The Highlander softball team (3-6) traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the Stacy Winsberg Tournament from Friday Feb.15-17.
UCR got swept in their first doubleheader on Friday against University of Mississippi (5-1) and Boise State (3-2).
The first game of the two was against Ole Miss, who scored in every inning but the fourth, on their way to a dominating 11-3 win. The opposition scored a run in each of the first two innings before four runs in the third inning and five in the fifth. The Highlanders, on the other hand, only scored in two innings.
Despite the lopsided scoreboard, Riverside only allowed seven hits. The main difference was Ole Miss’ patience and power, as the team drew four walks to get players on the bases and then capitalized with three homeruns in only five innings of play.
Junior right fielder Danielle Ortega led the team with three hits while senior second baseman Britney Garcia totalled a team-high two RBI.
In the second game of the doubleheader against Boise State, junior pitcher Jacy Boles pitched three scoreless innings, which allowed the Highlanders to go ahead 1-0 after a run in the bottom of the third inning. Both teams would add a run in the fourth inning so UCR went into the fifth with a 2-1 lead. However, Boise State’s offense came alive and scored six runs to earn a 7-2 win.
Riverside totaled six hits in this game that came from six different players. Garcia had the only RBI for the Highlanders. UCR was unable to capitalize on their hits and left seven runners left on base.
The Highlanders were unable to bounce back on Saturday against Loyola Marymount University (5-0) as they fell 2-0. There wasn’t a lot of offense in this game as the two teams combined for only nine hits and both runs from LMU came in the bottom of the third inning.
No player on either side was able to garner more than one hit once again. Freshman pitcher Megan Casper got her first loss of the season, allowing five hits and two earned runs.
The Highlanders were blown out in both of their games on Sunday against Fresno State and No.1 ranked UCLA. UCR lost 12-0 to Fresno State and 17-3 against UCLA.
UCR’s next game will be Feb. 20 against Cal Baptist.
