A Saturday rally
After having a five-game win streak snapped Friday, UCLA softball rebounded Saturday night, defeating Oregon State 7-5 in a back-and-forth game.
The No. 13 Bruins (28-12-1, 9-4-1 Pac-12) and Beavers (27-14-1, 5-10-0 Pac-12) combined for no runs and only four hits over the first three innings of the game.
OSU second baseman Mikela Manewa broke the offensive silence in the top of the fourth inning though, hitting a two-run home run off of sophomore Johanna Grauer to give Oregon State a 2-0 lead.
UCLA answered with a two-run homer of its own in the inning, as junior shortstop Delaney Spaulding hit the ball over the center field wall off of OSU’s Meehra Nelson to tie the game.
In the fifth inning, sophomore Selina Ta’amilo came in to relieve Grauer, who gave up a lead off triple. Ta’amilo gave up an RBI single and lasted only four batters before being pulled for redshirt junior Paige McDuffee, who would surrender an additional two runs, giving the Beavers a 5-2 lead.
However, the Bruins came back in the bottom half of the inning behind clutch two-out hits from sophomore catcher Madeline Jelenicki and junior left fielder Gabrielle Maurice to take a 7-5 lead.
Grauer would enter in the top of the sixth inning and close the door, pitching two scoreless innings and securing a 7-5 victory for UCLA.
Series wrap
For the third-straight weekend series, the UCLA softball team recorded a mercy-rule victory over its Pac-12 opponent.
The Bruins took two of three games against the Oregon State Beavers, rebounding from an 8-2 loss Friday by winning 7-5 Saturday and 8-0 Sunday.
Oregon State’s high-powered offense – which ranks 17th in the nation in batting average – jumped out to early 2-0 leads on both Friday and Saturday. The Beavers twice did what no other team has done against the Bruins – score runs on all three of the UCLA pitchers in one game.
The team’s pitching ultimately rebounded from its rough start, with Grauer starting the game Saturday before re-entering during the sixth inning.
With a 7-5 lead, Grauer loaded the bases before inducing a ground ball and striking out two on her way to notching the save.
“Johanna did an outstanding job this weekend,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We still have a little inconsistency as far as a complete staff. (McDuffee) is day-to-day and we didn’t get to see (Ta’amilo’s) best.”
The Bruin offense had the biggest turnaround, leading the come-from-behind win Saturday and the five-inning mercy-rule victory Sunday.
“They had a lot more quality at bats on Saturday,” Inouye-Perez said. “It’s just your approach in the box, swinging at good pitches and being aggressive early in the count.”
Behind the comeback win Saturday was Jelenicki, who hit a game-tying two-run home run in the third inning and a game-tying two-run double in the fifth inning.
The back-and-forth matchup was representative of the team’s season so far, as the Bruins struggled with their consistency on both sides of the ball.
“Coach pulled us together and emphasized that … highs and lows are going to happen,” Jelenicki said. “The most important thing is that … we learn from our mistakes instead of letting it have a domino effect.”
UCLA has continued to build on its momentum since its road wins against then-No. 4 Oregon. The Bruins are now 4-1 in weekend series against conference opponents, and are heading in to a tough matchup against the No. 17 Arizona Wildcats.
“Arizona is our Pac-12 rival, so it’s going to be an intense weekend playing at their house,” said Grauer. “(These) were big wins for us.”