After dropping 2-of-3 games to the UC Davis Aggies, The Beach hopes to get back on track against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos this weekend in their final home stand of the season.
The Beach dropped the final two games against UC Davis last weekend after winning the series opener 2-0 on Saturday. The Aggies shutout the 49ers 6-0 in the second game of the Saturday doubleheader and then edged the 49ers 2-1 in the finale on Sunday. Second baseman Whitney Radcliff went 2-for-3 with a triple in Sunday’s finale. Breezy Goad had a hit to drive in one run. In the 49ers only victory of the weekend, Bridgette Pagano (18-10, 1.80) allowed only five hits while striking out three in seven scoreless innings.
The Beach will host the UCSB Gauchos this weekend for a three-game series at the 49er Softball Complex. The teams will battle in a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the third game will also be at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The 49ers are 64-28-1 all-time against the Gauchos. The two teams met earlier this season in the UCSB Softball by the Beach tournament which resulted in a 9-6 Gaucho victory. The 49ers haven’t lost a series to UCSB since 1999.
The 49er offensive threats of Jessica Beaver (.373, 9 HR, 40 RBI), Whitney Radcliff (.340, 16 RBI) and Lacy Tyler (.333, 17 RBI) will look to continue producing runs as they face the Gaucho pitching staff.
The 49ers (26-24, 9-6) have won seven of their last ten games while the Gauchos (29-19) have won six of their last ten games.
The Gauchos swept the UC Riverside Highlanders last weekend with scores of 8-2, 10-2 and 2-0. The Gauchos offense was lead by third baseman Tisha Duran who went 5-for-10 with four runs scored along with 3 RBIs in the series against UC Riverside. First baseman Jessica Hejna was 6-for-10 with an RBI against UCR.
UCSB infielder Tisha Duran (.344, 32 RBI) leads the Gaucho offense along with second baseman Christine Ramos (.365, 11 RBI). The Gaucho pitching staff is anchored by Jennifer Davis (13-12, 1.42) and MeLinda Matsumoto (9-6, 2.63).
The Beach will hope to make the NCAA Regionals which will be held May 18 through May 20 at a site to be determined.
