CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif.  – On Friday, the UC San Diego softball team started their competition at the 18th annual Mary Nutter Classic, facing their fourth top 20 matchup in 11 games. The Tritons fell to Tennessee by a score of 8-0 in five innings. The Tritons then battled back to top the Seattle U Redhawks, 8-6.
 
UC San Diego moves to 6-6 and has three more games in the Mary Nutter Classic.
 
NO. 17 TENNESSEE 8, UC SAN DIEGO 0 (5 INN.)
The Tritons faced a tough matchup in their first game at the Mary Nutter Classic against the No. 17 Volunteers. Shelby Thompson lifted the Triton defense when she stepped into the circle, allowing only one hit over two scoreless innings of relief. Tennessee scored four times in the first and four more in the third to guarantee victory.
 
The lone UC San Diego hit came in the bottom of the fourth inning, when senior first baseman Bobbi Aguirre had a two-out single to right field.
 
UC SAN DIEGO 8, SEATTLE U 6
The Tritons immediately jumped on the board in the top of the first with three runs. The Seattle defense was sitting on two outs with Sophia Real on third and Gabby Williams on first, as Isabel Lavrov laced a single up the middle to plate Real and advance Williams. Clarissa Reynoso came up to the plate in the same situation as Lavrov. She squared up on the first pitch for a two-out double to right field plating Williams and Lavrov for a 3-0 lead.
 
In the top of the fourth, Kelley Renner stepped into the batter's box facing two outs. She singled to third base and put on the wheels to steal second while Real was up to bat. On an 0-1 count, Real hit a two-out double to bring Renner home from second and extend UC San Diego's lead. The Redhawks responded in the bottom of the inning with three runs. Freshman pitcher, Jada Cecil, recorded her third and fourth strikeouts of the game to get the Tritons out of the inning without further damage.
 
As the Tritons went scoreless in the top of the sixth, the Redhawks put another three runs on the board to take the lead, 6-4.
 
When the Tritons returned to offense, Renner reached on a fielder's choice. Real then battled through a full count and seven pitches to walk. The Redhawks made a pitching change as senior Keila Bosinger stepped into the box with two runners on. However, the change didn't prevent Bosinger from sending a bomb down the left field line and out of the park. Deena Pederson drove Aguirre home with a single to right field as the Tritons sealed their victory 8-6.
 
Jada Cecil got the start in the circle, allowing three runs and striking out four over four innings. Kaia Simpson relieved Cecil and scattered three runs and six hits over the final three frames to pick up her third victory of the season.

QUOTABLE
Against the No. 17 Volunteers, the Tritons had a tough start, but head coach Patti Gerckens said, "Shelby Thompson came in and for two innings and shut them down, despite the outcome that is definitely a highlight for us."
 
UC San Diego seemed to be a different team in the afternoon, scoring immediately in the first inning. "Sophia Real is doing great things for us in the leadoff spot. She does her job and gets things going for us offensively," said Gerckens.
 
The Tritons knew that Seattle is a strong team and would make a move to comeback, "it was great to see that when Seattle took the lead, our resolve didn't change or die. In fact, we came back stronger," Gerckens commented. She is referring to Keila Bosinger's homerun (3 RBI) and pinch hitter Deena Pederson's RBI, all occurring in the sixth inning after Seattle took the lead in the fifth.
 
"We saw results from a lot of different places in the lineup today, including Clarissa Reynoso. She works hard behind the plate on defense, calling the game, protecting home, and working with our pitchers, so to be able to rely on her hitting as well is fantastic," Gerckens added about the senior catcher.
 
Kaia Simpson started the Tennessee game, but came in as the relief pitcher vs. Seattle, "Kaia is not afraid to start, she's not afraid to relieve. She grinds from the circle and has a mentality that not a lot of closers have, and she came in and shut them down for two innings," Gerckens said, "it was really fun to watch."
 
On the day's outcome, Gerckens was optimistic, "we ended on a high note that we need to take into Saturday and use what we learned today, grow, and be ready to compete again."

TRITON TIDBITS

• This is the first time the Tritons and Volunteers have faced one another.
• This was the fourth time Seattle U and UC San Diego have faced off, and the Tritons continue to be undefeated against the Redhawks.
• The Tritons had three hits today that happened on two-outs, two resulted in RBIs.
• Keila Bosinger has now hit three homeruns this season and 15 collegiate home runs.

UP NEXT
The Tritons continue action in the Mary Nutter Classic on Saturday, taking on California Baptist at 2:30 p.m. and Southern Utah at 5.
 
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.