“A lot of those freshmen got game experience and they filled some pretty key roles for us,” Head Coach Brie Galicinao said. “They had some big performances, and there’s a lot of room for them to get even better physically and mentally. We’re looking forward to them stepping up even more next year.”

The team now loses two of its most important players in seniors Jessica Soria (center field) and shortstop Keilani Jennings.

However, despite losing two key players, the Gauchos bring in six versatile new recruits to bolster an already solid roster.

One of the most notable signings for UCSB is two-time San Marcos’ Most Valuable Player Kristen Berlo. The gifted 6’1” athlete has not only signed on to play pitcher aside standouts sophomore Shelby Wisdom and freshman Alex Pingree, but she will also be playing for UCSB volleyball in the fall. In her junior year, she struck out 277 batters and maintained a .429 batting average.

“We’ll have five pitchers and she’ll also be playing volleyball here at UCSB too,” Galiciano said. “She can come in and make an impact right away.”

While the Gauchos were generally solid on defense this past season, they struggled to put up runs at times. Incoming outfielder and three-time Fountain Valley Offensive Player of the Year Emily Brucelas should be able to help with the offensive woes.

“It’s always a transition going from high school to travel to college, but she’ll be a hitter who can adjust playing at this level,” Galicinao said. “She’s pretty aggressive offensively and I think she’ll be pretty consistent at this level.”

Another player with good potential to help on the offensive side is Texas native Kristen Clark. With a good swing and great speed, she can also help fill in the outfield, an area that was once controlled by Soria’s speed.

“She’s somebody who’s fast from the right side, but she can hit for power and also play the short game,” Galicinao said. “She’s pretty softball-savvy and just an all-around athlete.”

Also adding to the depth of the outfield is Sunkist League MVP Stacy Cavazos. In her senior year, she hit at an incredible .544 clip and had 54 RBI.

“She’s the other fast one,” Galicinao said. “She’s a triple threat that hits from the left side and can also hit it over the fence. After she signed on, she asked what she should do. I said ‘Just stay fast,’ and she did.”

While most of the other recruits are versatile players who can play multiple positions, local native utility Rieanna Thomas is the only one who will have it in her job description. As a utility, she will be able to chip in by playing multiple positions on the field.

Rounding out the recruits is outfielder Jackie Hinojosa from Saint Francis High School. In her junior year, she had a .531 batting average and scored 22 runs.

Overall, the speed and versatility of the incoming freshmen should make an instant impact. If the new players can complement the experience of the current team, UCSB could see a return to the top next season.

A version of this article appeared on page 9 of May 23, 2013′s print edition of The Daily Nexus.

Photo by Kevin Yang of The Daily Nexus.

The Gauchos end the season with the third-best record in the Big West at 31-24 overall and 12-12 in conference play. The Highlanders finished out the season in last place with a 20-35 overall record and a 4-20 Big West mark.

“We did really well this weekend,” senior centerfielder Jessica Soria said. “Coming off a tough loss against Hawaii, we came back to play Riverside and even though they got [the last] game, we fought pretty hard and we took the series.”

Soria and senior shortstop Keilani Jennings came out in the first inning of their final games as Gauchos and provided their team with a memorable moment. Soria led off with a single to start things off and three batters later, Jennings hit a single to right field to bring Soria home and give UCSB a 1-0 lead.

“It was kind of perfect in [Keilani and Jessica’s] first at bats of their last games that they were able to put up the first run,” Head Coach Brie Galicinao said.

However, UCSB’s early momentum was ended in the second inning when junior outfielder Dionne Anderson tied the game off a sac fly by freshman third baseman Brittanie Akey.

The Highlanders kept the pressure on with four more runs, aided by two Gaucho errors in the fourth inning to go up 5-1.

UCSB stayed resilient and fought back. The Gauchos tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth, first by junior first baseman Lauren Boser off a single by freshman catcher Samantha Stark, and next by junior outfielder McKenzie Kane off a ground out by sophomore pitcher Shelby Wisdom.

Riverside eventually pulled away in the sixth inning, scoring four runs on six hits and killing the Gauchos’ chances for a comeback. UCSB didn’t have an answer in the final two innings, losing with a final score of 9-3.

“Riverside came out hitting and swinging well today and we just couldn’t match them offensively,” Galicinao said. “We didn’t have the same performances [as Friday], but offensively we could’ve come out a lot stronger today. We just couldn’t keep up.”

The previous game was a much more balanced effort for the Gauchos on both sides of the ball. The team came out firing with Wisdom and Soria scoring the first two runs of the game off a double by Jennings. Junior second baseman Kathryn Pilpil followed up with a double of her own to bring Jennings home and give UCSB an early 3-0 lead.

Freshman pitcher Alex Pingree was solid as she has been all year, giving up no runs and striking out four batters in five innings played.

Wisdom knocked a solo homer over center field, her eighth homer of the season, and finished the game pitching the last two innings as UCSB won 5-1.

“On Friday we strung hits together a little bit better,” Jennings said. “[Saturday] we just had a rough defense and didn’t get those clutch hits.”

The first game of the weekend was a struggle on the offensive side for both teams, but one run by freshman outfielder Arianna Palomares in the first inning was enough to seal a 1-0 UCSB win.

Wisdom was masterful in the circle, striking out nine batters and shutting out the Highlanders as she pitched a full seven innings.

“We started [the weekend] out really great, we were really excited,” Jennings said. “Overall we had a pretty good weekend.”

A version of this article appeared on page 6 of May 13th’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Mark Brocher of the Daily Nexus.

After a very up-and-down season, the Gauchos have compiled an overall 29-23 record, going 10-11 in conference play. Riverside finds itself with the worst record in the Big West at 19-33 overall and 3-18 in conference games.

“To get these wins against Riverside, we just need to play hard and with heart,” sophomore pitcher Shelby Wisdom said. “It’s our last series of the year and last with our two seniors.”

The “two seniors” Wisdom refers to are centerfielder Jessica Soria and shortstop Keilani Jennings, each of whom have had outstanding final seasons as Gauchos up to this point.

Just last weekend, Jennings hit two home runs in a game against No. 22 Hawaii, the second of which made her UCSB’s all-time leader in home runs with 31. Jennings has been outstanding all year on offense and defense, currently sitting at number one in the Big West in assists with 140 and first on her team with nine home runs.

Soria has played her role as the Gauchos’ leadoff batter even better than she did in her impressive junior campaign. She is second in the Big West in stolen bases with 22 and leads her team in hits (59), batting average (.328) and at bats (180).

“This year has been a roller coaster,” Wisdom said. “It’s been a tough, yet fun year, and the one thing I’ll miss most about it is the great seniors that we had.”

The Gauchos as a team have struggled to put up runs over the past couple months, but the offensive production has picked up considerably in the last two weeks, most notably when they scored nine runs against Hawaii and in an 8-0 win against Cal State Northridge in which six different players had an RBI.

“We played some of our best games in Hawaii, because as a team we were locked in and playing as one unit,” third baseman Jessica Reichner said. “We just need to stay loose and keep playing for each other.”

UCSB has continued to follow the lead of Wisdom on defense and offense as it has all year. Although her ERA has seen a steady drop to 3.22, her team-leading 39 RBI is still second in the conference.

“As a team we have been stringing in hits and hitting the ball hard,” Wisdom said. “If we continue to do that we’ll get wins [this weekend].”

UC Riverside enters this weekend with the worst record in the Big West. While their offense is not bad, currently in fourth place in the conference in on base percentage, the Highlanders own the conference’s worst ERA by far at 5.16.

However, UCSB will still have to be wary of UCR’s strongest offensive weapons in senior outfielders Kayla White and Ariel Shore. White is fourth in the Big West in home runs with 11, second in batting average at .371, and first in triples with four. Shore leads the conference with 25 stolen bases.

“Our team just needs to keep playing strong and fighting like we always do to come out with the wins this weekend,” Reichner said.

The Gauchos’ final games of the season are at Campus Diamond with games at noon and 2 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday.

A version of this article appeared on page 8 of May 9, 2013′s print edition of The Daily Nexus.

Photo by Peter Vandenbelt of The Daily Nexus.

The Gauchos are now 29-23 overall and drop to fifth in the Big West at 10-11. Hawaii, on the other hand, improved to 40-11 overall and 17-4 in conference with the series victory.

In the first game of the weekend, UCSB faced one of the top pitchers in the conference in senior Kaia Parnaby, who going into the weekend led the league in ERA at 1.30 and batters struck out with 301. Luckily for the Gauchos, sophomore pitcher Shelby Wisdom and the rest of the team’s defense were also on point.

After Wisdom held the Rainbow Wahine scoreless with just one hit through the first three innings, freshman designated player Arianna Palomares got her team on the board with a single to left field that brought junior first baseman Lauren Boser in from second base.

Then in the fourth inning, Hawaii finally got their breakthrough with a solo home run from sophomore first baseman Leisha Li’ili’i.

The score stayed at 1-1 as both teams played solid defense all the way into the ninth inning, when Boser stepped to the plate with two runners on base and delivered one of the biggest hits for the Gauchos all season, knocking a three-run homer over left center to give UCSB a 4-1 lead.

Wisdom, who totaled six strikeouts and allowed just five hits in the game, finished off Hawaii by retiring the next three batters she faced. The win was the Gauchos’ first against a top-25 ranked team this year.

The second game of the weekend was a completely different story as both teams’ offenses couldn’t be stopped. UCSB got off to a terrific start with senior shortstop Keilani Jennings hitting a two-run home run in the top of the first inning.

Freshman utility Jessica Tetzlaff followed with a single to bring junior second baseman Kathryn Pilpil home and increase the Gauchos’ lead to 3-0.

UCSB did not have control for long though, as Hawaii took a 4-3 lead with home runs by junior catcher Sharla Kliebenstein and senior centerfielder Kelly Majam in the second inning.

An RBI from Pilpil and a throwing error by Hawaii in the third gave UCSB the lead again at 6-4, but two more home runs by the Rainbow Wahine put them back on top 7-6 and ended Wisdom’s day at pitcher.

With Hawaii leading 10-6 in the sixth, Jennings made program history for Santa Barbara. With her second home run of the day, Jennings not only brought her team within one run, but she also picked up her 31st career home run, the most ever by a Gaucho.

Nevertheless, Hawaii kept the momentum as senior shortstop Jessica Iwata put the icing on the cake in the sixth inning with her team’s fifth home run of the day, sealing an 11-9 victory.

Jennings’ five RBIs tied her career-high for most in a single game.

In the final game of the weekend, Hawaii played more like the dominant team that they have been all year. In just five innings, the Rainbow Wahine hit four home runs to earn a quick 8-0 lead and end the game on the run rule.

UCSB’s will return home next weekend to play UC Riverside in its final three games of the season.

A version of this article appeared on page 6 of May 6th’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Peter Vandenbelt of the Daily Nexus.

The Gauchos come in at 28-21 overall and 9-9 in conference games. The Rainbow Wahine, on the other hand, have lived up to their preseason billing in their first year in the Big West by dominating the league, entering Friday’s games with a 15-3 conference record and 38-10 overall record.

“We’re hungry,” junior first baseman Lauren Boser said. “We want to go into Hawaii and show them that joining the Big West isn’t a walk in the park.”

Before last weekend, the Rainbow Wahine had gone 14-1 in the Big West with their only loss coming from Cal State Fullerton. However, the Gauchos play them at what may be their most vulnerable time of the season, as they are coming off consecutive blowout losses to Long Beach State.

“Hawaii’s sitting at the top and we’re gunning for them,” Boser said. “They have everything to lose and we plan on taking it from them.”

The Gauchos haven’t been playing their best ball either though, finding themselves in an up-and-down stretch over the last month and a half that has seen them go 9-13 in their last 22 games.

While Santa Barbara’s offense has struggled to put up runs in the past few months, the team has still been able to consistently rely on the leadership and two-way play of sophomore pitcher Shelby Wisdom.

Wisdom’s 39 RBIs are good for second in the Big West, and she has compiled 119 strikeouts, fifth most in the conference, despite sharing a lot of time in the circle with junior Andriana Collins and freshman Alex Pingree.

“Shelby has improved tremendously; she’s taken more of a leadership role and that’s been very helpful for everybody,” sophomore infielder Jenessa Jeppesen said. “She’s been a really good role model for everyone on the team just by setting an example by pushing herself and being the best she can be.”

Despite the fact that it doesn’t exactly have one standout player on offense, Hawaii utilizes an overall balanced attack. To put the team’s numbers in perspective, Hawaii has five players with 30 or more RBIs this season, compared to just one for UCSB.

The Rainbow Wahine’s offense has put up an average of 5.4 runs per game in 2013, but what truly carries them is the remarkable play of their pitcher, senior Kaia Parnaby.

With just six games left before NCAA Regionals, Parnaby has already struck out an incredible 301 batters this season. In second place behind her in the Big West is LBSU’s junior pitcher Erin Jones-Wesley with just 172 strikeouts.

Parnaby’s 1.30 ERA is by far the lowest in the conference, and her 34-4 starting record is one of the best in the entire nation.

Santa Barbara and Hawaii kick off the weekend on Friday at 9 p.m. and finish their season series on Saturday with games at 5 and 7 p.m. All games will be at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

A version of this article appeared on page 1 of May 2nd’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Peter Vandenbelt of the Daily Nexus.

Enter Shelby Wisdom, starting pitcher for the UCSB softball team. In only her sophomore season, Wisdom not only leads the Gauchos’ defense as the team’s top pitcher, but she is the team’s number one offensive force as well. With just six games remaining this season, Wisdom has compiled an astounding 39 RBIs, good enough to rank second in the Big West. She’s also first on her team with seven home runs and a .564 slugging percentage, second in batting average at .315 and hits with 47.

She manages all of this offensive production while pitching just under 50 percent of innings played this season. With 119 strikeouts, she has 77 more than the player with the second most on the team, junior Andriana Collins.

Dominating both sides of the ball is not something you see every day in college sports, but growing up with her competitive sister helped Wisdom to excel.

“Growing up, one thing that helped me a lot was always playing with my older sister — just from the competitiveness, and me having to work harder to try and be as good as the older players since I was like seven years old,” Wisdom said. “I’ve been doing hitting and pitching lessons my whole life.”

Without her sister, Wisdom may not have even made softball her sport of choice.

“If it wasn’t for her, I’d probably be doing baton twirling,” Wisdom said.

Because of overlapping schedules, Wisdom’s mother gave her and her sister an ultimatum.

“My sister chose softball and I chose baton, but we had to be the same so my sister overrode it,” Wisdom said.

Wisdom began making a name for herself in high school, playing on an ASA travel ball team that reached a No. 1 national ranking.

“We played together for seven years and Shelby’s always been a really great leader for the team,” sophomore infielder Jenessa Jeppesen said before singling out Wisdom’s pitching as her most important contribution to their travel team.

During her senior year of high school, Wisdom posted an incredible 0.81 ERA while batting at a .462 clip. She also took time off from her role as pitcher to play outfield and shortstop at times.

This caught the eye of two-time Big West Coach of the Year, UCSB Head Coach Brie Galicinao, who had been following Wisdom’s progress since her freshman year.

Despite not expecting to be getting starter’s playtime once she was recruited by UCSB, Wisdom was quickly given a chance to show what she could do. Again, she did not disappoint. As a freshman, she shattered the school record for strikeouts with 247, and even broke the record for single-season wins with 24.

She also showed that despite the transition to college, she could still make a big difference hitting the ball, as proven by her .271 batting average and 22 RBIs. Her efforts earned her the Big West Freshman of the Year award as she solidified herself as one of the team’s best players despite being one of its youngest.

“She’s obviously naturally talented and really athletic but she works her butt off,” Jeppesen said about Wisdom’s ability to play both sides of the ball. “She’s constantly doing extra work and pushing herself to be the best she can be, and that’s really been beneficial to the team.”

Wisdom’s impact as an all-around player is evident in her numbers, but it’s felt in more than one way on the field.

“She’s in the center of the field all the time and she sets the motion and the tempo for everyone else,” Jeppesen also said. “When she gets the big hits it inspires all of us to follow up after her and get more big hits and when she strikes everyone out it pumps us up for offense.”

This season, Wisdom has had less pitching time as she has been backed up by a more solid pitching rotation. On the other hand, her offensive stats have skyrocketed, and she has spent a lot of her time outside the circle playing outfield where she has a .947 fielding percentage.

“She always wants the ball, she practices hard, even when she’s in right field she’s usually one of the loudest players on the field, she’s just in every play and competing hard every single pitch,” Galicinao said. “Those are the kind of people that every coach wants and every team needs.”

Nevertheless, whatever position she plays or role she has, Wisdom’s number one priority is doing whatever she can to help her team reach their ultimate goal: Big West champs. With Wisdom playing the way she does on both sides of the ball, it wouldn’t be surprising to see her accomplish that goal during her time here at UCSB.

A version of this article appeared on page 5 of May 1st’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Mark Brocher of the Daily Nexus.

The Gauchos are now 28-21 this season and fourth in the Big West at 9-9. Northridge is in sixth place with a 7-11 conference record and 21-29 overall mark.

“We stayed consistent,” senior outfielder Jessica Soria said. “Even though we didn’t win [one] game, we stayed consistent with our demeanor throughout all three games.”

After splitting the first two, UCSB and Northridge played their most closely contested game in the weekend finale.

The Gauchos struck in the first inning off a Matador fielding error on a single by freshman outfielder Arianna Palomares. Soria scored to put UCSB up 1-0, followed by a Palomares run later in the inning.

Soria picked up an RBI in the second inning as junior first baseman Lauren Boser reached home to put the Gauchos up 3-0.

UCSB tacked on two more runs in the third inning to go up 5-0 before Northridge made a strong rally in the fifth.

The Gauchos subbed in junior pitcher Andriana Collins for freshman Alex Pingree to start the inning, and the Matadors quickly took advantage. They started the inning with a RBI by junior utility Leann Lopez followed by a two-run single by senior outfielder Korinne Randazzo to cut the Gauchos lead to 5-3.

After two outs, sophomore utility Crystal Maas tied the game with a two-run homer. Now tied 5-5 and with two outs in the fifth inning, Boser, already with a triple and a double in the game, knocked her third home run of the season over center field to give UCSB a slim 6-5 lead.

The Gauchos put sophomore Shelby Wisdom in at pitcher, as Wisdom gave up just one hit and came up with her second save of the season as UCSB held on to win.

In the second game, a Gaucho offense that was on fire for most of the weekend was shut down by a strong Matador defense. Northridge took the lead in the top of the first when sophomore first baseman Tanna Bindi flied out to left field, bringing home Randazzo.

Neither team scored again until the fifth when the Matadors added two more runs, one of which came off a triple by Bindi.

UCSB failed to put any runs on the board, resulting in a 3-0 final and Northridge’s only win of the weekend.

The weekend’s opener was a defensive exhibition the other way, as Wisdom shutout the Matadors through five innings as the Gauchos took their first run rule win since mid-March.

After UCSB took an early 1-0 lead off a single by senior shortstop Keilani Jennings, the team put together its best offensive inning of the season in the third. With the bases loaded, Wisdom doubled to right center, bringing three runners home. Singles by Palomares and Boser followed, bringing Wisdom and Jennings home.

Soria was walked with the bases again loaded, bringing the Gauchos lead to 7-0, and junior second baseman Kathryn Pilpil capped it off with another RBI.

Wisdom added to her team-leading RBI totals with three in the game, and Soria was a perfect 2-2 with one RBI.

UCSB travels to No. 20 Hawaii next weekend for three games against the Big West’s top team.

A version of this article appeared on page 5 of April 29, 2013′s print edition of The Daily Nexus.

Photo by Peter Vandenbelt of The Daily Nexus

And the team had the chance to make it happen with a tie ball game in the third inning, but the effort came up short for Santa Barbara as the team fell 8-3 to the Bruins.

The Gauchos are now 26-20 on the season and are still third best in the Big West with a 7-8 conference record. The Bruins improved to 31-15 with the win.

“I think [we feel] as though we had more to give [today],” junior infielder Jessica Reichner said. “We wish we had another opportunity to face them.”

Unfortunately for UCSB, the only chance they had to beat their UC rivals this season didn’t go their way, thanks largely in part to a 3-3, 4-RBI day from sophomore pitcher Ally Carda.

While the Gauchos scored three runs, the most they’ve scored in the last 12 games, they also gave up the most runs since the first weekend of April.

UCSB scored all its runs on a single swing by sophomore pitcher Shelby Wisdom in the third inning.

After the Bruins came out firing with a 3-0 lead through the first two innings, Wisdom stepped up to the plate for the second time in the game with senior centerfielder Jessica Soria on second and junior second baseman Kathryn Pilpil on first.

Wisdom blasted the ball over right field for her seventh home run of the season, now tied for first on the team with senior shortstop Keilani Jennings.

From that point on, the story of the game was Ally Carda. The sophomore came into the game the Bruins’ second-best slugger with 14 home runs this season, and she showed the Gauchos what they had only been able to see in the scouting report with a two-run homer to answer Wisdom’s and put UCLA up 5-3.

In the next inning, UCSB got its best chance all game to take control. Facing a fresh pitcher in junior Jessica Hall, the Gauchos found themselves with three runners on base and just one out. With Wisdom coming up to bat next and Jennings right after her, they were staring their season’s first grand slam right in the face.

However, both batters struck out swinging, leaving the Gauchos possible lead-changing runs out on the field.

In the bottom of the fifth, Carda added two more runs with a single to right center and Hall picked up an RBI of her own to bring the Bruins’ lead to 8-3.

“We just need to play hard and put all our effort out on the field,” Wisdom said. “No doubt we are playing hard; we just need to play harder than the other team.”

For UCSB, the problem wasn’t the hitting slump that they’ve been in recently as their team batting average has seen a steady drop throughout April.

The Gauchos came up with eight hits in the game, just two less than UCLA’s 10, but just couldn’t string them together at the right times.

Soria and sophomore infielder Jenessa Jeppesen led UCSB’s batting, going 3-4 and 2-3, respectively.

The Gauchos come back home this weekend for three games against Cal State Northridge. They play Saturday at noon and 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

A version of this article appeared on page 8 of April 25th’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Mark Brocher of the Daily Nexus.

Entering today in fourth place in the Big West, the Gauchos have lost three of their last four games, owning a 7-8 record in conference games and a 26-19 record overall.

UCLA comes into today’s game at 30-15 overall and is in sixth place in the Pac-12 with a 7-11 conference record.

The Bruins will be the Gauchos’ sixth matchup against a Top 25 team so far this season. With two more conference losses already than all of last year, UCSB will look for a confidence boost today against the rival Bruins. Nevertheless, Santa Barbara is just 0-6 against ranked teams and has been outscored by a total of 36-6.

“Anyone can beat anyone on any given day,” junior first baseman Lauren Boser said. “We’ve played a few ranked teams this season and played well against them.”

The Bruins are coming off two straight blowout wins over Arizona this past weekend, a team that outscored the Gauchos 21-2 in their two games just two weekends ago.

UCLA is powered by its offense, which averages just under 5.5 runs per game, compared to UCSB’s 3.5 runs-per-game average.

Leading the Bruins’ offensive charge is its first three batters in the lineup in sophomore infielder Stephany LaRosa, sophomore pitcher Ally Carda and senior outfielder B.B. Bates.

At leadoff hitter, LaRosa owns a batting average of .379, which would be good enough for first place if she were in the Big West. Her 40 RBI would also lead the Big West’s number one hitter by a significant margin.

Bates serves as UCLA’s number one slugger, coming in with an astounding 51 RBI in 45 games. Bates and Carda have also piled up 17 and 14 home runs, respectively.

UCLA’s pitching rotation allows just 2.4 runs per game, with Carda leading the way as the team’s number one pitcher. She has a record of 20-8 and has struck out almost 31 percent of the batters she has faced.

For UCSB, offense has been a struggle as of late, having scored just 11 runs in their last 10 games, and therefore will be a big key to the game for Santa Barbara.

Led by the pitching duo of sophomore Shelby Wisdom and freshman Alex Pingree, the Gauchos’ defense has kept the team alive, helping win low-scoring games when the team can’t string hits together. In the last 10 games, the Gauchos came away with five wins thanks to giving up just two runs in those games.

“The scoreboard may not reflect [it], but we’ve been putting in a lot of work,” Boser said. “We just need to get the big hits when we get the chance.”

Wisdom and senior shortstop Keilani Jennings continue to be options one and two for the Gauchos on offense, with Wisdom now leading the team with a .326 batting average and Jennings leading the team with seven home runs.

Wisdom is also fourth in the Big West with 33 RBI while Jennings is tied for 10th with 28 RBI.

The game will be played at 3:00 p.m. today at UCLA.

A version of this article appeared on page 14 of April 24th’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Mark Brocher of the Daily Nexus.

The Gauchos are now 7-8 in Big West play with a 26-19 overall record. LBSU is now second place in the Big West at 12-6 and 30-19 overall.

The final game of the weekend ended up as the Gauchos’ only win of the trip as their defense came through once again on the way to a 2-1 victory.

With the offense struggling to put up runs as it has for most of the last month, the Gauchos turned to sophomore Shelby Wisdom to pitch the final game after not throwing a pitch in the previous loss.

Wisdom put together an outstanding effort, giving up just four hits and one run against the second best offensive team in the Big West. She also pitched in on offense, going 2-3 in the game. She improved to a 14-12 record as starting pitcher this season.

After a scoreless first four innings, Santa Barbara got on the board off the second home run of the season by junior first baseman Lauren Boser.

Taking a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning, UCSB was able to add to their lead with an RBI from senior centerfielder Jessica Soria. Soria reached on a fielder’s choice to bring junior third baseman Jessica Reichner home and give her team a 2-0 lead.

Wisdom was able to silence the 49ers offense until the bottom of the seventh. LBSU finally got on the board when, with two outs, sophomore infielder Ashley Holmes knocked a single to right center to bring in junior utility Sarah Carrasco. Nevertheless, UCSB’s defense was able to stop Long Beach from there, earning the 2-1 victory.

UCSB’s second game Saturday saw the Gauchos fall behind early and UCSB was unable to catch up on the way to a 5-2 loss.

Down three runs in the sixth inning, sophomore infielder Jenessa Jeppesen trimmed the 49ers lead to just one with a two-run homer.

In the bottom of the sixth though, junior pitcher Andrianna Collins was unable to keep UCSB close and LBSU tacked on two more runs to go up 5-2. The Gauchos were held scoreless in the final inning.

The first meeting between the two was the most one-sided. A couple of three-run home runs, first by senior infielder Nalani St. Germain in the second inning and next by Carrasco in the sixth inning, buried the Gauchos on their way to a 6-0 loss.

Sophomore pitcher Amanda Hansen shut out UCSB, despite giving up nine hits on the day.

After scoring just four runs in three games this weekend, the Gauchos’ offense showed that they still haven’t gotten out of the offensive slump that has seen them score just 13 runs in their last 11 games.

Whatever the case, the Gauchos will need to be sharp offensively for their next game at No. 19 UCLA Wednesday.

A version of this article appeared on page 9 of April 22nd’s print edition of the Daily Nexus.

Photo by Mark Brocher of the Daily Nexus.