| Softball |
|---|
| Oregon — 13 |
| UCLA — 11 |
The Bruins fought hard today up until the very end, slugging five home runs and scoring a whopping 11 runs.
However, this was not enough to overcome the bats of the Oregon Ducks, who out-hit the Bruins in a slugfest that was one for the ages.
On Saturday afternoon at Easton Stadium, the No. 5 UCLA Bruins softball team (44-7, 19-4 Big Ten) took on the No. 11 Oregon Ducks (40-10, 20-3 Big Ten) in a game which resulted in a series loss. The Bruins had looked to rebound from yesterday’s offensive slump and get back in the win column.
The Bruins’ offense was explosive today, but the pitching faltered heavily — the Ducks were able to cut right through freshman pitcher Natalie Cable, as well as one of the Bruins’ best starters, senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley.
Cable started today’s game, but almost immediately began having command issues — she had difficulty landing pitches in the strike zone and missed locations with others, resulting in two home runs being hit against her.
As Cable was taken out, Tinsley came in out of the bullpen and pitched for the rest of the game, throwing a whopping 109 pitches.
While ten runs were given up by Tinsley during her time on the mound, five of those runs were unearned because of throwing and receiving errors by the Bruins on defense — one of those throwing errors resulted in two additional runs scoring, which would have ultimately made the difference in this game.
The Bruins’ offense, while not enough to win this game, was absolutely electric.
Even in the start of the game, the first two batters that the Ducks faced resulted in two runs being scored, with a double by sophomore left fielder and designated player Rylee Slimp, followed with a towering two-run home run by senior right fielder Megan Grant that had more carry on it than most home runs you’ll ever see in softball.
The Bruins then capitalized on this success in the bottom of the second inning with two two-run home runs by sophomore second baseman Kaniya Bragg and Slimp. Both Bragg and Slimp’s home runs were crushed so hard to center field to the point where they hit the storage buildings, a testament to their ability to slug and remain impactful in the Bruins’ lineup.
Slimp said, “[The home run] felt great … just finding a way to have quality at bats … it’s our job to just touch for space and anything more than that is awesome.”
The home run action did not stop there — in the bottom of the fifth, senior first baseman Jordan Woolery hit a towering two-run home run to drive in Grant, what will likely be one of her last home runs as a Bruin.
In the seventh inning, the Bruins were down by five runs, having eight runs to Oregon’s 13. But the Bruins’ bats showed that they had life left in them — a lot of life at that.
The first two Bruins hitters of the inning hit two singles to put a runner in scoring position, building up momentum. Then, in one large swing, freshman third baseman Bri Alejandre crushed a home run to left field just to the right of the foul pole, resulting in three RBIs, renewing a chance at redemption for Bruins.
Unfortunately, the Bruins’ aspirations were cut short, as the Ducks consecutively retired the next three Bruins batters.
Slimp stated in a postgame interview that this opportunity in the seventh was a testament to how resilient and tight-knit this years’ Bruin squad really is: “We’re not out of a game until the very last pitch, and I think you could definitely feel that in the last inning. Everyone thought we were gonna win that game, that’s just how much belief we have in each other … Bruin magic is very real.”
Despite today’s loss, Bragg is optimistic that the Bruins will finish the season strong. She said, “we’re really good at dealing with adversity and just knowing that our work is going to pay off. No matter what the outcome is, we know who we are.”
More importantly, tomorrow will mark the final farewell to the seniors on the team, and Bragg has emphasized that for tomorrow, it is imperative to bring “good vibes” and be able to “play for [the Bruins’] seniors and do what we love and know what we do best.”
The Bruins look to pull off a win Sunday, May 3 to finish off the final homestand of the season at 11 a.m. PT at Easton Stadium.
