By Taylor Glaze |Staff Writer|

Coyote softball split their four-game series up the middle against UC San Diego’s Tritons.

Winning the first game on April 16, it made it the eighth straight win in a row before UCSD took the second game.

They finished strong, winning the last game of the back-to-back doubleheader series on April 17.

UCSD started off with two RBI’s in the first inning of game one. One of those runs was off of a wild pitch from the Coyotes.

CSUSB came back scoring two runs in the second inning thanks to Jessica Brown’s triple to right center, bringing home Taylor Ancona and a perfectly executed bunt by Amanda Ramirez to bring Brown home.

The bunt is a common strategy seen in women’s softball when there is a runner on third base and typically less than two outs.

The game remained tied at two until the Coyotes would earn the winning run in the sixth with a double to right center by Kaylee Gemmell.

Cassandra Williams was responsible for keeping the Tritons from scoring while breaking her school record for strikeouts at 198 and earning her 200th by the end of the game. Game one ended with a score of 3-2 in favor of the Coyotes.

Coyotes earned the team’s first loss of the series in the second game against the Tritons with the final score 8-3.

CSUSB continued to struggle during the first game on April 17, losing their second game of the weekend series 13-3 in five innings.

In college softball, the mercy rule is invoked if one team is leading by at least eight runs after five complete innings, or four and a half if the home team is leading. The mercy rule went into play in the first game, resulting in the first loss.

Coyote softball finished on a high note, coming back from a 10 run loss in the opener. They secured the win of the last game of the weekend 4-0.

Neither team would score in the first or second inning, but the Coyotes would be first on the board.

CSUSB scored two RBI’s in the top of the third when Caelan Smith reached on a fielding error by the Tritons pitcher and when Caitlyn Olan hit a single up the middle.

Once again both teams held one another in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Tritons would be stopped throughout the entire game as the Coyotes continued to score in the sixth and seventh innings.

Cassandra Williams struck out seven batters and issued just one walk. All six of UCSD’s hits were singles.

Williams received athlete of the week for the Coyotes for her performance.

Jessica Angulo went 3 for 3 in the last game with a single down the right field line earning an RBI for the Coyotes.

Amanda Herrera slammed a solo home run out to left-center, ending the series finale with the last win.

The Coyotes will play in the CCAA softball championship in Stockton, Ca., hoping to achieve their fourth 30-win season in the last 18 years.

Correction 4/26/16:

The softball team will not be appearing in the CCAA championship.