RENO, Nev. – On the second day of the Nevada Classic, UC Santa Barbara (14-5) remained perfect at the tournament by defeating Seattle University 2-0 and then Nevada 9-5.
The Gauchos have won eight of their last ten games and they snapped Seattle’s seven game win streak.
UCSB was led by Andriana Collins (5-1) who was essentially unhittable throughout the first game. Collins held Seattle hitless through the first three innings and only allowed four total hits in the game. She finished with a complete game shutout while tallying four strikeouts.
In the midst of a scoreless tie heading into the bottom of the third inning, the Gauchos sent reigning Big West Player of the Week Kristen Clark to the plate. Clark continued her torrid streak and showed off her speed as she reached on an infield single and promptly stole second base for her 13th swipe of the year.
Arianna Palomares, who carries a .431 batting average, hit an RBI single to center to score Clark to give the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. MeShalon Moore continued the rally with a double down the left field line to bring in Palomares to take a 2-0 lead.
Collins was able to hold the Redhawks at bay for the rest of the game and the Gauchos would hold on to the 2-0 victory.
Offensively, Palomares and Moore led the way each going 2-for-3 on the day with an RBI. Clark and Kathryn Pilpil each had a hit for the Gauchos.
In game two, an epic 5-run comeback by the Gauchos ended in a 9-5 victory over Nevada (11-9), the second win of the day for the Gauchos. UCSB is 3-0 at the Nevada Classic and has beaten the Wolf Pack for the third time in three games this season.
The Gauchos scored 4 runs in the top of the fourth inning to bring their deficit down to 1. After a walk and an error, three singles by MeShalon Moore, Kathryn Pilpil, and Shelby Wisdom drove in 2 runs. Then, the Nevada first baseman made an error with two outs that allowed 2 more runs to come across.
UCSB took the lead and never let it go in the sixth, as a one out double by Shelby Wisdom pushed across two runs to make the score 6-5. Then, a two out 2 RBI single by Arianna Palomares gave the Gauchos a comfortable margin to work with.
Santa Barbara tacked on a 9th run in the seventh, as Wisdom collected her 4th RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly.
The Gauchos fell behind early, giving up all 5 runs in the first three innings. Wisdom struggled in the circle after a stellar performance yesterday, as a Wolf Pack rally in the bottom of the third knocked her out of the game.
Luckily for Santa Barbara, Alex Pingree was able to cool off the Nevada bats, pitching two and a third innings of shutout ball to give the Gauchos batters the opportunity to mount their comeback. Ashlee Ludlow and Andrianna Collins pitched scoreless innings as well.
The Gauchos finish play in the Nevada Classic with a rematch against Seattle at 9:00 am Pacific Standard Time.
