Home Runs Keep UCLA Alive, Extend Women's College World Series vs. Oklahoma
The Bruins needed a win to keep their season alive, and they used a string of long balls to secure one and even things up with the Sooners.
No. 5 seed UCLA softball (51-9, 19-5 Pac-12) took down No. 1 seed Oklahoma (56-3, 17-1 Big 12) by a score of 7-3 in game one of the Women's College World Series semifinals on Monday. The Bruins forced game two in the process, and the winner will advance to the best-of-three finals in Oklahoma City.
All 10 runs in the game came off of home runs, but UCLA did more to get runners on base and its long balls carried a bit more weight as a result. The blue and gold also got the last homer of the day, with sophomore center fielder Maya Brady launching her second of the contest in the seventh to add on some much-needed insurance and all but wrap things up.
It didn't take long for the Bruins to build a lead – one that they never relinquished – and it marked one of the few times all season that the Sooners were down on the scoreboard.
Senior first baseman Kinsley Washington drew a leadoff walk in the top of the first, setting senior third baseman Delanie Wisz up for a two-run shot to left. A single and walk with two down put UCLA in line to scratch a few more across, but Oklahoma escaped the jam to keep the gap from growing.
The Sooners immediately cut that deficit in half, as center fielder Jada Coleman launched a solo homer of her own. Junior pitcher Megan Faraimo bounced back to retire nine in a row, keeping Oklahoma in check for the next few frames.
The Bruins took full advantage of their opponent's cold stretch following Coleman's bomb, even if they got sat down 1-2-3 in the top of the second. UCLA came back in the top of the third, getting a leadoff single from senior shortstop Briana Perez followed by a walk by Wisz.
Brady, who came into Monday batting .462 with two homers and five RBIs in the postseason, popped a deep fly ball to center that cleared the fence for a three-run shot that made it 5-1 Bruins.
Suddenly pitching with a four-run lead – the largest deficit the Sooners had faced all season – Faraimo ran into some trouble in the fourth. Oklahoma got a leadoff single of their own that led to a two-run home run by shortstop Grace Lyons, again slicing the gap in half on a deep shot to left.
Faraimo allowed another hit before escaping the inning, and she was pulled at the start of the fifth in favor of fellow 20-game winner, senior Holly Azevedo.
After issuing a two-out walk, Azevedo went head-to-head with designated player Jocelyn Alo – college softball's all-time home run leader and a .500 hitter on the season. With the count even at 2-2, Azevedo shook off the pitch called by assistant coach Lisa Fernandez and decided to attack Alo with a changeup low and outside.
Azevedo got the strikeout and left the circle with a mean mug on her face, having just retired the potential tying run to keep her team alive. Needing to hold the Sooners off the board again in the sixth, Azevedo struck out two more and did just that.
The lead was still stuck at two in the seventh, with the Bruins going 1-for-16 after Brady's first homer. After Wisz drew a two-out walk, Brady launched another home run to get the lead back to four and take the pressure off Azevedo in the bottom of the frame.
UCLA closed things out with a 1-2-3 inning, and Azevedo got through her 3.0 relief innings without allowing a hit. Azevedo only tossed 42 pitches, while Faraimo threw 56, leaving both available for the second game of the upcoming double-header.
First pitch for the elimination game between UCLA and Oklahoma is scheduled for 12:19 p.m.
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