Date: May 11, 2012
Mustangs 6 – Highlanders 5 (9)
Playing their final games of the season on the road against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the UC Riverside softball team dropped a heartbreaker 5-6 in game one of a three game series Friday afternoon.
Riverside came out right off the bat with two quick runs in the first thanks to Brittany Keeney scoring off a hit as well as a single by Ariel Shore.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Highlanders had base runners on second and third with two outs, but they could not drive in any insurance runs, as the score stood at 2-1. As a result, Cal Poly found themselves back in the game by tying the score at two apiece in the bottom of the seventh.
Going into extra innings, the Highlanders took a three-run lead in the ninth. Keeney hit a single and allowed Kaylie Atkinson to score. Kayla White later hit a single and allowed two more runs in for the Highlanders. With the score at 5-2, the Mustangs roared back in the same inning with four quick runs, winning the game by a score of 5-6.
Highlander starting pitcher Jordyn McDonald was tagged with the loss, pitching 8.1 innings while allowing four runs on five hits. Riverside softball will look to break even against Cal Poly by winning the second game of the doubleheader.
Date: May 11, 2012
Highlanders 6 – Mustangs 3 (DH)
The bottom game of the doubleheader went in the Highlander’s favor as they defeated the Mustangs by a score of 6-3.
The first inning was controlled by the Mustangs as they started out strong with a 2-0 lead.
The third inning was the momentum swinger for the Highlanders. Ariel Shore and Yesenia Duenas both singled and helped score one run each, knotting the game up at two all. Dionne Anderson followed with a two run single and pushed the Highlanders up 4-2.
Cal Poly managed to score one to make it a 4-3 game. The Highlanders, however, never looked back and closed out the game with two additional runs in the fifth. Vasser led off the inning with a single, and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Anderson hit a double scoring the fifth run of the day for the Highlanders. Anderson would score later on in the frame, making it a 6-3 ball game.
Starting pitcher Taylor Alvarez shut down the Mustang offense for the rest of the game, pitching a complete game for the win while allowing three runs on nine hits. The Highlanders will look towards winning the series in their last game of the season Sunday.
Date: May 12, 2012
Highlanders 2 – Mustangs 1
UCR entered its final game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon against Cal Poly, winning 2-1. It was a tight contest from start to finish as the Highlanders won the series as well.
Jessica Vasser scored Brittany Keeney home with a hit in the first inning. Jojo Mendoza hit UCR’s only other point in the 4th inning with a solo home run.
The game came down to the sixth inning, as Amy Lwin replaced starting pitcher Casey Suda to close out the game. The Mustangs loaded the bases, but the Highlanders managed to exit the inning without relinquishing their one run lead. In the seventh inning, Lwin recorded her save as the last Mustang batter popped out to close out the game.
Suda was credited with the win, giving up one run on five hits. Mendoza, who had the game winning run, was 2-2 for the night.
The Highlanders finished the season with a 8-13 league record and 25-28 overall, granting them fifth place in the conference. This season’s team also set new records for overall wins (25) and Big West conference wins (8).
