| Softball |
|---|
| Oregon — 3 |
| UCLA — 11 |
“There are magical moments that happen on senior day … the ability for Jordan Woolery to end her last regular season game with a home run is one of the magical moments we look for,” head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez commented in post-game interviews.
On Sunday morning at Easton Stadium, the No. 5 UCLA Bruins softball team (45-7, 20-4 Big Ten) hosted the No. 11 Oregon Ducks (40-11, 20-4 Big Ten) in their third and final game of the regular season. Coming into today’s match with two losses this weekend against Oregon, the Bruins came out of the bullpen with everything for the seniors. The Bruins absolutely dominated the game after the top half of the fifth inning, having scored 11 runs to Oregon’s three.
The first inning began with sophomore pitcher Brynne Nally on the mound for the Bruins, who didn’t let the Ducks run home. Up at bat for the Bruins, senior right fielder Megan Grant singled to right field and advanced to second off a wild pitch. Redshirt freshman shortstop Aleena Garcia fired off a home run into center field with a double RBI. The first ended with the Bruins up 2-0.
The top half of the second inning for the Ducks was more or less the same, with Nally pitching for the Bruins, refusing to allow any Ducks to run past second base. Up at bat for the Bruins, junior designated player Soo-Jin Berry reached a fielder’s choice and stayed safe at first base. A home run from sophomore catcher Sofia Mujica took Berry home for two more runs.
Oregon had no other choice but to switch pitchers, which did little to slow the Bruins, as Garcia took to the bat with bases loaded and two outs, singled through the left side with two fielding errors from the Ducks, taking Grant and freshman center fielder Jolyna Lamar home. With another repeat play from freshman third baseman Bri Alejandre, Garcia and senior first baseman Jordan Woolery scored. The Bruins ended the second inning 8-0.
Nally returned to the mound for the Bruins to start the third inning, and let up a few runs to the Ducks, before coach Inouye-Perez decided to bring redshirt junior pitcher Sydney Somerndike to the mound. After another RBI for the Ducks and only two outs, senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley replaced Somerndike and forced the next Duck to fly out into center field.
The bottom of the inning was short, with two strikeouts and a groundout from the first three batters. Despite a few runs put up on the board by the Ducks, the Bruins stayed on top 8-3.
Tinsley took to the mound to start the fourth inning and kept the top half short and sweet, forcing three ducks to fly out. The bottom half began with an absolute banger from sophomore left fielder Rylee Slimp, who homered from center field.
With redshirt junior pinch runner Rylee Pinedo running for Grant at first, Woolery homered into right field, which had the crowd erupting in cheers for the senior. The Bruins wrapped up the win with three additional runs, 11-3.
Carrying momentum into the fifth set with Tinsley on the mound, the Ducks grounded out two balls and finished the top half with a fly out to right field and into Pinedo’s glove. In line with the NCAA-college softball mercy rule, the game ended after the top half of the fifth inning because UCLA led by more than eight runs.
Having wrapped up their last regular-season game with an outstanding win, the Bruins will be playing in the Big Ten Tournament at the Maryland Softball Stadium from May 6 to May 9.
