LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego softball closed the first week of the season with two more games on Saturday, losing 10-5 to Montana before beating Saint Louis 3-0.
 
The Tritons' Lauren Rozell and Bella Settembro were one strike away from a combined no-hitter against Saint Louis, which would have been the team's first no-hitter in Division I. But a two-out knock in the seventh inning forced the Tritons to settle for a one-hit shutout.
 
UC San Diego finished the opening weekend with a 4-1 record, the team's best start in Division I.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – MONTANA 10, UCSD 5
Montana capitalized on a five-run first inning to take the lead and never looked back, using a 14-hit game to power past the Tritons.
 
Elise Nishimura led the Tritons with a three-run home run. Marley Espiau contributed with two hits, including a double, while also driving in one run and scoring once.
 
Montana's bats were hot early, with six hits in the opening frame leading to the Grizzlies' five runs. The Tritons responded in the bottom of the inning with Espiau doubling to right field, driving in Haley Garcia, and then scoring on a wild pitch, to cut the lead to 5-2.
 
The visitors added a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings. The bottom of the fourth saw the Tritons' offense cut into the lead again with three runs, but that would be the final time UC San Diego would score. A walk and single set up Nishimura to deliver her three-run homer to deep left field, bringing home Gianna Ioja and Samantha Womack to tighten the score to 9-5.
 
In the final inning, the Grizzlies added one more run. The Tritons were unable to respond in their final frame, concluding the game with a 10-5 win for Montana.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – UCSD 3, SAINT LOUIS 0
The duo of Rozell and Settembro combined for the team's new season high of six strikeouts as defense led the way in the second game of the night. Zara Wasserman had two hits, including a two-run home run for the Tritons, with Espiau providing the other RBI. UC San Diego finished with six hits.
 
The Tritons started strong in the first inning with Garcia singling to center field. Wasserman then followed by hitting her homer to deep right field to give the hosts an early 2–0 lead.
 
In the fifth inning, Callie Christian entered as a pinch hitter and singled through the right side. Tyla Arbuckle followed with a bunt single, advancing Christian to second. Garcia then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position, followed by Espiau hitting a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Christian home and extending the lead to 3–0.
 
Settembro forced the first two batters in the seventh into a ground out and fly out. The count to the next Billiken was then worked full, with the next pitch lined over the third baseman's head and into left field for Saint Louis' only hit of the night. Settembro then induced a ground out for the final out, securing UC San Diego's 3-0 victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons have now allowed just one hit in a game only three times in six Division I seasons.
• Alyanna Gonzales (RHP) and Dylan Kunkle (C) were the starting battery against Montana, with both true freshmen making their collegiate debut in the process.
• 4-1 is UC San Diego's best-ever showing at its own La Jolla Invitational, which just wrapped up for the fifth time.
• Nishimura's homer was the first of the junior's career.
• Wasserman's homer was the fifth of the junior's career.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will be back in action next Thursday, Feb. 12, when they host Utah Tech at Triton Softball Field. The doubleheader begins at 3:00 p.m.
 
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 in NCAA Division I. The 24-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 39 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 NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.