Irvine, Calif.—The University of California San Diego softball team (RV) dropped an exhibition contest to the 2020 Women's National Team (WNT) on Sunday afternoon. The game was played at Bill Barber Park in DeAnna Manning Stadium. Overall, the Tritons held their own in front of 2,487 fans.
UC San Diego recorded four hits on the day. Junior
Isabel Lavrov was 1-for-1 at the plate with an RBI single. Senior
Mikaila Reyes went 1-for-3 and reached base twice including a double and a base on balls. In addition, freshman
Sophia Real and junior
Sherriah Harrington collected the other two base knocks.
Four UC San Diego batters were hit by a pitch: freshman
Justice Salcido, sophomore
Clarissa Reynoso, redshirt sophomore
Bobbi Aguirre and Lavrov.
In the circle, all four pitchers got a chance to face the best of the best. Junior
Robyn Wampler started and threw two innings. She was relieved by senior
Alanna Phillips in the third, fellow classmate
Dominique Acosta followed, and freshman
Kaia Simpson went the last two.
The Triton defense was the highlight as zero errors were committed in the field.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
In the top of the first, the blue and gold struck first. Real led off with a single through the right side and Aguirre wore a pitch from lefty hurler Keilani Ricketts, to get things going. With two outs and the bases loaded, a wild pitch allowed all runners to move 60 feet and the Tritons took an early 1-0 lead.
Team USA was quick to answer, grabbing two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. In the second, the Red, White and Blue extended the margin to five after four hits, one which cleared the bases.
The Tritons punched back in the third when Reyes doubled down the left field line and Lavrov singled through the right side to bring her teammate home safely on a close play at the plate.
The WNT went ahead 9-2 in the third and held a steady advantage for the remainder. After the damage, UC San Diego was able to hold a powerful Team USA offense to no more runs.
In the end, Team USA came out on top. The Tritons left a total of eight on base.
Keila Bosinger garnered the lone steal for her team.
QUOTED BY COACH
"It was such an honor to play against Team USA on their 'Stand Beside Her' Tour," said Head Coach
Patti Gerckens. "I felt like our team competed all game and maybe even surprised ourselves a little bit. It was great to score first and get on the board early. We wish them the best of luck in the 2020 Olympics and know that they will represent the U.S.A. proudly."
Up Next
UC San Diego will head to San Bernardino on Monday to play in a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) doubleheader. Games are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3 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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