SANTA CLARA, Calif. – On the final day of the Fresno State Bulldogs Invitational, Santa Clara softball fell to UC Davis by a final of 6-5 in eight innings. The Broncos are now 2-9 on the season.
Santa Clara returns to the field Fri., Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Seattle in the Bronco Classic.
Ciara Gonzales started for Santa Clara and picked up a no-decision in 7.0 innings. Gonzales allowed five runs on 12 hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Briana Rios (0-3) got the loss in 0.1 innings out of the bullpen. Casandra Padilla was 2-5 with a home run and two RBI to lead the offense. Ellie Fisher was 2-4 with a run scored while Breezy Bernard was 2-4 with a double.
Leah Munden started for Davis and picked up a no-decision in 3.0 innings. Munden allowed two runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Andrew Reynolds (2-1) got the win in 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. Lauryn Saunders was 2-3 with two RBI to lead the offense. Brianna Warner was 3-4 with a stolen base, a run scored, and an RBI while Krista Bava was 2-4 with an RBI.
Christina Guidry led off the bottom of the second with a single and stole second. An infield single put runners on the corners with no outs. After a caught stealing, Saunders hit a sacrifice fly to center to give the Aggies the 1-0 lead.
Santa Clara jumped ahead in the top of the third. Fisher singled on a bunt with one out. She moved into scoring position on a passed ball but the batter ended up striking out for the second out. Padilla came through with a two-run home run to make it 2-1.
The Aggies answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Warner singled up the middle and stole second. A one-out infield single put runners on the corners and Amy Nunez singled to left to bring in the run.
The Broncos used some UC Davis mistakes in the top of the fourth to get back on top. With two down Ashley Haney drew a walk and Jenna Krummen followed by reaching on an error. Another error allowed Haney to come around to score to make it 3-2.
Bernard led off the top of the seventh by reaching on an error by the second baseman. Gianetta France followed with a single through the right side but the next two batters hit into fielder's choices. Geenamarie Bonilla came up with a single through the middle to knock in two runs and make the score 5-2.
Alexis Carney drew a walk leading off the bottom of the seventh and after a fly out, Ashley Lotoszynski doubled to center to put runners on second and third. Guidry followed with a walk to load the bases and bring the winning run to the plate. Bava singled back to the pitcher to bring in a run and keep the bases loaded. Another run came in on a groundout to short and Megan Salazar came in to pinch hit with the winning run in scoring position. Gonzales jumped ahead in the count 1-2 before Salazar worked it full and ultimately drew a walk. Warner tied the game with an infield single. Gonzales ended the inning with a grounder to short.
Jenna Krummen was placed on second to start extra innings and moved to third on a passed ball. The next three Broncos went down without being able to bring in the go ahead run.
Rios came in to pitch and Alicia Paine started the inning on second and moved to third with one down on a ground out. An error by the second baseman allowed the winning run to come across for the Aggies.