April 30, 2005
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Kendra Singley hit a two-run homerun and Jessica Hejna scored twice and drove in the winning run as the UC Santa Barbara softball team defeated Cal State Northridge, 7-6 in ten innings in game one at Campus Diamond Saturday. Jennifer Davis had two RBI and Lindsey Sommer turned in a four-hit performance, earning her ninth victory of the year in a 3-1 win in the nightcap.
With the victories, UCSB improves to 25-16 overall and 8-6 in the Big West while Northridge falls to 14-18 overall (3-11 Big West).
"We really battled today," head coach Kristy Schroeder said. "It's good to see the team fight back and win like they did. We got a great outing from Sommer in game two and Hejna hit the ball well all day. When we play with desire like we did today, we're tough to beat."
The Gauchos struck first when sophomore Brittany Putich led off the bottom of the first inning with a homerun to left field.
The Matadors answered back, scoring three runs in the second on a three-run homer by Erin Sigala and then added a run in the third inning to take a 4-1 advantage.
With two outs in the bottom of the third, Hejna doubled to left and Singley immediately homered down the right field line, cutting Northridge's lead to one at 4-3.
The Matadors' lead increased to 6-3 after they scored two more in the sixth on a double by Emilee Moores off Gaucho reliever Carly Harmon.
But Santa Barbara came storming back and scored a run in the sixth and two in the seventh. With the bases loaded senior Lindsey Herrin walked and freshman Danielle Meyers was hit by a pitch, as the Gauchos knotted the score at six, heading into extra innings.
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Harmon battled Northridge reliever Kia Fennell for two full innings, as neither squad was able to score the go-ahead run.
After Harmon pitched her way out of a two-on, one out jam, Santa Barbara loaded the bases to start the tenth frame. With two outs, Hejna hit a ball in the gap in left center, scoring junior Karyna Wilkerson and the Gauchos prevailed 7-6.
Game one starter Davis allowed six runs on six hits while striking out five in 5.1 innings of work. Harmon turned in a solid performance in a relief effort and picked up the victory. She pitched 4.2 innings, allowed no runs on four hits and struck out three. The Lodi, Calif. native improves to 2-2 on the year.
Fennell took the loss for the Matadors, falling to 9-8.
After the nearly four hour-long-marathon in the opener, game two proved to be a much cleaner contest
Hejna led off the fourth inning with a base hit and later scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by Meyers.
The Gauchos added two more an inning later, after Davis doubled with the bases loaded, taking a 3-0 lead.
Northridge scored its only run of the game in the sixth when Heather Martin advanced home on a throwing error.
Sommer was the story of game two, turning in her eleventh complete game performance of the year. The sophomore hurler allowed one unearned run on four hits while striking out six and earned the win. She improves to 9-5 on the year.
Game two starter Sigala took the loss for the Matadors and fell to 5-10 this season.
The Gauchos wrap up their series with Cal State Northridge Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Campus Diamond. The game will be broadcast tape-delayed by CSTV.
