Maddy Fangio / Daily Nexus
Kicking off the UC Santa Barbara Tournament on Feb. 27, UCSB women’s softball went head-to-head with the St. Mary’s Gaels at Campus Diamond. In the first of two games, the Gauchos fell to the Gaels 5-0. However, the Gauchos showed their resilience and came back to win 8-7 in the second game.
Five singles – four of which were consecutive – and aggressive baserunning helped the Gaels jump out to a four-run lead in the second inning.
The Gauchos’ offense struggled for most of the game, as the sole hit through four innings was a single in the first inning by senior left fielder Alexa Sams. They collected two more singles the rest of the game: one from senior center fielder Erin Mendoza and another from sophomore pinch hitter Kaylin Garcia. As a team, they only had two chances with a runner in scoring position.
Shortly after, the Gauchos and Gaels began their second afternoon showdown.
The game began as the first Gael batter, Sam Buckley, sent a ball beyond the left-field fence. Again, the Gaels used the same combination of singles and baserunning to push their second run across. Yet, unlike the first game, the Gauchos fought back immediately. The Gauchos tied the game in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs with help from the Gaels’ defensive miscues and singles by sophomore pitcher Ainsley Waddell and junior third baseman Bella Fuentes.
After the Gaels scored three times in the top of the sixth inning to possess a 7-2 lead, the Gauchos responded once again. Sams led off with a single and Fuentes followed with a double, creating a situation with runners at second and third.
Sophomore first baseman Emily Carr wasted no time, hitting a fly ball to center on the first pitch of the at-bat, scoring Sams from third. A double from freshman right fielder Giselle Meija brought home another run. Then, a hit batsman and a single by junior second baseman Jazzy Santos set up another opportunity to score with runners at second and third, with only one out.
Garcia hit a line drive that was caught in right field, which reeled in the third run of the inning to make the score 7-5.
Senior pitcher Grace Luderer held the line in the seventh inning, keeping the deficit at two runs and the possibility of a comeback in reach.
Waddell was able to reach second base, but the two subsequent hitters did not bring her around to score. However, there was still one out yet to be made.
Carr battled to a 2-2 count before lofting a double into the right-center field gap, swapping places with the runner on second. A few pitches later, Meija snuck a ball down the left-field line, tying the game at 7. Mendoza legged out an infield single, pushing the winning run to third base. Then, Santos delivered – driving a ball into the left-center field gap, just beyond the left fielder’s reach, igniting a frenzy among Gaucho supporters as the winning run crossed the plate.
After the weekend, the Gauchos’ record stands at 11-11 for the season. Looking ahead, the Gauchos will continue the homestand with three games against Big West opponent UC Riverside from March 8-9.
A version of this article was printed in the 6th March edition of the Daily Nexus.
