Gauchos capture Big West Softball Championship by winning six elimination games

FULLERTON, Calif. - For the first time in program history, the UC Santa Babara Softball team (34-24, 17-10 Big West) is coming back to Isla Vista with some hardware. The Gauchos staved off elimination six times to claim their first and The Big West's first Postseason Championship.

GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 8, MATADORS 2
Like they had in three of their previous five games of the Big West Championship tournament, the Gauchos scored in the first inning. Not only that, but they scored three on Elicia Acosta's opposite-field homer, taking a 3-0 lead before CSUN even came to bat.

For the next three full innings, the teams combined for just two hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch. The Matadors led off with two singles in the bottom of the fourth before a line out double play erased the threat.

In the next half inning, Santa Barbara fully flipped the momentum in their favor. For the second time of the day, Acosta drilled a three-run homer to increase the Gaucho lead to six. Two batters later, Bella Fuentes added another run with a solo shot. When the inning finally ended, it was 7-0 Gauchos.

Fuentes then made it 8-0 with a two-out RBI double in the top of the seventh. With CSUN down to their last out, an error, walk and two-run single prevented Malaya Johnson from pitching a shutout, but she settled with a zero-earned-run complete game win. More importantly, the comfortable 8-2 victory—the team's fifth consecutive in elimination games—pushed the Gauchos one win away from their first conference championship in program history.

GAME TWO: GAUCHOS 7, MATADORS 5
To start the winner take all Championship Final, UC Santa Barbara opened the game with a single run in the first inning continuing their momentum from the first game. Giselle Mejia doubled and advanced to third on a sacrifice before scoring unearned on an error by Northridge. The Matadors were unable to respond, leaving the Gauchos leading 1-0 after the first.

In the second inning, Northridge took control with a three-run frame. An RBI-double followed by two RBI-singles drove in the three runs. The Gauchos did not go away quietly. The Blue and Gold responded in the third inning. Tehya Banks and Bella Fuentes scored, the latter on a double by Delaina Ma'ae, evening the score at 3-3.

The fourth inning saw the Gauchos regain the lead. Elicia Acosta's RBI single, her seventh RBI of the day, and Sams' two-RBI double contributed to a three-run inning, putting UC Santa Barbara ahead 6-4.

The Gauchos added another run in the sixth inning. Sams scored on a triple by Bella Fuentes, extending their lead to 7-4.

Northridge managed to score once more in the seventh inning, but UC Santa Barbara maintained their advantage. The game concluded with a 7-5 win for the Gauchos, securing the victory with 13 hits and taking advantage of two Matadors errors to claim the first ever Big West Championship for the Gaucho softball program.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

The Gauchos won six straight elimination games to claim their first ever Big West Championship. The six straight wins ties their season long winning streak.
With the Championship the Gauchos will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in since 2007.
The 34 overall wins are tied for the most ever in a single season by the program. The most recent occurrence was during the 2014 season.
Giselle Mejia is now the single-season doubles record holder with 20 doubles on the season. Mejia also raised her team-leading batting average by 37 points to 0.391.
The Gauchos have now scored the most runs, ever in a single season.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will await their destination for the NCAA Tournament as it will be known tomorrow during the selection show that starts at 4 p.m. Pacific time and will be shown on ESPN2.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).