SAN DIEGO – The San Diego softball program (18-23-1, 4-2 WCC) secured a key West Coast Conference sweep of Pacific (9-21, 0-6 WCC), taking game three in a 1-0 decision on Sunday afternoon at the USD Softball Complex.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- On a cloudy and overcast day in San Diego, the two sides struggled to generate runs throughout the day.
- Madison Earnshaw earned the start for the Toreros and proved adept at dancing out of trouble throughout the afternoon, stranding eight runners on base over a complete seven innings.
- Earnshaw stranded three of those runners in the first two innings and gave her offense a chance to get a lead.
- The Toreros delivered for their starter in the third inning, as Alexia Torculas and Amanda Limon led off the frame with back-to-back singles.
- After a double steal attempt ended in Torculas called out at third, Limon was able to be driven in from second base on a Mikalyn Emanuelli single, making it 1-0.
- Pacific nearly had a response in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out, but Earnshaw delivered a clutch strikeout and a groundout to preserve the shutout.
- The remainder of the game was a pitching battle, with only one runner reaching scoring position the rest of the game.
- Earnshaw quickly polished off a 95-pitch shutout, facing little trouble in the final frames.
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TORERO TIDBITS
- San Diego has now won four of its last five games, allowing just four runs and outscoring opponents 24-4 over that span.
- The sweep by San Diego was the first three-game WCC sweep under head coach MJ Knighten. The Toreros did win two games against Pacific last season, with an additional game in the series canceled.
- Earnshaw has three consecutive complete game victories, all of which are in WCC play. Earnshaw is 3-0 with a 0.37 ERA (19.0 IP) in conference play this season.
- Since the start of March, the Toreros are 15-9-1 and now sit just one game out of first place in the WCC.
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UP NEXT
The Toreros will head out on the road for a doubleheader at CSUN on Wednesday at 1 and 3 p.m. The games will be streamed via ESPN Plus.
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