RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Santa Clara University's softball team rallied from an early deficit but eventually fell to weekend host UC Riverside 7-4 Sunday in the Broncos final game of the UCR Tournament.
The Broncos (5-24) picked up a win over Brown Saturday and finished the four-game weekend 1-4 - which included a pair of tough one-run losses Friday. After falling behind 3-1 to UC Riverside (14-15) Sunday, Santa Clara scored twice in the third, thanks to RBIs from Breezy Bernard and Jenna Krummen.
SCU's two-run third inning evened the game at 3-3 and after UCR scored in the fourth, Vanessa Renae Leija provided an RBI-single, which scored Briana Knight in the fifth to tie the game once again at 4-4.
In the end, it was UCR getting back-to-back singles to lead off the sixth, setting the table for a three-run inning, which pushed the homestanding Highlanders up 7-4. Briana Rios (2-6) gave up four hits in four innings of mid-relief and left the game after UCR's first single of the sixth to go down as the pitcher of record for SCU.
Next up for Santa Clara is a road meeting with No. 9 Stanford Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
2012 UCR TOURNAMENT
Friday-Sunday, March 23-25 – Amy S. Harrison Field (Riverside, Calif.)
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Friday
Colorado State 1, Brown 0 - FINAL
Brown 4, Santa Clara 3 - FINAL
Colorado State 3, Santa Clara 2 (10) - FINAL
Saturday
Santa Clara 6, Brown 4 - FINAL
Colorado State 10, UC Riverside 6 (6) - FINAL
UC Riverside 3, Brown 1- FINAL
Sunday
UC Riverside 7, Santa Clara 4 - FINAL
Colorado State 4, Brown 3 - FINAL
UC Riverside 3, Colorado State 1 - FINAL
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