Bruin softball routed in mercy-rule loss against Oregon State
Delaney Spaulding had one of the Bruins’ two hits Thursday. The senior shortstop led off the game with a single, but did not advance past first base. (Amy Dixon/Daily Bruin)
By Christian Babcock
April 13, 2017 11:50 p.m.
No. 8 UCLA softball won its first two games against a school from Oregon this season.
The next two didn’t go as well.
For the second straight game, the Bruins’ (28-11, 4-6 Pac-12) pitchers struggled. UCLA conceded four runs in the third and four more in the fourth en route to an 8-0 run-rule loss to Oregon State (20-17, 3-7) in Corvallis, Oregon, on Thursday.
UCLA managed only two hits total in the game against the Beavers’ starting pitcher Taylor Cotton.
Senior shortstop Delaney Spaulding led the game off with a single, but no UCLA hitter was able to advance her in the frame.
The following inning, sophomore catcher Paige Halstead contributed a one-out single. After hitting into a fielder’s choice, freshman center fielder Bubba Nickles took Halstead’s place on first. She managed to steal second, but the Bruins were unable to bat her in.
Nickles would prove to be the only Bruin baserunner to reach scoring position all game. After the second inning, the Bruins were unable to put another runner on base for the remainder of the shortened game.
Cotton leads the Beavers with a 2.12 ERA in 20 appearances this season.
On the offensive side, the Beavers commenced their third-inning rally with two walks to McKenna Arriola and Shelby Weeks and a single by Alysha Everett before Natalie Hampton blasted a three-run home run to left field.
After the home run, the Bruins removed freshman starting pitcher Rachel Garcia and replaced her with junior Selina Ta’amilo, who retired the side without allowing any more runs to score despite conceding a single and a walk.
In the fourth, Everett struck again with a three-run double to key the Beavers rally.
After the two series-opening wins against then-No. 2 Oregon, the Bruins have now dropped two straight lopsided contests.
The Bruins face the Beavers in the second game of the series Friday at 3 p.m.
