SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Broncos earned a hard fought split on the final day of the UC Santa Barbara South Coast Invitational on Sunday taking the first game 9-7 over Wagner before dropping the second game to host, UCSB, 9-6.  

GAME 1: Santa Clara 9 - Wagner 7
Santa Clara got offensive contributions from top to the bottom of the batting order as every player in the starting lineup had a base hit to power the Broncos past Wagner, 9-7.

In total, the Broncos (11-12) had 12 hits with six of them going for extra bases.  The five through nine hitters drove in all nine run with Morgan Salmon leading the way, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.  Sarah Ellersick and Regan Dias also had multi RBI games.

Cameron McGinnis' solo home run in the top of the second kick started the Broncos offense, who had been shutout in the last two games.

With SCU trailing 2-1, the Broncos put up three runs each in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 7-2 lead.

In the fourth, Dias tripled home two runs to give the Broncos the lead for good at 3-2.  Bailey McLaughlin followed with an RBI single to plate Dias.

The Broncos started the fifth with three doubles, the last one by Salmon to push the lead to 6-2.  Ellersick added an RBI single to give the Broncos a five run cushion at 7-2.

The Seahawks (3-11) made it a two-run game, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth on RBIs by Mackenzie Vogler and Scarlett Lloyd against Zoe Straughn who came in relief of starter Hannah Edwards.

Each team scored two runs in the seventh with Wagner bringing up the potential tying run to the plate against Kelsi Rice.  However, the Broncos hurler induced Kate Wolf into a 5-4-3 double play to close the game.

Rice pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to earn her first save of the season preserving Edwards' (4-5) victory.  Edwards went the first four innings, allowing two runs on five hits.

Lloyd had a big day at the plate going 3-for-4 with four RBIs but she was the losing pitcher on record giving up five runs and six hits over two innings to drop to 0-2 on the year. 

GAME 2: UC Santa Barbara 9 - Santa Clara 6
Madelyn McNally went 4-for-4 coming around to score each time and UC Santa Barbara scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to rally past Santa Clara 9-6 in the finale of the UCSB South Coast Invitational.

The Gauchos (6-14) racked up 14 hits as five players had multiple hits.  Rayna Cohen and Tyler Goldstein had three hits apiece.

Trailing 4-2, McNally led the fifth inning charge with a triple for the Gauchos (6-14), who sent 10 batters to the plate. By the time the smoke cleared in the inning, UCSB scored five runs including Korie Thomas' go-ahead RBI single, to take a 7-4 lead.

McNally was the offensive catalyst in all four innings where the Gauchos scored.  She homered in the first to put the Gauchos up 1-0 and hit a triple in the third inning before coming home to score the second run for UCSB.

In between those Gauchos runs, Sarah Ellersick had a bases clearing double to put three runs on the board for Santa Clara (11-13).  

The Broncos threatened in the final inning when they loaded the bases with no outs and trailing 9-5.  However, Alyssa Molina came in relief to only allow Ellersick's sacrifice fly to earn the save.

Camryn Snider (3-4) picked up the win after going the first 5 1/3 innings. 

Sage Hager (5-2) was saddled with the loss.  

NEXT UP

The Broncos return home to host the Silicon Valley Classic II from Friday to Sunday.     

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