SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara softball fell to UC Santa Barbara by a final of 3-1 and topped Brown 6-0 on Saturday. The Broncos are now 9-21 on the season.
Santa Clara returns to the field tomorrow, Sun., March 22 at 1:30 p.m. vs. Manhattan.
Game 1
Briana Rios (1-7) started for Santa Clara and picked up a loss in 6.1 innings. Rios allowed two runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Jordan Newell was 1-2 with an RBI to lead the offense. Breezy Bernard was 1-3 with a double while Ellie Fisher added a hit.
Alex Pingree (6-4) started for UC Santa Barbara and picked up a win in the complete game. Pingree allowed one unearned run on three hits with a walk and six strikeouts. MeShalon Moore was 2-3 with two doubles, a walk, two RBI, and a run scored to lead the offense. Arianna Palomares was 3-4 with a run scored while Samantha Stark was 2-4.
Moore led off the second with a sharp double down the left field line. Stark followed with a fist-shot into left to put runners on the corners. DeJenee Moore laid down a sac bunt to knock in the first run of the day.
M. Moore started the fourth with a walk and Stark followed with a single through the left side. D. Moore was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Gauchos with no one out. A fly out couldn't get a run home and Rios got a double play ball to escape the inning without a run coming across.
Bernard doubled off the left field wall with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Amanda Delfino came in to pinch run and moved up to third on an error. A ground out by Newell tied the game at 1-1.
Fisher led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield single to third. Casandra Padilla laid down a sac bunt to put the go ahead run in scoring position for the middle of the order. The next two batters went down with out bringing the run home.
A great diving catch in center by Fisher started the seventh but Rios followed it up with a wak and was lifted for Ciara Gonzales. Palomares singled to center and an error allowed both runners to advance. A two-out double by M. Moore broke the tie and gave the Gauchos a 3-1 lead.
Santa Clara went down in order in the seventh to end the game.
Game 2
Gonzales (8-9) started for Santa Clara and picked up a win in the complete game. Gonzales allowed four hits with two strikeouts. Jenna Krummen was 2-3 with a home run, a triple, two RBI, and two runs scored to lead the offense. Newell was 2-3 with a home run while Kimberly Goulart was 1-1 with two walks, a run scored, and an RBI.
Jessica Cherness (0-2) started for Brown and picked up a loss in 6.0 innings. Cherness allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Lauren Hanna was 1-1 with a hit by pitch to lead the offense.
With runners on first and second and one down, Fisher blooped a single into right to load the bases. Taylor Bojorquez hit a grounder to first but the throw home went wide to allow the Broncos to take a 1-0 lead. The second run of the inning came in on shallow fly to center that turned into a fielder's choice.
Newell started the bottom of the fourth with a sharp single to left. After a fielder's choice and a foul out, Krummen tripled to right center to make it a 3-0 game. Goulart followed with an RBI single to left to bring up the top of the Santa Clara order. Fisher hit an infield single to short and Goulart moved to third on the throw to first.
With two down and no one on in the home half of the fifth, Newell blasted a home run over the left field wall to give Santa Clara a five-run lead. Krummen followed suit in the bottom of the sixth and blasted one to left with one down to make it 6-0.
Gonzales allowed a single in the seventh but closed out the four-hitter.
