PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – UC San Diego softball fell to No. 16 Utah in the finale of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Sunday morning in a 5-0 decision.
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Getting the start in the circle,
Shelby Thompson gave up three runs on four hits with a strikeout.
India Caldwell came in as relief for Thompson, allowing one run on four hits with three walks and a strikeout. The righty transfer forced 10 fly outs and one groundout in four innings of work.
Gabby Williams finished the game in the circle for the Tritons giving up a run on two hits.
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The Tritons left seven runs stranded over six innings. Six Tritons knocked a single with
Lexi O'Gorman continuing her streak with a hit in the past six games.
Alexa DeMarse earned the most bases today going 1-for-2 and a walk.
Kayleigh Coberly got her first start behind the dish and in her first at-bat of the season she knocked a single out to left field.
UC San Diego is now 1-7 after going 0-3 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Utes struck in the bottom of the first and the lead never changed from that point on, knocking in a single run in the first, fourth, and sixth with two runs scored in the second.
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Threatening in the second, third, fifth, and sixth, the Tritons left seven runners stranded with two runs left 60 feet from home on third. UC San Diego forced multiple two out rallies against the top 25 Utes, but could not convert.
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In the sixth, the gold and blue started another late rally when
Brooklyn Lee won a full count battle to single out to right field. After a pitching change and an out,
Reilly Erickson – running for Lee – advanced to second on a wild pitch. Another Triton fell to the Utes' pitching staff before Zoë Richards sent her own knock to right field to advance Erickson to third. Erickson and Richards were left stranded as the final out was tallied.
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While the Triton defense recorded two errors over the game,
Hailey Mulligan and
Alexa DeMarse hustled on defense with two diving catches, a high snag robbing a single, and a throw from the right field to get an out at home. DeMarse started the game at first making a diving out on a foul ball and then moved out to right field where she sent a long ball straight to Coberly at the plate to get the out. Mulligan held her own at shortstop robbing a single on a high stretch catch and then made a diving out in front of second base.
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TRITON TIDBITS
- Utah now leads the series 4-0 over UC San Diego. The last meeting was in 2023 at the La Jolla Invitational.
- Lexi O'Gorman continues her six-game hitting streak. She's seventh in the conference batting a .458 average.
- Kayleigh Coberly recorded her first hit of the season in her first at-bat of the year.
- So far this season, Alexa DeMarse has played first base, catcher, and right field.
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UP NEXT
The Tritons return to La Jolla on Friday, Feb. 23 for a doubleheader to start a three-game series vs. Dayton. The doubleheader is set to begin at 1 p.m. with the second game following immediately at Triton Softball Field. Admission is free and live stats are available on ucsdtritons.com.
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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 inÂ
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.comÂ
or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
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