May 1, 2004
Santa Barbara, Calif. -
Rebounding from a sub-par performance last weekend, the UC Santa Barbara softball team easily handled Utah State with a doubleheader sweep to open the three-game Big West Conference Series. The Gauchos' pitching staff came up huge on both ends as UCSB took game one 8-2 off of the arm and bat of Lindsey Herrin, and freshman Jennifer Davis struck out 16 batters en route to a 2-0 Santa Barbara win.
Game one proved to be all Gauchos as they opened up a quick 4-0 lead after the first inning of play thanks to a Herrin's record-tying three-run homerun off of Utah State pitcher Leslie Higley (5-18). Up 1-0 after a Kendra Singley RBI single to center that scored leadoff hitter Leslie Simien that was followed by a Heather Nobbe single, Herrin hit a towering shot over the fence in right center to clear the bases. The homerun was Herrin's ninth of the season, tying UCSB's single season record that was jointly held by Mandy Edwards ('00) and Tonya Dias ('97).
The Aggies came within two after they plated two runs in the top of the fifth inning, capped by a Lauren Guzman RBI single to centerfield that scored Jessica Garnett.
Santa Barbara added four more in the sixth, including freshman Kendra Singley's seventh homerun of the season, to give the game its final 8-2 score. The win in the circle improved Herrin's record to 7-1 on the season. And freshman Lindsey Sommer came into to pitch the final two and two-thirds innings, allowing just one hit, to pick up her first save of the season.
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The second half of the twinbill belonged all to Davis as she struck out a team season-high 16 batters en route to her sixth shutout victory of the season, improving to 11-13. Davis gave up just one hit to Utah State, a Haven Vance single that squirted through the left side of the infield.
Once again the Gauchos scoring was kicked off by Simien who scored yet again off the bat Kendra Singley after leading off the game with a bunt single. Singley finished the doubleheader going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, three RBI, and three sacrifice hits to lead UCSB at the plate. Her seventh homerun in game one is, next to Herrin, the second most hit by a Gaucho in the past four seasons.
Despite giving up just four hits in game two, the Aggies' Jessica Garnett suffered the loss and falls to 0-17 on the year.
The teams will conclude the three-game conference series with a single game tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at UCSB's Campus Diamond.
