The crowd at Anderson Family Field held its breath as Madeline Jelenicki stepped into the box during the seventh inning Tuesday evening. The sophomore catcher had crushed a solo home run in the second inning, and with runners on first and third and two outs, No. 18 UCLA softball (20-10-1) needed another clutch at bat to carry them to victory over Cal State Fullerton (25-10).
What they got was not what they expected.
Jelenicki worked Titans’ pitcher Jasmine Antunez, who had taken over mid-at bat for Bryanna Ybarra, to a 3-1 count. Antunez’s fourth pitch sailed over Jelenicki’s head to the backstop. Bruin second baseman Kylee Perez took off from third, easily beating the misdirected toss to Antunez at the plate.
The unusual error, while not what Jelenicki anticipated, propelled UCLA to a 5-4 victory over Fullerton.
“If not coming up with the big hit and getting it on the wild pitch is how it’s gonna be, that’s what’s good for the team,” Jelenicki said. “Whatever it takes.”
Following a tough weekend that included 9-0 and 6-5 losses to No. 13 Washington (21-7), UCLA was looking for a refreshing start in their mid-week road matchup against Fullerton.
While the win over the unranked Titans was far from easy, the Bruins did show signs of revitalization both on the mound and at the plate.
Sophomore pitcher Selina Ta’amilo, who gave up five earned runs in her one-inning start against Washington on Saturday, had a strong performance against Fullerton after taking over for fellow sophomore Johanna Grauer in the second inning.
Ta’amilo gave up only two hits and had no earned runs through the rest of the game. She stunned Fullerton batters with her drop and off-speed pitches, striking out five in her 5.1 innings on the mound.
“From Washington … I needed to go back to the drawing board, seeing what I needed to do, looking at film,” Ta’amilo said. “Tonight I just made sure to hit my spots.”
Her precise placement prevented a late-inning rally for the Titans, as a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh put the Bruins’ lead in jeopardy. Ta’amilo responded by pitching Fullerton’s top hitter, Missy Taukeiaho, inside, jamming her as she grounded out to third.
“I was pitching situational to get it to my defense,” Ta’amilo said. “I’m not going for the strikeout – I’m not trying to blow it past her.”
Ta’amilo’s impressive performance allowed UCLA’s offense to chip away at Fullerton’s lead, eventually overcoming a three-run deficit.
In addition to Jelenicki’s solo shot, junior shortstop Delaney Spaulding had a two-RBI home run of her own, a bullet line drive that just cleared the left field fence. Five of the Bruins’ seven leadoff batters also made it on base.
“Tonight was about quality at bats, but also moving runners,” said UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We just put runners on, we continued to move them and we continued to apply pressure.”
Although the Bruins only had six hits in the game, they drew a combined eight walks, and put runners on base in every inning.
UCLA now faces a difficult weekend, where they will take on No. 5 Oregon (26-4) squad in a three-game series on the road starting Friday.