Haylee Kela
4
Winner UC Riverside UCR 18-22, 9-9 BWC
3
CSUN CSUN 17-28, 7-11 BWC
Winner
UC Riverside UCR
18-22, 9-9 BWC
4
Final
3
CSUN CSUN
17-28, 7-11 BWC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
UC Riverside UCR 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 10 1
CSUN CSUN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 10 0

W: Heinlin, Maddie (4-3) L: Gardiner, Allie (6-4)

Game Recap: Softball |

Highlanders Take Series with Wild Saturday Finale

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - UC Riverside played the second longest game in the Big West this season, going 12 innings with CSUN on NFCA Day to pull out a 4-3 win at Matador Diamond and take two out of three in Northridge. 

UCR's endurance and perseverance were the catalysts behind getting the win in the program's first 12-inning game since 2017.

"I was really proud of how we never gave up and we fought together," head coach Nikki Palmer said. "We had some moments where we could've won it and could've lost it, and we just fought all the way through the end. It was a great team win and I'm super proud of the way we performed today."

Both teams frontloaded their offenses in game three, scoring their first runs each in the first inning. Haylee Kela collected her eighth double of the season before Max Ortega brought Kela home on an RBI single to center, and CSUN tied it up with an RBI single of its own. 

Chrys Hildebrand saw her second appearance against the Matadors of the weekend, going 4.0 innings with five strikeouts. 

Both teams saw perfect opportunities to break the deadlock midway through the afternoon. 

UCR saw a prime chance to add to its lead in the fourth inning with Marissa Burk led the fourth inning off with a walk and the Highlanders loaded the bases soon after, but no runs would come across. A leadoff double set up a promising sixth inning for CSUN before Katie Barbarick manufactured an eight-pitch strikeout in relief to pull UCR out of the jam unscathed. 

Barbarick was clutch in extra innings with three straight 1-2-3 innings to quiet the Matador bats. CSUN tied the game in the 11th though on an RBI single after Burk sent a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence in the 11th to break a longstanding tie. 

CSUN loaded the bases in the 11th to continue the threat, but Maddie Heinlin stepped into the circle for two key outs that kept the series finale going. Kela delivered at the plate shortly after with a two-run RBI single in the 12th for the game and series win. 

UC Riverside returns to Amy S. Harrison Field next weekend for a three-game series with UC San Diego in the annual 6-4-3 series. All games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can purchase tickets at highlanderstickets.universitytickets.com.