MORAGA, Calif. – On Feb. 17, in a Friday morning doubleheader at Saint Mary's College, UC San Diego fell to San Jose State in their opening game of the weekend, 8-2. In the second game of the day, the Tritons bounced back to take the win over Utah State in a shutout 1-0 result.
The Tritons move to 4-3 and will face both opponents again this weekend.
In game one,
Shelby Thompson got the start for the Tritons, allowing one run on six hits with a strikeout. Thompson forced three fly outs and six ground outs. Coming on as relief,
Gabby Williams allowed one earned run on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout. She forced six ground outs and two fly outs. At the plate,
Marissa Hassis went two-for-two, was walked once, and scored a run. With five errors committed by the Tritons, eight runs were able to score.
Shutting out the Utah State Aggies,
Jada Cecil fanned 12 batters over seven innings of work. The sophomore right-hander allowed four hits with one walk. She forced seven fly outs and two ground outs. At the plate,
Marissa Hassis went 2-for-3 along with
Deena Pederson, who went 2-for-4.
Zoe Richards lone hit drove in the winning run on a triple.
SAN JOSE STATE 8, UC SAN DIEGO 2
Hoping on the board first, San Jose State scored the first run of the game in the top of the first. They remained in the lead until the fifth inning.
Leading off the bottom of the fifth,
Zoe Richards hit a solo home run to left center to get the Tritons on the board.
Marissa Hassis then laced a single through the left side before
Deena Pederson hit a sac bunt to move Hassis into scoring position. On a throwing error by the catcher,
Alexa DeMarse was able to reach and Hassis was able to score putting the Tritons up 2-1.
The Spartans tied it in the top of the sixth before scoring six runs in the seventh.
UC SAN DIEGO 1, UTAH STATE 0
In an afternoon pitching duel, the Tritons got the lone run of the game on the board in the top of second to win.
Lily Hermosillo singled pass the shortstop to get on base.
Zoe Richards came up to the plate facing two outs and sent a hard-hit triple down the right field line. Plating Hermosillo and putting the Tritons up, 1-0, Richards batted in the winning run on her first collegiate triple.
The Tritons got on base four more times after that and threatened three different times.
Deena Pederson hit a single and a double,
Alexa DeMarse hit a single,
Gabby Williams hit her first double of the season, and
Marissa Hassis hit two singles.
Fanning 12 batters and forcing seven fly outs and two ground outs,
Jada Cecil earned her second win of the season and improves to 2-1 after shutting out the Aggies.
QUOTABLE
Head coach
Patti Gerckens commented, "after game one we couldn't dwell on what happened and we had to move forward to what was next, allowing us to bounce back and take game two."
Committing five errors and allowing SJSU to get a grand slam in the top of the seventh, she added, "we never want our pitches staying in the circle longer than they need to and our defense knows that, so we are looking forward to the rematch tomorrow to show them a different team than they saw today."
"Our pitching staff,
Shelby Thompson,
Gabby Williams, and
Jada Cecil all showed up today and did their job efficiently and effectively," she added.
TRITON TIDBITS
- In game one, Zoe Richards earned her first collegiate home run before hitting her first collegiate triple in the second game.
- This is the first complete game that Jada Cecil has pitched. In 2022, she tossed eight complete games.
- Lily Hermosillo earns her first collegiate run scored against Utah State.
- Marissa Hassis is third in the conference for batting average, she currently is batting .600 in her six games played.
- This is the first time UC San Diego and San Jose State have met one another.
- Meeting Utah State for a second time, UC San Diego leads the series 2-0.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego continues to compete at the Saint Mary's tournament as they face San Jose State for a rematch on Saturday afternoon. Action is set for 1:00 pm and will stream live on the
Mountain West website with live stats available on ucsdtritons.com.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
