SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Riverside Highlanders capped off its first Big West series with a dominant 5-0 shutout win over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, securing the series victory behind a stellar performance from
Maddie Heinlin in the circle.
The Highlanders (11-14, 2-1 Big West) took an early lead and never looked back, scoring in the first inning when
Leilani Juan singled and came around on a double to right center by
Haley Saole.
After holding a slim 1-0 advantage through four innings, UC Riverside broke the game open in the fifth. Allysa Alano led off with a single before
Trendee Kahunahana laid down a sacrifice bunt to move her into scoring position. Moments later,
Rebeca Cabezas roped an RBI single down the first base line, bringing Alano home to make it 2-0.
The Highlanders continued the rally as
Kamryn Davis reached on an infield single and advanced to third on a throwing error, allowing Cabezas to score. Juan then followed with a single down the right field line to plate Davis, extending the lead to 4-0.
UC Riverside added an insurance run in the seventh when Juan drew a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner
Jen Ragay, who advanced to third on a single by
Mariana Palazuelos before scoring on a wild pitch.
"Opening the year with a conference series win feels great" said coach
Brittney Matta. "The team was resilient in their efforts to bounce back and play clean softball after game one. We played to a standard that we have been seeking out all year and I am proud that we finally met that standard."
Coach Matta continued, "There were timely hits and strong defense behind a very solid performance and one-hit shutout by
Maddie Heinlin. It was competitive and fun. We are hoping to carry this momentum into our home series this week."
Heinlin (6-5) was dominant, throwing a complete-game one-hitter with five strikeouts, allowing just one walk over seven scoreless innings. She retired 14 of the final 15 batters she faced and needed just 89 pitches to close out the game.
Offensively, Juan led the way, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Saole added an RBI double and Palazuelos chipped in with a hit.
UC Riverside will host their first conference series beginning this Thursday, March 13
th at 3pm against Cal State Bakersfield.
