CARSON - With the game even in the bottom of the ninth inning of game one, junior
Raquel Jaime launched a bomb over the center field wall to give Cal State Dominguez Hills the walk-off 5-4 win over No. 6 UC San Diego in the first game of a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) softball doubleheader, Friday at Toro Diamond. CSUDH won game two, 6-1.
With the wins, the Toros improve to 9-3 overall and start conference play at 2-0. UCSD drops to 9-4 overall and 2-4 in the CCAA.
GAME ONE - CSUDH 5, UCSD 4 (9 innings)
CSUDH got the 5-4 win in game one thanks to a walk-off home run from Jaime in the bottom of the ninth inning. Junior pitcher
Alyssa Olague (7-2) got the win as she threw the final four innings of the contest, giving up one run and striking out three. Sophomore
Ashley Wies tossed the first five innings, giving up three runs and also striking out three.
UCSD got on the scoreboard first with a home run in the second inning. The Toros responded with two runs each in the third and fourth frames. In the third, junior
Kelcy Telles singled, advanced to second on junior
Jessica Lane's sacrifice bunt and came in after three Triton errors occurred on Jaime's at bat. Senior
Chenoa Au gave CSUDH the lead with an RBI single to plate Jaime.
In the fourth, junior
Chloe Wenger was hit by pitch and pinch ran for by freshman
Arlene Martinez. Martinez took second on freshman
Dafne Bravo's at bat and took third on a hit from Telles. Lane brought in Martinez with a hit and Jaime plated Telles for a 4-1 lead. The Tritons evened the score with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.
CSUDH was able to get out of a bases-loaded one-out jam in the eighth as Olague was able to induce two flyouts, including a diving catch from senior
Jade Loe.
Jaime ended the game in the ninth with her first home run of the season.
GAME TWO - CSUDH 6, UCSD 1
The Toro pitching staff limited UCSD to just one run in a 6-1 win. Freshman
Clarisa Ramirez got the start and threw the first two innings with no runs. Wies (1-1), who earned the win, came in for the next two frames, giving up one run. Finally, Olague picked up her second save of the season by tossing the final three innings with no runs scored.
UCSD struck first with a run in the third, but the Toros responded with two run of their own in the bottom of the frame to take the lead. Senior
Kendelle Messersmith hit a single and was pinch ran for by Martinez. Martinez took second as Telles was hit by pitch. Jaime brought Martinez in on a single and Loe plated Telles, also with a single.
In the fourth, freshman
Maddy Ybarra was hit by a pitch and scored on a RBI hit from Telles. CSUDH added three insurance runs in the sixth, including a two-run double from Jaime.
The Toros will close the four-game series with UC San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 15 starting at 12 p.m.
