SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara softball topped San Diego 5-3 Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game set.
The Broncos fell behind twice but were able to rally with clutch hits that had been absent the first two games of the series.
The big blow for Santa Clara (8-37, 3-6 WCC) came in the bottom of the fifth when Amanda Delfino hit a three-run home run to left-center that hit the top of the wall and bounced over.
"Today was a total team win," Santa Clara head coach Lisa Mize said. "We were able to come up with big hits multiple times. Amanda had a couple and Geenamarie [Bonilla] came up with one in the sixth to give us an insurance run. This is how we're capable of playing and it was a feel-good win for the team."
The blast by Delfino was set up by a throwing error that extended the inning for Santa Clara. Ellie Fisher hit a routine grounder to third but the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag to extend the inning.
Delfino finished the day 2-3 with two runs scored and a double to go with her three-run homer.
Kelsie Barnard added two hits, a run scored, and an RBI while Geenamarie Bonilla scored a run and knocked in an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
McCall James (4-17) went the distance and allowed three runs, one earned, on nine hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
"McCall was huge for us today," Mize said. "She stayed in the game and didn't allow San Diego to get the big hit. She limited her walks and made quality pitches all day."
San Diego (21-27, 7-5 WCC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead and retook the lead in the top of the fifth when Tatum Schultz hit a ball that tipped off the top of Delfino's glove and went into right for an RBI single. Mary Grabowski followed with an RBI double to right center.
Megan Sabbatini (14-16) got the loss in 4 2/3 innings. She allowed four runs, one earned, on seven hits with five strikeouts.
Santa Clara returns to action Friday at 6 p.m. at BYU.
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