With one swing of the bat, Kellie Fox turned the local Northridge trip into a pit stop.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning and the UCLA softball team already up 4-0 against Cal State Northridge, the freshman shortstop knew an abbreviated win would do her team some good.
“I was sitting on an outside backdoor curveball that (CSUN freshman pitcher Carly Wade) was throwing all day to the right-handed batters,” Fox said. “I was just trying to put the ball in play … and it just went over.”
Went over indeed. Fox’s first career grand slam in the fourth doubled the lead, and the Bruins defeated the Matadors 8-0 by way of the mercy rule Wednesday.
It was an imperative win of sorts for No. 2 UCLA (10-1), which made quick work of CSUN (4-7) during the busiest portion of its regular season schedule.
“For us, a midweek game is difficult, coming off of a long weekend,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “So it was good for us to stay sharp and keep the game to five (innings).”
The Bruins struck first in the top of the second inning, thanks to a lead-off double by freshman catcher Alyssa Tiumalu, followed by an RBI single by sophomore Devon Lindvall. Redshirt junior center fielder Katie Schroeder drove in two more runs later in the inning with runners on second and third to expand the lead.
Junior left fielder Andrea Harrison sent a solo shot to right in the third inning before Fox slugged her third home run of the season in the fourth, clinching the eight-run margin needed for a five-inning victory.
Freshman Jessica Hall pitched four scoreless innings before junior hurler Aleah Macon took over, making her season debut by blanking the Matadors in the fifth to end the game.
The Bruins next travel for what figures to be their toughest weekend yet at the Cathedral City Classic.
UCLA starts off with a Friday afternoon rematch against No. 4 Florida (9-0), the same team that the Bruins faced in the first round of College World Series action last season. They then play No. 6 Oklahoma (11-1) on the same day before taking on No. 8 Tennessee (9-2) on Saturday. UCLA concludes the weekend with games against Northwestern (4-3) and Ohio State (4-6) on Sunday.
With the competition including three top-10 teams, the Bruins are well aware of what’s at stake, according to Schroeder.
“It’s a huge tournament for us,” she said. “We actually had to sit everyone down and say, “˜Do not overlook (last week’s Las Vegas tournament), do not overlook the Wednesday game.’ I mean, there are top college softball teams from all over the country, so we’re very excited. We cannot wait.”
Kerr remains out
Senior pitcher Donna Kerr has now missed the last three games after having injured her right leg during Saturday’s game against Utah. She is listed as day to day.