LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego softball team split a two-game non-conference series over crosstown rival University of San Diego (USD) on Sunday afternoon at Triton Softball Field. Game one resulted in a 7-3 win for the Tritons, while game two finished 4-5 in favor of the Toreros. With the outcomes, UC San Diego moves to 2-5 (0-0 BWC), as USD shifts to 8-15 (0-0 WCC).
 
GAME 1: UC San Diego 7, San Diego 3
The Tritons scored first in the bottom of the second when freshman Deena Pederson turned on a pitch and drove it deep over the left field fence.
 
USD tied it up the following inning, but it was all Tritons for the remainder of the game. Taking advantage of a pair of errors from the visiting team and executing well situationally, the Tritons increased their lead by three in the fifth.
 
The same inning, junior Clarissa Reynoso tacked on an additional two runs for UC San Diego with a single to left that plated teammates Bobbi Aguirre and Sherriah Harrington.
 
Freshman Gabby Williams put the game out of reach in the sixth with a soaring solo opposite field home run.  
Senior Robyn Wampler was brilliant on the mound. The lefty threw 6.1 innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits. She collected five strikeouts in the 27 batters faced, as she moved to 2-2 overall on the season. 
 
The Toreros threatened in the top half of the seventh, capitalizing on a Triton defensive error, but sophomore Kaia Simpson was able to close the door shortly after.

GAME 2: UC San Diego 4, San Diego 5
USD took the first lead of the game this time around, but the Tritons punched back immediately. After a quick two outs in the first, Harrington extended the inning with a single back up the middle. Aguirre walked and senior Isabel Lavrov blooped a ball that dropped in fair, inches from the right field line to score Harrington.
 
The Toreros retaliated their next time up, piecing together multiple hits for an additional two runs. 
 
In the third inning, the top of the order for the Tritons came up clutch. Junior Keila Bosinger doubled to left to get things going and was later bunted over to scoring position by sophomore Sophia Real. Consecutive hits from the heart of the line up, Harrington and Aguirre, tied the game 3-3.
 
USD picked up one more run in the sixth and another in the seventh. In their last ups, the Tritons saw an opportunity when the leadoff batter Pederson reached on an error, followed by back-to-back singles from sophomore Mikaila Pancino and Bosinger. A bunt rotated runners to second and third but the Torero defense escaped the jam to even the bragging rights in the city of San Diego.
 
Simpson relieved freshman Shelby Thompson in the third and went the distance from there. In five innings, she surrendered two earned runs on seven hits and tallied a pair of strikeouts.

HIGHLIGHTS 


QUOTABLE
Watch the postgame interview with Coach Gerckens and Deena Pederson:



TRITON TIDBITS

• With the split, UC San Diego improves to 42-37 all-time against the Toreros.
• Wampler surpassed Melissa Ward (2005-08) in all-time Triton career wins after knocking down the Toreros in game one. She is now ranked second overall with 62, behind Camille Gaito's 98. 
• Pederson, Williams, and redshirt sophomore Kelley Renner, tallied their first collegiate hits during the doubleheader. Pederson's and Williams' were achieved by way of the long ball. 
• Bosinger (3-for-6, RBI) and Aguirre (2-for-4, RBI) led the Triton offense on Sunday, both batting .500 on the day.
• Freshmen Mariah Melendez and Thompson made their collegiate debuts at pinch runner and starting pitcher, respectively.
• UC San Diego was 6-18 at the plate with two outs and 6-19 with runners in scoring position. In 13 opportunities, the Tritons had their leadoff batter reach base seven times. 
• Last week, UC San Diego released the remainder of the softball schedule, including all eight Big West Conference series matchups.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will kick off Big West action next weekend when they welcome UC Santa Barbara in a four-game conference series. The Gauchos will travel south to La Jolla to play on Friday Mar. 26 and Saturday Mar. 27. Friday's games are slated for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturday's games will be played at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. All four contests will be broadcast on ESPN3.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
 
Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program.  Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene.  Athletes, coaches and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA and Big West Conference guidelines and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.