TURLOCK, Calif. - The UC San Diego softball team walked away from 2010 opening day with a 1-1 record, after close games with Central Washington and Chico State to start the Best of the West Invitational. The Tritons will continue action at the three-day tournament with a 1 p.m. contest Saturday against California Collegiate Athletic Association rival Cal St. Monterey Bay.
On Friday afternoon in a season-opening 2-0 win against CWU, sophomore Camille Gaito threw seven shutout innings in a dazzling pitching performance. She allowed just three hits and struck out six Wildcat hitters, one short of tying her career high. Last season, Gaito was named to the Daktronics Division II All-West Region Second Team after compiling a 12-5 record coupled with an earned run average of 1.86.
The Tritons were the beneficiaries of an unearned run in the first inning off CWU starting right-hander Lauren Hadenfeld. After UCSD leadoff hitter Sarah Woofter took first base after being hit by a pitch, Mandi Eliades reached on the throwing error that shifted Woofter over to third. Later in the inning, Woofter would end up scoring on a fielder's choice from senior Nicole Saari.
The offense of the Tritons tacked on another score during the second frame. The rally was initiated with a one-out single by junior Lyndsay Gaylord. After stealing second base and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt from fellow junior Katrin Gabriel, Gaylord scored on a wild pitch from Hadenfeld to give UCSD a 2-0 advantage.
Despite the Tritons managing only two hits aside from All-American Kris Lesovsky's 3-for-4 performance, Gaito squashed any hope of the Wildcats cutting the 2-0 lead. She retired the final eight CWU hitters, striking out three of those batters.
In the second game of the invitational, UCSD took on CCAA foe Chico State. After the Tritons swept the season series of five games in 2009, CSUC got back on the winning path Friday with a 3-2 victory in extra innings.
The UCSD offense once again did a superb job of manufacturing a run early. Woofter opened the game with a single down the leftfield line. After Eliades advanced Woofter to second with a sacrifice bunt, Lesovsky promptly knocked a single up the middle to score the runner in scoring position.
The Tritons struck for another run in the bottom of the sixth inning when freshman Katie Belanger, who started both games Friday in her first collegiate action, belted a home run to give UCSD a 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, UCSD's senior starter Christine Zankich picked up where Gaito left off in shutting down opposing offenses. Zankich threw six scoreless innings to start the game against Chico State. The Wildcats' attack awoke in the top of the seventh though as a one-out single from Christina Wieck started a streak of four consecutive runners reaching base. CSUC would plate two scores in that frame, enough to tie the game at 2-2.
UCSD freshman Nikki Spangler earned a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh but was left on base, pushing the game to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, the Wildcats took a 3-2 lead on a sacrifice fly from Reina Andreatta that scored Courtney Brock. The Tritons had a chance in their final at-bat with Belanger standing on third with one out but two UCSD hitters failed to bring her in.
