LA JOLLA, Calif. – In the opening weekend of Big West play, UC San Diego softball went 3-0 as they swept Cal State Bakersfield in the finale on Friday, March 15 with a 4-2 come from behind victory at Triton Softball Field. This is the first conference series sweep since March 26, 2022. 

India Caldwell (7-5) pitched all seven innings, tossing four strikeouts and one walk, as well as giving up seven hits. The junior pitched 16.2 innings in the three-game series tallying two wins and a save. 

When the Tritons weren't pitching, the game rested at the top of the batting order with Morgan Eng, Lexi O'Gorman, and Deena Pederson involved in each score. Pederson led the way going 3-fo-3 at the plate with three runs batted in on a single, double, and home run to complete the comeback. Eng hit 1-for-4 and scored two runs. O'Gorman went 1-for-2 with an RBI single. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Roadrunners nearly struck in the opening inning, stringing together a double and two singles. However, a putout at third base following a steal attempt kept the score bare.  

The visitors made sure to capitalize in the very next inning, hitting three singles and earning a 2-0 scoreline. The first run, a groundout to send home a third-base bound Roadrunner, marked the first time in the series that CSU Bakersfield scored the initial run. 

After popping up two outs in the bottom of the third inning, Morgan Eng and Lexi O'Gorman got on base in time for Deena Pederson to power a line drive into the left centerfield green to make it 2-1.  

Eng and O'Gorman were in on the tying run that occurred in the fifth inning, with Eng bunting another single and stealing second before O'Gorman hit an RBI single into centerfield. 

The tie celebrations were immediately superseded on the next at bat when Pederson hit a deep left field ball over the fence to flip the score 4-2. 

TRITON TIDBITS 

• The Tritons have never started 3-0 in conference since joining the Big West in 2020; the last time UC San Diego started 3-0 in conference play was in 2017, when it participated in the Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association. 

• UC San Diego is now 15-25 all-time against CSU Bakersfield. 

• This game marks the seventh time India Caldwell has pitched a full game this season.  

• This is Deena Pederson's second home run of the season, and the first Triton home run of the conference season. 

UP NEXT 
UC San Diego jumps back into conference play on Sunday with a three-game series versus UC Santa Barbara. Game one is set for 12 p.m. in Santa Barbara and can be watched live on ESPN+ with live statistics on UCSDTritons.com. 

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 began a new era in 2020 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 earned 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.