UCSB posted a pair of wins Saturday, the second day of its home-opening Softball by the Beach
Tournament. The Gauchos opened the day with a 3-0 shutout of St. John’s, then tallied their second win of the weekend over Portland State, 8-5.
With the two victories, UCSB now stands at 6-6 on the season and is a perfect 3-0 at home.
Senior third baseman Tisha Duran was impressive Saturday, going 5-for-6 at the plate with two homers, five RBIs, a double and three total runs. During the first game against St. John’s, Duran went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and her first home run of the day. In the circle, sophomore Lindsey Correa (3-2) threw a complete game shutout, allowing six hits while walking four and fanning seven batters.
After a scoreless first two innings, sophomore first baseman Jessica Ziegler singled up the middle with two outs, bringing home Nicole Churnock from second base for the first run of the game.
In the bottom of the same inning, singles from Lisa Geer and Chelsea Durning sandwiched a walk to load the bases for St. John’s with one out. Correa kept her composure and struck out the next two batters to end the inning unscathed.
Duran opened the fourth inning with a solo home run to center field to make the Gauchos lead 2-0. With one out in the sixth, freshman Mary Episcopo doubled to left field. During the next play, Duran posted her third hit, and second single of the game, driving home Episcopo put UCSB up, 3-0.
Two singles and a walk in the bottom of the sixth loaded the bases again for St. John’s with two outs, but a timely strikeout from Correa preserved the shutout. The next six batters went down in order as UCSB posted its second consecutive shutout.
In the second pairing of the day against Portland State, Duran again stood out, going 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and an additional run scored. Junior Tiffany Wright went 2-for-3 with her first home run of the season and junior Christine Ramos was 2-for-4 with two runs.
In the circle, MeLinda Matsumoto (1-4) picked up her first win of the year after allowing five runs — three earned — on 12 hits, with two walks and five strikeouts.
In the top of the first, Ramos led off with a single before advancing to second base on a wild pitch. A Ziegler single brought home Ramos for the first run of the game. Still with no outs, Episcopo walked before Duran hit her second homer of the day, over the left field fence, to bring home three more runs and stretch the Gauchos’ lead to 4-0.
In the bottom of the second, three Vikings singled, loading the bases, before a fielder’s choice from Kristin Wilson combined with an error by the Gauchos, allowed Jackie Heide across home plate for the first Portland State run.
In the third inning, Duran singled to right field with two outs and advanced to third following a Vikings fielding error. A Wright double to center field brought the runner home and again pushed the Gauchos’ lead to four runs.
In the bottom of the fourth, a single from Shannon Stacy brought home Mandy Hill for the second Vikings run. The Gauchos responded in the fifth inning as a sacrifice fly from Episcopo sent home Ramos, putting the Gauchos ahead, 6-2.
In the sixth, Wright led off with a solo homer and, two outs later, freshman Jessica Beristianos followed with a solo homer over the left field fence.
Portland State’s Campos led off with a double in the bottom of the inning before a Gauchos error brought her home for an unearned run two batters later. The Gauchos went down in order in the top of the seventh, before Portland State was given its last chance to overcome its 8-3 deficit.
Jenna Wilson led off with a single and Heide walked during the next at-bat to put two runners on. A double to right center from Jana Rae Slayton brought the two runners home before Slayton was picked off. Unfortunately for the Vikings, that was as much of a comeback as they could make in the inning, and UCSB prevailed, 8-5.
The Softball by the Beach Tournament will conclude Sunday — weather permitting. St. John’s and Portland State will play at 10 a.m. and the Gauchos will face St. John’s again at 12:30 p.m.
Lisa Skvarla is UCSB’s assistant media relations director.