UCLA softball comes back to clinch Oregon series, advances to WCWS
Down by a run, UCLA softball needed to score to keep its season alive. Junior left fielder Gabrielle Maurice gave her team what it needed, launching a solo shot to keep the series alive. (Ken Shin/Daily Bruin)
By Dylan Sanders
May 29, 2016 10:15 p.m.
This post was updated on May 29 at 11:40 p.m.
The Bruins were two outs away from the end of their season Sunday evening when Gabrielle Maurice stepped to the plate.
After losing game one of the Eugene Super Regional to No. 5-seeded Oregon on Saturday, the No. 12-seeded Bruins trailed the Ducks 1-0 throughout game two. They desperately needed a run to stay alive in the NCAA Tournament.
In the bottom of the seventh, Maurice provided them with just that. The junior left fielder connected on a 1-0 pitch, sending it flying to deep right-center just beyond the outfield wall.
Her home run helped UCLA to come back and win game two in extra innings, but also forced a double header, allowing the Bruins to defeat the Ducks in game three on Sunday night.
Following its 8-1 blowout victory on Saturday, Oregon hit the ground running in the top of the first inning of game two with a leadoff triple from infielder Jenna Lilley, who scored on a sacrifice fly.
UCLA sophomore Selina Ta’amilo dominated in the circle despite giving up the early run. She had seven strikeouts and allowed only four hits through nine innings.
“I was just hitting my spots and my defense had my back,” Ta’amilo said. “That’s pretty much the key.”
Megan Kleist also stifled batters for the majority of the game. The Ducks freshman – who threw a complete game in Oregon’s only regular-season win over UCLA – did not allow the Bruins to score a run until Maurice’s home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Kleist held strong through the eighth as well, but faltered in the ninth when third baseman Mysha Sataraka doubled to lead off the inning. The Bruins’ senior advanced to third on a bunt and was driven in on a walk-off single from sophomore catcher Madeline Jelenicki.
In game three – immediately following the extra-inning win – UCLA struck first. Senior center fielder Allexis Bennett led off the first inning with a walk and scored on an overthrow to third.
Ta’amilo started her second game of the day, but was pulled after allowing two singles and a sacrifice bunt in the first.
Redshirt junior Paige McDuffee replaced Ta’amilo in the circle. McDuffee pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing four hits throughout the game.
“Today I was just attacking the zone, taking it pitch by pitch and just mixing it up,” McDuffee said. “(Jelenicki) was doing a great job calling pitches.”
In the top of the fourth, UCLA scored again. Junior shortstop Delaney Spaulding walked to lead off the inning and a double from Sataraka drove her in to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
UCLA maintained the two-run advantage until the bottom of the seventh inning, when McDuffee gave up a leadoff single to Ducks’ pinch-hitter Gwen Svekis. Two outs later, Lilley hit an RBI double that cut UCLA’s lead in half.
McDuffee remained composed, though, forcing a fly out to Maurice that sealed the Bruins’ second victory of the day and sent them to the Women’s College World Series.
“Our focus has really been about scoring as many runs as possible, but this weekend was really about some outstanding pitching,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We recovered from day one.”
UCLA will head to Oklahoma City this week to compete in the WCWS for the second year in a row. The team will face No. 4 Auburn, as well as No. 8 Florida State and No. 16 Georgia, in the double-elimination style tournament starting June 2.
