FULLERTON, Calif. – On Friday night vs. Cal State Fullerton, UC San Diego softball dropped the doubleheader to their hosts at Anderson Family Field. Leading in game one until the sixth, the Tritons fell by a one-run decision, 4-3. In game two, the gold and blue tallied a single hit and were shutout by the Titans in a 2-0 decision.
 
India Caldwell tossed another complete game for the Tritons allowing only two earned runs on 13 hits with five strikeouts. Deena Pederson led at the dish going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Lexi O'Gorman and Hailey Mulligan each batted a run in, and Morgan Eng scored a run as well.
 
Tossing her second complete game, Shelby Thompson held Fullerton to two runs on eight hits and one walk. The lefty tallied five strikeouts. The Tritons struggled at the dish as Morgan Eng tallied the lone hit of the game.
 
CAL STATE FULLERTON 4, UC SAN DIEGO 3
The Tritons led the whole way until the sixth when some critical errors allowed Fullerton to take the lead and the win.
 
UC San Diego scored first when Hailey Mulligan hit a sharp shot back to the Fullerton pitcher to advance Deena Pederson to third and plate Morgan Eng. In the next at-bat, a wild pitch allowed Pederson to run the final 60 ft to score, 2-0.
 
Fullerton tallied a run in the bottom of the fourth, 2-1. Responding in the top of the fifth, the Tritons added another run to the board. After a hard hit single and stealing two bases to make it to third, Lexi O'Gorman lanced a hit to right field to score Pederson, 3-1.
 
The Titans responded in force in the bottom of the sixth with three runs as Triton errors extended the inning and scoring, 3-4. The gold and blue were unable to respond in their final three outs at the plate.
 
CAL STATE FULLERTON 2, UC SAN DIEGO 0
The board remained empty until the bottom of the third when CSF hit a two-run home run to go up, 2-0.
 
UC San Diego threatened in the first and third. Morgan Eng started the game with a leadoff single laced through the right side. She advanced to second on interference and then to third on a ground out. Eng was left stranded 60 ft from home. In the third, a Fullerton error allowed the Tritons to get two runners on base, but were left stranded.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Between the two games, 9 runs were left on base for the Tritons.
• Morgan Eng was the only Triton to tally a hit in the second game.
• This is the fifth shutout loss of the season for UC San Diego.
• The Tritons continue the hunt for a series-win over Cal State Fullerton as the opponents lead the all-time series 2-10.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap the Cal State Fullerton series in a single game matchup on Saturday, April 13 at 1 p.m. should weather allow.
 
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 began a new era in 2020 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 earned 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.