The Bruins were outmatched by their conference rival.
No. 3 UCLA softball (45-4, 19-3 Pac-12) fell to No. 6 Arizona (41-11, 18-4) at home Thursday night by a score of 5-3. With the upset, the two teams’ fight for the Pac-12 title will continue with the rest of the weekend’s games.
Redshirt junior pitcher Rachel Garcia struggled in the circle, giving up five runs – four earned – in her first loss of the season. All five runs came by way of Wildcat home runs – a solo home run in the fourth, followed by two-run shots in the fifth and seventh – the last of which broke a 3-3 stalemate and gave Arizona the lead for good.
Though she matched her season high with 15 strikeouts, the loss still marked the first time that Garcia has given up more than three earned runs this season. The three surrendered home runs match her total from the rest of the season combined.
“It happens. Home runs are going to happen. I just plated the ball a little too much,” Garcia said. “It’s all a learning experience, and I just got to know not to do too much with a certain pitch.”
The Bruins took the lead early in the game after three singles brought in junior outfielder Bubba Nickles in the first inning. But a bases-loaded opportunity later in the inning was squandered when sophomore infielder Briana Perez was called out for leaving too early when tagging up from third after a flyout.
After Arizona had tied up the score with its home run, senior infielder Brianna Tautalafua responded with her own solo home run in the fourth inning to put UCLA up 2-1.
But again the Bruins ran into an inning-ending out later in the fourth and were unable to capitalize on another chance with the bases loaded, as sophomore utility Kinsley Washington was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a single by Nickles after Perez had already crossed the plate.
After that, the Bruins were only able to muster two hits over the last three innings, leaving both of the runners on base. UCLA finished with seven base runners left on and struck out six times – five of which were in the last three innings.
“We just weren’t making our adjustments quick enough in our at-bats,” Garcia said. “It would take until the next at-bat, or the next, to make those adjustments.”
The Bruins have not lost a series yet this season, and Tautalafua said that in order to bounce back from the defeat the team just needs to clean up its game on both sides of the ball and get back to the way it’d been playing before.
“We thrive under pressure,” Tautalafua said. “Since it’s best two out of three, we still have the last two days to pick up where we started and get things rolling again for us.”
UCLA and Arizona will continue the series Friday night at Easton Stadium.