The UC Santa Barbara softball team opened the SB Spring Break Bash – its fourth and final home tournament of the season – with a 10-1, five-inning thrashing of Sacred Heart before falling to Princeton 3-1.
UCSB vs. SACRED HEART
In the first game of the day, the Gauchos (7-15) put up 10 runs on 13 hits to win their fourth straight game. It was the fifth straight game with double-digit hits for UCSB, something it hasn’t done since 2016.
The first three batters in the lineup – Maci Fines, Madelyn McNally and Ally Nodohara – all finished with three hits and three runs.
Nodohara and senior Rayna Cohen both had three RBI as well. That set a new season-high for Cohen, while Nodohara accomplished it for her team-leading third time.
Santa Barbara pounced on Sacred Heart (3-10) with three runs in each of the first two innings. The Gauchos’ first five batters all reached to begin the game.
Fines started things off with a triple to right and scored on McNally’s single to left on the next at bat. McNally then scored on a double to center by Nodohara, who made it 3-0 on a single by Cohen.
The Pioneers opened the second with a solo home run, but that would be their only scoring play of the game. The Gauchos responded with eight hits over the next two innings.
Fines scored on a Nodohara double. McNally scored on a single by catcher Teah Thies. Nodohara made it a 6-1 game on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Goldstein.
The Gauchos kept their foot on the pedal with their biggest inning in the fourth, scoring four more times. Fines got another multi-base hit, bringing Chloe Stewart home on a double to right. She then made it home herself as Nodohara hit another single. Cohen would knock a two-run double into center field to bring in McNally and Nodohara.
With a 10-1 lead heading into the fourth, UCSB’s defense would get it done from there. Pitcher Alyssa Molina (2-4) struck out five batters and gave up just three hits in four innings. Junior Lexy Mills kept SHU without another run in the final inning.
UCSB vs. PRINCETON
Against Princeton in game two, the Gauchos enjoyed a 7-4 hit advantage, but couldn’t put up the runs in a 3-1 defeat.
Neither team scored until the sixth, when the Tigers (3-8) capitalized on Gaucho errors to score three unearned runs.
UCSB finally got on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Cohen led off with a single to center field and was replaced by pinch runner Lauren Lewis. Theis and Goldstein followed with two more singles to load the bases.
Korie Thomas tallied an RBI on a groundout to bring in a run from Lewis. Unfortunately for the Gauchos, that was their only run of the game.
Camryn Snyder (5-7) pitched all seven innings, finishing one strikeout shy of a season-high with seven.
The Gauchos will play host to South Dakota State tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. before closing their final weekend of non-conference play with two more games on Sunday. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Michael Jorgenson writes about sports for UCSB.
email: sports@newspress.com
