Long Beach — The Gauchos extended their win streak to a season-high six games after downing Weber State 4-1 in their first matchup of the Mayfair Invitational in Long Beach.
Jessica Soria led all players with three hits and represented the game winning run in the bottom of the 3rd inning.
With UCSB down 1-0, Soria started the inning with a leadoff infield single to the shortstop. With Arianna Palomares at the plate, Soria got into scoring position by stealing second. If that weren’t enough, she went on to steal third base to come within 60 feet of giving the Gauchos their first lead of the game.
After Kathryn Pilpil lined out to third, Keilani Jennings hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield and sent Soria across home plate for the 2-1 UCSB lead.
Weber State got on the board early in the top of the first inning thanks to the work of the Clarke sisters. Cydnee, a sophomore for the Wildcats, singled to right field and sent her sister, London, in for the first run of the day.
The Gauchos responded in the second inning with the help of their starting pitcher and catcher. Shelby Wisdom got on base to start the inning with a single hit to right field. By the time Samantha Stark made her way to the batter’s box, Wisdom was waiting at third base. Stark didn’t keep her waiting long as she grounded out to the shortstop, which was enough for Wisdom to cross home plate for the tying run.
In the fourth inning, Stark would get to base safely off a deep shot to centerfield for a double. Following her in the lineup, Jessica Reichner connected for an RBI single to give the Gauchos the 3-1 lead.
UCSB would go on to ice the victory with a Lauren Boser sacrifice fly that sent Pilpil in for the Gauchos’ fourth and final run.
As the designated home team in the game, Santa Barbara had to seal the victory in the bottom of the seventh. Andrianna Collins was in the circle for Gauchos and led them to a three up, three down inning, including two strikeouts. She delivered her second strikeout to London Clarke for the final out of the game.
UCSB outhit the Wildcats 11-2, while no Gaucho struck out the entire game. Weber State saw seven of their players called out on strikes.
The Gaucho softball team will continue their play in the Mayfair Invitational with a doubleheader as they take on South Alabama at 9am, followed by UNLV at 11:30am.
