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Box Score 2 LA JOLLA – The Chico State softball was hoping to use Friday's doubleheader split against No. 21 UC San Diego as a springboard for even more success in Saturday's series-ending twinbill. Things didn't go exactly according to plan for Head Coach Angel Shamblin's squad, as the host Tritons won the four-game set by sweeping the double dip, topping the Wildcats 4-0 in the opener, then scoring 10 unanswered runs to take the nightcap 10-4 at the Triton Softball Field in La Jolla.
Saturday's losses dropped Chico State to 3-6 on the season and 1-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). UC San Diego improved to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in CCAA play.
Sammi Ridgway had three hits on the day for the Wildcats, extending her current hitting streak to six games. Amanda Cordeiro and Courtney Brown also had three hits to lead the Chico State offense.
Alex Molina stepped into the pitcher's circle for Chico State and picked up where she left off Friday, retiring the first seven UC San Diego batters she faced in game one of Saturday's double dip. The righthander wiggled out of a second inning and jam and kept the Tritons off the board through the fifth inning. The 'Cats offense had a chance to score in the top of the fifth, putting runners at first and third with one out, but a double play grounder ended the inning and the threat.
UC San Diego finally broke the seal in the bottom of the sixth inning – McKenna Clewett delivered a two-out, two-run triple and came home on a three-bagger by Taylor Sepulveda, who scored minutes later on a wild pitch to give the Tritons a 4-0 lead. The Wildcats battled back – thanks to singles by Cordeiro and Brown and a Brynn Lesovsky hit-by-pitch – to get the potential tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh, but UC San Diego reliever Hannah Duarte came in to get the final two outs to lock down the Tritons' 4-0 win and save the game for starter Alexis Edwards (4-0). Molina took the loss to fall to 1-3 on the year.
Game two started off well for the Wildcats. Ridgway and Alli Cook scored following a single to left field by Desiree' Gonzalez in the top of the first inning, then in the second Ridgway and Kelli Keefe came home on a Cordeiro double to give Chico State a 4-0 lead. 'Cats' starting pitcher Cheyenne Sandoval made the lead stand up until the third, when UC San Diego exploded for six runs to go up 6-4. The Tritons added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings and two more in the sixth, and Chico State was unable to recover, as UC San Diego cruised to the 10-4 victory to complete the doubleheader sweep and take the series three games to one.
Chico State is home for the first time this season next weekend, hosting Cal State Stanislaus for a four-game set beginning with a Friday doubleheader at 12:00 p.m. A Saturday twinbill starting at noon will conclude the series.
