LA JOLLA, Calif. – The No. 6 University of California San Diego softball took two wins against nonconference opponent Hawaii Pacific in its home opener on Tuesday afternoon. With the victories, the Tritons improve to 7-0 on the season, while the Sharks fall to 3-4.
Game One: UC San Diego 11, Hawaii Pacific 0 (5 Inn.)
Three Tritons had multi-hit games, including redshirt sophomore
Bobbi Aguirre (2-4), senior
Danielle Stedman (2-3), and sophomore
Kinley Kyro (2-3). Kyro also recorded a career-high of three RBIs in the contest.
The Tritons had both offense and defense working for them in a competition that resulted in a mercy-rule triumph. Wasting no time in getting the run production started, the blue and gold jumped out to a five-run lead.
Aguirre ripped a single up the middle, followed by a seven-pitch walk by sophomore
Keila Bosinger. Senior
Mikaila Reyes was hit by a pitch and the Tritons were in business as junior
Sherriah Harrington stepped into the box. A triple down the right field line would bring everyone around, with Harrington advancing to third with only one out.
Displaying her speed all game, Stedman reached safely on a perfectly placed bunt. The very next pitch, Stedman stole second – her first of two in the game and three on the day. Then, Kyro lined an RBI single to left field to prolong the damage.
A ground ball to the shortstop from junior
Isabel Lavrov was enough for Stedman to score, as the Tritons persisted on making a statement right out of the gates.
With plenty of cushion, junior left-handed pitcher
Robyn Wampler retired the side in the second and brought UC San Diego right back into the dugout to extend its hit party.
Aguirre blasted an RBI double to right center and Bosinger smoked one up the middle as the number seven lit up in UC San Diego's run column on the scoreboard. A few batters later, Kyro tripled down the right field line to score two more and senior
Danica Kazakoff found a gap in left field to capture the 11th run of the game. It was also the senior's 100th career hit.
Wampler tossed four innings, allowing just three hits and struck out two. In addition to Kazakoff's milestone, the lefty pitcher picked up her 400
th career strikeout in the bottom of the first.
Freshman
Kaia Simpson collected another inning of experience in her rookie campaign. Entering in relief in the fifth inning, Simpson struck out two of the five batters she faced.
Game Two: UC San Diego 7, Hawaii Pacific 1
In game two of the doubleheader, four more Tritons accumulated multi-hit games. This time, Reyes, Lavrov, Kazakoff, and senior
Brittney Ross-Smith had themselves a day with two hits apiece.
The Tritons would punch first once again.
After a perfect 1-2-3 inning from senior right-handed pitcher
Alanna Phillips, UC San Diego produced, as they had been all day. To start, freshman
Sophia Real was hit by a pitch. Aguirre went with a pitch to the right side, advancing Real to third and Bosinger flied one deep enough for Real to tag.
Next, Reyes and Lavrov found parallel gaps in left center, as each doubled and earned an RBI apiece. The doubles streak continued as sophomore
Clarissa Reynoso and Ross-Smith went back-to-back in the following inning of play.
The Sharks found their first run of the day in the top of the third. Consecutive extra base-hits broke up the shutout.
In the bottom of the third, Ross-Smith earned her third RBI of the game with a base knock up the middle. It was the first baseman's career-high in RBIs in single game as well.
UC San Diego pushed the score to 7-1 after Aguirre delivered a sac fly to right field.
Senior Dominque Acosta relieved Phillips in the seventh. In three batters faced, Acosta struck out two and handled a ground ball right back to her to close out the game.
The Tritons defense was perfect, committing zero errors and turning one double play, their second of the afternoon.
Up Next
UC San Diego will host Sonoma State in a CCAA four-game series on Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8 at Triton Softball Field. On day one, the games are set for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The following day, the games will be played at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in summer 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. In competition, more than 1,300 UC San Diego student-athletes have earned All-America honors.
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