UCSB picked up its 30th win of the softball season with a 6-4 victory over Hawai’i in what was a historic game for freshman left fielder Kristen Clark.
Coming into the game with 72 hits on the season, Clark would need four hits to pass current UCSB assistant coach Christine Ramos’s record of 75. Clark went 4-for-4 and her RBI single in the sixth inning gave her the record 76th hit with six games still remaining on the schedule.
Kristen Clark rewrote the UCSB record book with her 76th hit of the season.
After two extra inning slugfests totaling 34 runs and 55 hits to start the series, UCSB and Hawai’i compiled 21 more hits on Sunday afternoon.
Hawai’i looked to keep the hit parade alive with two more base hits in the first inning, but Shelby Wisdom was able to get out of the inning with no runs allowed.
MeShalon Moore got the Gauchos rolling in the bottom of the second with a single down the left field line. After Kathryn Pilpil was hit in the helmet, Lauren Boser hit a bloop single to left field. While Moore was racing around third on the hit, the Rainbow Wahine third baseman was called for interference giving the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. Emily Brucelas stepped up to the plate and hit a fly ball to center field, deep enough to score Pilpil from third.
Hawai’i would get on the board in the top of the third with solo home run deep to center field to make it a 2-1 game.
After a quiet fourth inning, Brucelas led off the fifth with a walk and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Stacy Cavazos. That brought up Clark, who singled for her second hit of the game and picked up an RBI as Brucelas would come around to score.
With a 3-1 lead heading into the sixth, Hawai’i would knot it up at 3 after a single, triple and sacrifice fly in the inning.
Looking to avoid extra innings for the third straight game, the Gauchos strung together five straight hits to take a 6-3 advantage. DeJanee Moore led off the inning with a sharp line drive single to center. Jessica Tetzlaff came in to pinch run but was thrown out at the plate on a superb relay from the outfield after a Lauren Boser double. With one out, Brucelas singled up the middle to score Boser from second and break the tie. Cavazos followed with a double to right center to bring home Brucelas and Clark’s record breaking hit was smoked into center field to score Cavazos.
Shelby Wisdom was shaky to start the seventh inning allowing two walks and a single, but got a clutch double play to get out of the jam and end the game. UCSB improves to 30-18.
Wisdom (18-13) earned the victory after allowing four runs and 10 hits. She struck out two and got out of tight situations stranding eight Rainbow Wahine on base.
