LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego (7-24, 5-9 Big West) could not find their footing on Friday evening as it dropped its first two matchups of its three-game series against UC Santa Barbara (22-16, 11-3 Big West)
at Triton Softball Field.
India Caldwell pitched a full game to open the series, striking out a season-high 10 strikeouts while walking two and allowing six hits. Jaden Hill went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles; Zara Wasserman and Alexis Jimenez each contributed a single in the loss.
Callie Christian began in the circle for game two, pitching a three-inning campaign of three walks, two hits and an error. Claire Adams took over in the fourth inning, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks.
Ryanna Alano led with the bats, hitting
two singles, good for both of the team's RBIs. Jaden Hill also starred, hitting the game's only double in the first inning.
UC SANTA BARBARA 1, UC SAN DIEGO 0
Caldwell tossed two strikeouts to open the contest and collected another K in the next to keep the Gauchos scoreless early on; both teams worked themselves out of loaded base jams in the second inning thanks to a solid infield.
The Gauchos strung together a double and single for the opening score in the fourth inning; Caldwell got out of the jam with another strikeout and retired two more batters in the fifth to keep it at a close 1-0 throughout the final innings.
UC SANTA BARBARA 7, UC SAN DIEGO 2
The hosts struck first in game two, recording a run in the second inning off two hit-by-pitches, a Jimenez single and an RBI sacrifice fly from
Ryanna Alano. The Gauchos hit their stride immediately after, however, as they went up 4-1 off a single, throwing error that scored two and a groundout.
A Triton pitching change in the fourth inning could not slow down the visitors as they knocked a leadoff home run to go up 5-1. Adams dialed in by the end of the inning, however, striking out two Gauchos to keep the scoreline. Alano responded with a shallow right field RBI single to draw a 5-2 scoreline going into the fifth inning.
UC Santa Barbara cracked another over the fence in the final inning to widen the gap to 7-2. Hayley Garcia proceeded to lock in at center field, robbing a would-be third Gaucho home run and executing a diving catch to keep the score stagnant.
TRITON TIDBITS
- UC San Diego is now 9-18 against UC Santa Barbara; its last victory over the Gauchos was a 3-2 result on March 24, 2024.
- India Caldwell's 10 strikeouts in game one is a season high for the senior pitcher; it also ties her Triton career high (March 14, 2024 v. Cal State Bakersfield).
- Ryanna Alano collected her first RBI of her Triton career in game two; she is the only Triton to have contributed multiple RBIs on Friday.
- Friday's results marks just the second time this season the Tritons have started a series 0-2 (March 7 v. Cal State Fullerton).
- Ryanna Alano and Tehya Banks attended and played for Ayala High School (Chino Hills, CA).
UP NEXT
UC San Diego finishes its three-game series against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and KSDT Radio, with live statistics available via 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 84 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.
