This past weekend, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) (6-9) made the trip out west to face rivals Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) (2-13). Following an up-and-down series against Hawaii, the Highlanders looked to steady the ship against the Matadors. On Friday, the two teams played out a doubleheader before the final game of the series on Saturday.
In the first game of the doubleheader, UCR’s offense set the tone early. The top of UCR’s batting order knocked three hits past CSUN’s sophomore pitcher Isabella Alonso in the first inning. However, the Matadors turned a double play to limit the damage. After one inning, the scoreboard only reflected senior Kat Montuya’s solo home run.
For the Highlanders, the reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week, Briza Blanco, took the mound. The fifth-year pitcher struggled with her control early on. She hit redshirt senior Shayla Whatman with her very second pitch, but Blanco kept her cool. She struck out junior Mikayla Carman to end the inning spotless.
In the second inning, mistakes from the Matadors would cost them another run. With two outs, senior Gigi Araki reached on an error. Then, Alonso walked sophomore Eta Lauti on a full count. With Araki at second, sixth-year Nadia Witt knocked the ball up the middle for her second hit of the day. An urgent Araki beat the throw home to put UCR up 2-0.
The Matadors would quickly respond with back-to-back-to-back singles to get the run back. Junior Sydney Freijanes drove in fellow junior Kylie Galindo for CSUN’s first run of the game. In the third inning, Galindo came up to bat once more. With Whatman on third, Galindo’s second single leveled the scores.
This back-and-forth game would swing right back into UCR’s favor as the Highlanders exploded for five runs in the fourth. Witt and sophomore Alday each drove in two runs to put the visitors back in front.
Blanco was replaced by sophomore Emma Falen, but her outing was short-lived. The Matadors did well to work long at-bats against the sophomore pitcher. Freshman Lulu Sanchez fouled the ball off five times before batting in CSUN’s third run of the inning. A bounce-back frame for the Matadors brought them back into striking distance.
After just one inning, Falen was replaced by junior Maddie Heinlin. Heinlin did well to avoid danger until the bottom of the seventh. With the score still at 7-5, the Matadors rallied late. With two outs and runners at second and first, junior Jizzell Ruiz pinch ran for Galindo who was on second. Riverside native and Martin Luther King Jr. High School alum junior Alexis Chavez stepped up to the plate. With the game on the line, Chavez smacked the ball past Heinlin’s outstretched glove and into center field. Ruiz rounded third just as fifth-year Lauryn Garewal scooped up the ball. It seemed certain that Ruiz would score, but a perfect throw from Garewal saved the day.
After game one’s dramatic finish, the two teams played out a low-scoring game two. It was a classic pitcher’s duel between sophomores Lauryn Carranco of the Matadors and UCR’s Brooke Perez and Alexis Galvan. The Highlanders were held to just two hits as Carranco pitched all seven innings en route to a 1-0 win for the Matadors. Junior Kaylee Escutia’s solo home run was all that separated both teams.
On Saturday, the third and final game of the series also produced another pitching duel. With the game tied at 1-1 in extra innings, a double from Araki scored two runs and secured a series clinching 3-2 victory. After a closely contested series against the Matadors, the Highlanders improved to 8-10. UCR’s next series is this weekend against UC San Diego (7-10).
