UCLA softball exited the Women’s College World Series without winning a single game for the first time in school history.
The No. 12 Bruins’ NCAA Tournament run ended Saturday afternoon following the team’s 8-4 defeat to the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles. UCLA had lost its first game of the double-elimination round 10-3 to No. 4 Auburn on Thursday.
UCLA appeared to have recovered from the Auburn loss early in Saturday’s matchup. Senior center fielder Allexis Bennett began the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff single, followed by a bunt single from sophomore second baseman Kylee Perez. Junior short stop Delaney Spaulding was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Mysha Sataraka.
The senior third baseman proceeded to belt her 15th home run of the year – and third of the tournament – off of a payoff pitch from Florida State’s Meghan King. The Bruins batted through their entire lineup in the first inning, but scored only on Sataraka’s grand slam.
The Seminoles countered immediately in the top of the second as Alex Powers hit a leadoff home run, her second of the WCWS.
Johanna Grauer, who started in the circle for UCLA, continued to struggle following the solo shot. The sophomore gave up a single and a walk, and then committed an error to load the bases with only one out. She was replaced by redshirt junior Paige McDuffee, who allowed Florida State’s second run to cross the plate on a walk.
UCLA’s pitching woes did not end there. In the top of the third, McDuffee gave up the second leadoff home run of the game to Jessica Warren, followed immediately by two more hits. Sophomore Selina Ta’amilo replaced McDuffee after a fielder’s choice scored two more runs and gave Florida State the lead. Ta’amilo lasted only two batters, who she walked and hit with a pitch, before Grauer was subbed back in to finish off the inning.
The Seminoles continued producing runs in the following innings as the Bruins’ bats fell silent. Florida State struck in the fifth, adding another pair of runs to its lead off of a walk and two hits. In the seventh inning, an RBI bunt single made the score 8-4.
Freshman first baseman Brianna Tautalafua singled in the sixth, providing UCLA with its only hit after the team gave up its four-run lead.
For the second year in a row, the Bruins left the WCWS empty handed. They were outscored by their two opponents 18-7, ending their 40-16-1 season without a win in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.