SAN DIEGO - The Toreros (3-5) earned two wins against UC Santa Barbara (0-5) in opening action of the first series of the 2021 campaign on Friday night.
 
GAME 1 | San Diego 5, UCSB 0
Junior Madison Earnshaw was dealing on Friday, hurling a shutout to lead San Diego over UCSB in game one. Earnshaw (1-2) went the distance for San Diego, giving up six hits, walking one and striking out five.
 
In the batter's box, the Toreros were led by junior AJ Kaiser, who went 1-for-3 on the day with a home run and three RBIs. Freshman Amanda Limon put together a noteworthy effort as well, going 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Freshman Sofia Delgado also contributed for San Diego, putting together two hits in three trips to the plate.
 
The Toreros took the lead for good in the third, scoring for the first time in the inning.  Back-to-back bunt efforts landed senior Halle Kyler at third before Limon came through with an RBI single.
 
The Toreros then tacked on runs in the sixth inning when they scored four times. Kaiser opened the flood gates, hitting a three-run home run to put the Toreros on top for good.
 
GAME 2 | San Diego 4, UCSB 3
The Toreros took a 3-1 lead in the second inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to a 4-3 victory against the Gauchos in game two.
 
Freshman McKenna Braegelmann (2-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for San Diego. The left-hander went 4.1 shutout innings while giving up five hits, allowing no walks and striking out four.
 
Junior Rion Simms led the way offensively for the Toreros, going 2-for-4 in the ballgame with three RBIs. Sophomore Clareese Santiago put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-2 with an RBI.
 
The Toreros were trailing 1-0 in the second inning when they first put runs on the board.   San Diego scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a key bat from Simms as an error on the Gauchos brought Alexia Torculas and Santiago home.
 
The Gauchos then tied the ballgame at three before the Toreros came back to reclaim their advantage in the fourth inning. San Diego scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Simms, which brought the Toreros lead to 4-3. The score remained for the rest of the game, as San Diego held on for the win.
 
 
San Diego will look for the sweep on Saturday as game three against UCSB is set for noon (PT).