Nearly every seat was accounted for at the Easton Softball Stadium on Saturday.
And nearly every set of hands in the crowd shot into the air as the Bruins made the third out in the pivotal inning that could have prevented No. 2 UCLA from sweeping Oregon State.
UCLA opened the Oregon State series on Thursday with an 8-4 win. The Bruins returned Friday and beat the Beavers 9-1 in six innings on the mercy rule.
UCLA assistant coach Kirk Walker, who was the Oregon State head coach for 18 years, said he was not surprised that the Beavers entered game three swinging.
“That’s one thing (the Oregon State) program has always done – they always come after a fight,” Walker said.
The Beavers built a 4-0 lead in the top of the first with a grand slam.
But the Beavers’ dam of a lead wouldn’t hold: UCLA opened the floodgates and unleashed a stream of hits.
The Bruins scored six runs by the end of the second inning against their Pac-12 opponent.
Sophomore infielder Mysha Sataraka extended the UCLA lead to 8-4 with her second homer of the series in the bottom of the sixth, marking her 13th home run of the season.
Sataraka said she owes her offensive success to her coaches and teammates.
“My coaches have been working with me a lot mentally and my teammates having my back and believing in me brings confidence to myself,” said Sataraka.
In the top of the seventh of game three, Oregon State put up a good fight: The Beavers hit a three-run home run that brought them only two runs shy of a tie.
UCLA ended the threatening rally with an out at first and Oregon State runners were left stranded. The fans’ hands went up as the final score was confirmed: 10-8 Bruins.
With that, UCLA swept the Oregon State series, improving its season record to 39-4 and its Pac-12 record to 12-3.
The three-game series was a confidence booster for several Bruins – especially in game two.
On Friday, junior pitcher Ally Carda hit her third grand slam, and seventh home run, of the season.
Carda said that when she approaches the plate with bases loaded, she pretends she’s in a different situation to calm her nerves.
“Honestly, sometimes I just pretend there’s no one on (so I can) just take it pitch-by-pitch instead of trying to see the outcome,” said Carda.
Junior utility player Stephany LaRosa followed Carda’s grand slam with a walk-off home run to end game two in the bottom of the sixth, 9-1.
“Our strength as a team is staying composed and being able to compete at any time,” Walker said.
And that time is now.
UCLA takes on Long Beach State in a double-header Monday at the Easton Softball Stadium at 4:30 p.m.and 7 p.m.