The UHS Softball team faced off against the Mustangs from Costa Mesa High School on March 3rd, taking an 18-17 victory in the close non-league match.

Going into the match, there was little known about the Mustangs. Junior captain Sarah Hipszer said that they “didn’t know what to expect from Costa Mesa,” but saw that they had “had strong hitters” just off of warm-ups.

The key to this win would be the outfielders, led by senior Cienna Moua.  “Outfielders had their work cut out for them considering the majority of hits went to them,” Hipszer said. The Trojans held off their strong offensive until the fifth inning. 

Costa Mesa and UHS traded blows throughout the first four innings. The Mustangs then had a 10-run fifth inning, bringing the score to 17-12 in favor of the Mustangs. Junior captain Eunee Hong attributed this to being “tensed up and scared of the ball and our opponent’s cheers.” The Trojans wouldn’t let their heads down so quickly.

Going into the sixth inning, the Trojans would shut out the powerful Mustang offense. The Trojans needed to score six runs to win, five to tie. 

The Trojans would gain the lead after a ground out by sophomore Annie Qu which brought in the final run. The Trojans would hold the Mustangs scoreless at the top of the seventh inning, effectively closing out the game for the victory.

Junior captain Millie Maher pitched for just over five innings, allowing only 10 runs on 11 hits. Millie also struck out five hitters with the rest being the work of the outfield. 

Hipszer would lead the hitters with five runs batted in, holding seven bases and the only home run of the match. Moua also had a strong performance holding three runs batted in, holding two bases and stealing one. Maher had a strong offensive performance with a double, five held bases and one stolen base.

University High’s record is currently 1-3 with their next league match coming on March 15th against Irvine High School.