SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The UC San Diego softball team split a pair of one-run nail-biters with Cal Poly on Friday afternoon in San Luis Obispo. Both contests resulted in scores of 3-2, as the Tritons took the opener in extra innings, but dropped game two. 

With the outcomes, UC San Diego moves to 15-19 overall and 11-12 in conference play, while the Mustangs shift to 13-21 overall and 7-16 in the Big West.
 
GAME 1: UC San Diego 3, Cal Poly 2 (8 Inn.)
In game one, the Tritons put up a single run in the fourth, sixth and eighth to best Cal Poly's two-run inning in frame number four. 
 
Freshman Deena Pederson singled up the middle to get things going in the top half of the fourth. Speedy on the base paths, Pederson stole second, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. With one out retired, Kinley Kyro popped up to center, but a costly Mustang error allowed Pederson to score easily, securing the Tritons' first advantage of the day.
 
Cal Poly came back right away in the bottom half of the inning. Three hits including a clutch two-RBI double put the home team out in front.
 
In the sixth, Isabel Lavrov doubled to left center to start the Triton rally. Next up, Pederson cashed in her second single of the game to score Lavrov from second.
 
Two innings later, fellow rookie Gabby Williams executed in a pressure-filled situation. First, Bobbi Aguirre led off with a base on balls. Kaleigh Lane pinch ran, stealing second and eventually found her way to third on a passed ball. Then, Williams laced a shot to left to score Lane, giving UC San Diego the advantage once again (3-2).
 
That would be all the Tritons needed. Senior Robyn Wampler held a Mustang stranded at second base in the final inning, tallying her eighth triumph of the season.
 
Sophomore Kaia Simpson started in the circle for the blue and gold. The Seattle, Wash. native threw 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs in 17 batters faced. She fanned two Mustangs and allowed six hits. In relief, Wampler struck out seven and scattered just two hits in 4.2 innings tossed. 

GAME 2: UC San Diego 2, Cal Poly 3
Cal Poly pieced together two hits in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead, but the Tritons retaliated with one of their own their next time up. Danica Kazakoff doubled to right center, followed by Keila Bosinger's single up the middle, which placed runners on the corners. Sophia Real flied out to right, deep enough to bring in Kazakoff standing up, tying the game at one run apiece. 
 
In the bottom of the third, Cal Poly scratched across two more runs on three hits. A bunt single and consecutive doubles gave starting pitching Wampler some trouble. She was replaced by Williams in the third, who retired the following two Mustangs to flee the inning, but with the Tritons now trailing 1-3. 
 
The next three innings were filled with zeros across the board for both teams.

Down to her team's last three outs, Sherriah Harrington launched a solo home run over the left field fence. The next three Tritons went down in order as the Mustangs forced a split on day one.  
TRITON TIDBITS

• Game one was UC San Diego's sixth extra-inning contest of the 2021 campaign, but just its second win in those extended games.
• The 3-2 (8) victory gave the Tritons their sixth straight Big West Conference win, which was broken up in game two. 
• In the front half of Friday's doubleheader, Robyn Wampler tossed a season-best seven strikeouts in just 4.2 innings. 
• Pederson led the Tritons in the box, going 3-for-5 (.600) between the two games with one RBI, one run scored and a walk.
• Harrington's bomb in game two was her fourth on the year and 16th of her career, remaining sixth all-time in the program record books.
• Both games accounted for the Tritons' eighth and ninth one-run battles this season. 
• UC San Diego's defense was flawless, committing zero errors in 14 straight innings.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego and Cal Poly will settle the 1-1 series on Saturday, May 15 at 11 a.m. The game will be played at Bob Janssen Field and live streamed on BigWest.TV. It will be the Tritons' final contest of the 2021 season.
 
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.