No. 3 Oregon presented itself as a threat to top-ranked UCLA this weekend.
But the Bruins went 1-2 in their three-game series against the Ducks.
The Bruins traveled to Eugene, Ore. to play the afternoon games against their Pac-12 opponent, returning with a 9-3 conference record and a 34-4 overall record.
The Ducks beat the Bruins 9-7 Friday and 12-4 Saturday. UCLA retaliated on Sunday with a 6-1 victory against Oregon.
In games one and two, the Bruin defense struggled to suppress the Ducks’ offense.
“(Oregon) is stacked one through nine,” said junior utility Stephany LaRosa. “They all hit very well.”
Prior to this weekend, UCLA had a trend of allowing only four runs against in Pac-12 series: Arizona, Washington and Utah each scored a total of four runs in recent three-game matchups against UCLA.
Oregon broke that trend, however, by scoring 22 runs against UCLA from Friday to Sunday.
The Bruins fought back at the plate.
In game one, LaRosa and junior pitcher Ally Carda contributed to the Bruins’ seven runs scored with home runs, including a three-run homer by Carda, but UCLA still fell short in the 9-7 loss.
“Keep(ing) composure to bounce right back – that’s what we struggled with the first two days,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez.
Composure within the circle wavered as well.
“For the first two days, I think I was overthrowing a little bit, so I (decided to) just trust what I got and just trust my spin,” Carda said.
Carda and senior pitcher Jessica Hall gave up eight runs each in games one and two. Sophomore pitcher Paige McDuffee relieved Carda in game one, making her first appearance since February against Nebraska.
“It was great to get (McDuffee) back on the field – first time she’s been back for quite a while,” Inouye-Perez said.
McDuffee started in UCLA’s game three win. Carda returned the favor as her relief and closed the Bruins’ 6-1 win over Oregon.
“Pitching-wise, we went with a better strategy (in game three),” Inouye-Perez said.
On Sunday, UCLA decided that taking the game too seriously wasn’t the answer to ending Oregon’s two-game winning streak against them.
“Before the game, we talked about how we (would) get back to what we do best: Get really loose and have fun with it,” Carda said.
It worked.
The Ducks could only get one run past the Bruins on Sunday, resulting in UCLA’s ninth Pac-12 win.
The Bruins catch a break from Pac-12 play when UCLA travels to face Cal State Fullerton Thursday.