For the second time this season, the Bruins ended their double-digit win streak.
No. 1 UCLA softball (35-2, 9-1 Pac-12) lost 4-3 to unranked Oregon (17-19, 2-8) on Friday night at Easton Stadium in its third straight loss to the Ducks since 2018. Friday’s loss also marks the Bruins’ second of the 2019 season to an unranked competitor; the first was against Michigan (29-11) on March 1 in Fullerton, California.
Having protected a two-run advantage through five innings, freshman pitcher Megan Faraimo gave up a one-run double and two-run home run in the sixth, as well as a solo shot to right center in the seventh inning.
UCLA mounted a late two-out rally however, courtesy of a solo shot from junior utility Bubba Nickles and a double from redshirt junior pitcher Rachel Garcia, before redshirt sophomore outfielder Aaliyah Jordan struck out swinging to end the game.
Garcia said her teammates failed to adapt to Oregon’s pitching style but that they can answer back on Saturday by attacking more in the zone and practicing on change-ups.
“I definitely think Oregon came out ready to play and they capitalized on some of our mistakes,” Garcia said. “All around, Oregon has a great facility, school and team, the same as Michigan, so sometimes it is just not our day.”
Last season, the Bruins lost two of their three matchups against the Ducks in Eugene, despite having won the first game by a score of 6-2. Heading into this weekend, Oregon was batting .266 as a team with a 5.05 ERA, with the Bruins batting .347 and holding a combined ERA of 1.20.
Assistant Coach Lisa Fernandez said the squad will be looking to compete on Saturday given its hitting performance on Friday, regardless of the identity of the team in Easton’s other dugout.
“The toughest thing in the game is to hit a round object with another round object, so hitting is not something that you can always depend on,” Fernandez said. “For us, we need to lock into being the best ball club that we can be, and not who the opponent is, whether it’s a ranked team or not.”
Ducks pitcher Jordan Dail earned her 14th win of the 2019 season, striking out 12 Bruins with six hits and three walks. Faraimo alternatively suffered her second loss as a Bruin, striking out eight batters with six hits. Fernandez and Garcia both said Dail pitched an effective game on account of her mixed-speed pitches, solid balance and crunch-time strikeouts.
Nickles, who finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs, said the Bruins’ late rally showcased the team’s fighting identity and how UCLA needs to feel more humbled and motivated after Friday’s performance when moving ahead in Pac-12 play.
“Losses are going to happen; we are human,” Nickles said. “It was a learning experience tonight – I don’t think that we failed or that losing was a bad thing, because we definitely learned from this and will be better tomorrow.”
UCLA will look to take advantage of Friday’s lessons in its second game against Oregon on Saturday, before finishing the series with a Sunday matinee.