LA JOLLA, Calif. – Wrapping the 2024 season and final year of the four-year transition to Division I, UC San Diego softball fell to Cal Poly after dropping the doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Triton Softball Field.
The Tritons finish the season at 16-35 overall and 9-17.
Tossing her first complete game of her career,
Claire Adams gave up six earned runs (nine total) on 10 hits and seven walks. At the plate,
Brooklyn Lee led the way going 2-for-3 with the lone run batted in.
Shelby Thompson tossed her fourth complete game of the season giving up three runs (five total) on 11 hits and two walks. Going 1-for-4,
Teagan Dobson knocked in two runs.
Deena Pederson went 2-for-3 with a walk and run batted in. Four different Tritons scored a run in the second contest.
CAL POLY 9, UC SAN DIEGO 1
Cal Poly pulled away in the first with four runs and slowly built on that lead in the second and third, 6-0. The Tritons were kept off the board by the Mustang pitching staff until the sixth inning.
Mariah Melendez got the inning started forcing a Cal Poly error to reach. Melendez advanced on a ground out and the second out was tallied. On a 3-0 count,
Brooklyn Lee powered a single through the right field giving Melendez time to score, 1-6.
The Mustangs responded in the seventh with three more runs for the final score of 9-1.
CAL POLY 5, UC SAN DIEGO 4
The Mustangs took the lead early again in the finale with a 2-0 lead after two full innings. In the bottom of the third, the gold and blue responded with a single run.
Morgan Eng got the inning started after earning the walk from a nine-pitch at-bat.
Deena Pederson put down the bunt to advance Eng and was able to reach with her speed. With Pederson on first and Eng on second,
Teagan Dobson powered a double to center field to bring in Eng, 2-1.
Adding four more runs in the fourth, the Tritons took the lead for the first in the series.
Alexa DeMarse sliced a single at the shortstop to become the lead runner. She advanced to third on a single out to left center from
Marissa Hassis who made it to second on the throw.
Lily Hermosillo then sent a single to right center to bring in DeMarse and put Hassis on third.
Reilly Erickson took first base for Hermosillo before Eng took the walk on four pitches to load the bases and advance her to second. On a five pitch at-bat, Pederson walked another run in and moved the runners up keeping the bases loaded, 3-2. On a ground out by Dobson, Erickson made it home to score pulling ahead to 4-2.
Cal Poly responded in the fifth to tie it up and then took the lead back in the top of the sixth on a single run, 5-4. The Tritons were able to get a runner on in the seventh but couldn't cash in for the tie.
TRITON TIDBITS
- The Tritons left 12 runners on between the final two games while stranding 19 of the Mustangs.
- Claire Adams tossed her first complete game of her collegiate career.
- Teagan Dobson finishes the season as the team's leader in walks earned at 22.
- Morgan Eng finishes the season with 34 runs scored and 32 bases stolen.
- Hailey Mulligan, Zoë Richards, and Deena Pederson all finished the season with two home runs.
- Cal Poly now leads the all-time versus series at 7-5.
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 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.
