SANTA CLARA, Calif. – On day two of the Silicon Valley Classic I Tournament, Santa Clara softball showcased both its pitching and hitting in a sweep of UC Santa Barbara and Northern Colorado. The Broncos blanked UCSB 7-0 on a combined shutout by Hannah Edwards and Sage Hager and collected 13 hits in the 10-4 win over Northern Colorado.
GAME 1: Santa Clara 7 - UC Santa Barbara 0
Lauren LaHood blasted a grand slam home run and two Santa Clara pitchers combined for a shut in the 7-0 win over UC Santa Barbara to sweep both games against the Gauchos this weekend.
LaHood was a thorn in the side for UCSB (6-5) with two home runs and eight RBIs in the two games.
On Saturday, Santa Clara (5-8) batted around in the opening frame and scored five runs capped by LaHood's grand slam against Ava Bradford (1-1), the losing pitcher of record.
Hannah Edwards (1-2) started in the circle for SCU and allowed six hits over five innings, walked one and struck out two to pick up her first win of the season.
Sage Hager came in relief and tossed two scoreless innings to close out the game.
Ashley Trierweiler and Bailey McLaughlin each had two hits.
Chloe Stewart was the lone Gaucho with multiple hits.
B1 l It's a GRAND SLAM for Lauren Lahood!! Broncos score four to gain comfortable lead in the first inning.
— Santa Clara Softball (@SCUSoftball) February 25, 2023
UCSB 0
SCU 5 pic.twitter.com/S5fywXdCoR
GAME 2: Santa Clara 10 - Northern Colorado 4
Santa Clara (6-8) scored six runs in the fourth inning to break a 3-all tie as the offensive pounded out 13 hits in the 10-4 victory over Northern Colorado.
The two teams combined for 24 hits total but the Broncos had the timely hits with four Broncos – Emma Bickford, Sammy Needham, Lahood and Allyson Ferreira – collecting two RBIs each.
With the game knotted at 3-all, Santa Clara sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs on six hits, a walk and took advantage of a couple of Bears errors to blow the game open.
Ten of the Broncos hits came against Northern Colorado starter Isabelle DiNapoli who gave up eight runs, six earned over three innings to drop to 1-5 on the year.
Hager (2-3) pitched the final four frames for the Broncos to pick up the win. She allowed one run on five hits.
Twenty-two of the 24 hits between the two schools were for singles. Lauren Strathearn and Alyssa Wenzel combined to go 7-for-8 atop the Bears lineup.
Ashely Trierweiler and Needham each had three hits.
NEXT UP
The Broncos takes on Sacramento State on the final day of the Silicon Valley Classic I on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
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