It seems that each weekend fans are seeing new offensive weapons from the new-look UC Santa Barbara softball team.

UCSB (3-6 overall) finished the weekend’s Campbell/Cartier Classic with victories over Indiana (1-4) and Tulsa (3-6), while losing to Utah State (2-7), Fresno State (5-1), and host San Diego State (9-1). Senior third baseman Tisha Duran was seven-for-16 with five RBI in her second consecutive strong weekend, but freshman right fielder Mary Episcopo displayed her capability on offense as well.

“[Episcopo] was making contact from that left side,” Head Coach Brie Galicinao said. “She had the triple [against Tulsa] and she stole a couple of bases, so she did a pretty good job of working her at-bats and putting the ball in play to give her a good shot to get on base. It was really great to see different players stepping up.”

Friday’s action began with the Gauchos in a 4-0 hole against Utah State, but three runs came in the sixth, including a two-run single from Duran putting Santa Barbara right back into the game. Episcopo was two-for-three in the contest and stood on second base as the tying-run in the seventh after a lead-off single, but the top of the lineup could not bring her home and UCSB finished with a 4-3 loss.

Sophomore pitcher Lindsey Correa (2-2) propelled the Gauchos to a 5-0 triumph over Indiana on Saturday with a complete-game shutout. UCSB went up 2-0 after taking advantage of a Hoosier error in the first inning and getting an RBI single from Duran. Senior designated player Danielle Meyers stepped in to pinch hit in the fifth and doubled home two of her teammates to add to the Gaucho lead. Correa gave up two hits, walked three and struck out eight in the win.

“It was nice to see [Correa] come around,” Galicinao said. “She really bared down with runners on, as did our defense and those are performances and consistency we want to see.”

The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader was a decisive 8-0 loss to a Fresno State team that homered twice. Sophomore hurler MeLinda Matusmoto (0-4) notched her fourth defeat and UCSB was limited to just four hits for the afternoon against the Bulldogs.

On Sunday versus Tulsa, Santa Barbara got on the board early with an RBI single from Duran and the Gauchos managed to keep the lead en route to a 3-2 win. UCSB was able to break a 2-2 tie in the fourth after Episcopo stole her way to second and sophomore catcher Kelsey Anderson drove her home on a single. Junior pitcher Tami Weston (1-0) fanned seven to lead the way in her first start and her first complete game of the season.

“With Tami, we wanted to keep the task simple,” Galicinao said. “I told her just to throw hard and throw strikes and it worked for her. She definitely looked better on the mound and, like Lindsey, she kept her composure with runners on so that was a huge breakthrough for her.”

A 4-1 loss to San Diego State completed the weekend for the Gauchos despite a three-for-three performance from Duran. The Aztecs scored three runs off Correa in the first inning and never looked back.

UCSB has its first homestand this weekend with the four-game Softball by the Beach tournament.