took the next pitch over the fence in left field for a walk-off grand slam.
Junior Kristyana Boghossian (1-0) earned her first victory of the season, pitching five innings allowing one earned run on three hits and three walks.
Up Next
UC San Diego plays the fourth and final game of the series and will look to complete the sweep on Saturday, March 10, at 10:00 a.m. That is an earlier start than the originally-announced 11 a.m., with adverse weather expected later in the day. Attendance at Triton Softball Field and parking on North Campus in La Jolla are free. Fans unable to attend can stream the game live for a fee of $5.99 on UCSDtritons.tv.
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