The final home series for the UCSB softball team did not go according to plan for the Gauchos. Pacific came into Santa Barbara and dominated, shutting out the home team in three consecutive games to sweep the season series.
The Gaucho bats faltered against Pacific over the weekend, as the Tigers held the Gauchos scoreless over three straight games.
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On Saturday, Pacific (23-28 overall, 9-9 Big West) limited UCSB (13-36 overall, 4-14 Big West) to just two hits in each game in the doubleheader, winning both games by a count of 7-0.
In the first game Saturday, sophomore pitcher Krista Cobb was far from invincible — a stark contrast from the previous week against Long Beach State when she earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors. Cobb (6-12) took the loss in the first game on Saturday after allowing five runs on 10 hits in her five innings of work.
Senior infielder Jessica Ziegler and sophomore outfielder Brooke Putich accounted for the Gauchos’ two hits in the game. With the base hit, Ziegler — who was named to the 2010 ESPN
The Magazine Academic All-District 8 Second Team last week — now has 158 on her career, good for ninth place all-time in the UCSB record books. The first baseman is first on the team and second in the Big West with 53 hits and 19 stolen bases. Ziegler also ranks sixth in the conference with a .329 batting average and has 14 multi-hit games, a team high.
“We need to get more runners on base and ultimately into scoring position to help generate more runs,” Adishian said.
The second game on Saturday began more smoothly for Santa Barbara, but ultimately concluded in much the same way as the first. Senior pitcher Lindsey Correa (3-12) pitched three scoreless innings to begin the game, but struggled in the fourth inning, when Pacific ran off five runs to take the lead. From there, the Gauchos struggled to find a rhythm offensively, once again only mustering up two hits — both recorded by senior outfielder Priscilla Perez, who went 2-for-3 at the plate — in the 7-0 loss.
Unfortunately for UCSB, Sunday’s series finale game with Pacific held similar fortunes for the Gauchos. The Tigers shut out Santa Barbara for the third straight time en route to a 4-0 victory. On senior day, senior MeLinda Matsumoto got the start for the Gauchos in her final home game. Matsumoto (4-12) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings of work.
“We played hard and came out strong and swinging,” Matsumoto said. “It was nice for our seniors and it was a much better performance than on Saturday.”
UCSB will conclude its 2010 campaign on the road at UC Davis next weekend. The Gauchos will face the Big West-leading Aggies in a double-header at noon on Friday and end the season with the series closer at noon on Saturday.
“Right now, we are playing for pride,” Adishian said.
Matsumoto echoed her teammate’s sentiment.
“Davis better be ready because we are not a team that can just be walked over,” Matsumoto said. “Our goal is to head in there, play hard, and try to end our season on a high note and maybe mess up [Davis’] record a little.”
