April 11, 2015
Titans 12 — Highlanders 0
Titans 3 — Highlanders 2
In the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory, the UC Riverside softball team has entered into a slump as of late, having lost three games in a row and four of the last six.
Coming off a 4-1 loss to Long Beach State last week, the Highlanders returned home on Saturday afternoon only to be shellacked by the Cal State Fullerton Titans in the first game of the day’s doubleheader.
The first Titan scores came at the top of the first inning, when a Samantha Galarza single scored Sarah Moore and Courtney Rodriguez. After a scoreless second inning, the Titans scored one more in the third, two in the fourth and two in the sixth while the Highlanders had yet to get on the scoreboard.
After scoring five more insurance runs at the top of the seventh, the Titans dispatched the Highlanders, shutting them out 12-0 in the first action of the day.
Though the margin of the second game was much slimmer, the Highlanders still ended up chalking one up in the loss column in Saturday’s second game.
An Eliza Crawford double at the top of the first inning gave the Titans an early 2-0 lead. After six scoreless innings, the Highlanders were down to their final chance at the bottom of the seventh to score or face defeat. A Jenna Curtan single allowed a Highlander run, cutting the Fullerton lead by half. One at bat later, Karina Romero’s single resulted in another UCR score, which knotted the game at 2-2.
Five extra innings were played as a result of the tie, which ultimately ended with Missy Taukeiaho blasting a home run to right field, enough for Cal State Fullerton to secure victory over the Highlanders once again.
April 12, 2015
Highlanders 8 — Titans 1
The UCR softball team exacted retribution on the Titans Sunday morning, handily dispatching the visiting team.
UCR first got on the board by way of a Karina Romero homer at the bottom of the first inning. The Titans responded at the top of the third, tying the score at 1-1.
Two more runs for the Highlanders in the fourth, followed by another four in the sixth were enough for UCR to secure a commanding victory over the Titans on Sunday afternoon, beating them by a margin of 8-1.
With the win, Highlander pitcher Chelsea Ponce recorded her 24th credited win of the season, while the team improves to 32-12 overall.
Next up for the Highlanders is a trip to Northridge, where the team will face the Matadors in the weekend’s action.
