LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego split a pair of games in the first La Jolla Invitational on Saturday, dropping its opener to Utah of the Pac-12, 3-1, before rebounding to top Saint Mary's, 4-3, on Saturday night at Triton Softball Field.
UC San Diego moves to 4-5 overall, while Saint Mary's is now 3-6, and Utah improves to 6-3. Earlier on Saturday, Sacramento State also fell to Utah, and the Gaels topped the Hornets in a 13-7 slugfest.
UTAH 3, UC SAN DIEGO 1
Utah jumped on the board in the top of the third inning with a run to take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, the Tritons tied it up when
Mariah Melendez was able to reach on a fielder's choice.
Morgan Eng, who was pinch running for
Clarissa Reynoso, plated the tying run for the Tritons.
Kaia Simpson forced 15 ground outs over five and two-thirds innings in the circle for UC San Diego, scattering three runs on five hits. Offensively, the Tritons had four singles.
UC SAN DIEGO 4, SAINT MARY'S 3
Playing as the designated home team, the Gaels scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
In the bottom of the second with her team down three, UC San Diego freshman pitcher
Jada Cecil inherited a runner on base with no outs. Saint Mary's advanced to second with a sac bunt and Cecil proceeded to strike out the next two batters.
UC San Diego began to claw its way back in the top of the third, thanks to a two-run single by Isabel Lavorv which plated
Sophia Real and
Bobbi Aguirre. The Tritons knotted the score in the top of the seventh. Aguirre brought Real home with a single up the middle, tying the game at 3-3.
With runners on first and second, Lavrov singled down the right field line, plating
Morgan Eng with the go-ahead run.
Kelia Bosinger led the Tritons in putouts this game with six. A critical out came in the fourth, when the Gaels had two in scoring position, but Bosinger stranded them with a sliding catch into the fence.
She recorded another two outs in the fifth and another in the sixth inning. Bosinger's fielding combined with Cecil's nine strikeouts, allowed the Tritons to come from behind and steal the win from Saint Mary's.
QUOTABLE
"Kaia is showing great leadership in the cirlce," said UC San Diego head coach
Patti Gerckens. "When she comes in she looks confident and she throws confident, and we play better behind her."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Playing for Utah, Leilani Melendez is UC San Diego's Mariah Melendez's cousin.
- Keila Bosinger has 18 putouts on the season with six coming from tonight's game against Saint Mary's College.
- Isabel Lavrov drove in three runs in the nightcap.
- The La Jolla Invitational is an inaugural event for UC San Diego and the first Division I invitational hosted by the Tritons.
UP NEXT
The
La Jolla Invitational concludes on Sunday morning at Triton Softball Field. UC San Diego will host Sacramento State at 10 am on ESPN+. That game will be followed by Utah vs. Saint Mary's.
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 38 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
