No. 2 UCLA softball secures 3-0 win over Utah after slow start
Sophomore infielder Briana Perez put UCLA on the board in the sixth inning against Utah on Friday night, hitting a line drive over the right field wall. The Bruins went on to defeat the Utes 3-0. (Ashley Kenney/Daily Bruin)
By Coral Smith
April 27, 2019 2:37 p.m.
It was tied, and then it wasn’t.
No. 2 UCLA softball (41-2, 15-1 Pac-12) edged out unranked Utah (15-30, 4-12) on Friday night for the 3-0 victory.
The two teams were scoreless through the first five innings of the game, as the pitching duel between redshirt junior pitcher Rachel Garcia and Utah pitcher Hailey Hilburn stifled both teams offensively.
Neither team was able to muster more than a single hit and walk apiece through the first four innings of the game and, by the end of the fifth inning, neither of the teams were able to get more than four base runners, none of whom scored.
“This is our sport. There’s times where we kill it, and there’s times where it just doesn’t happen,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “Everyone would like to see it the other way and see the hit show, but it doesn’t always work like that.”
Sophomore infielder Briana Perez finally broke through for the Bruins in the bottom of the sixth inning, smashing a line drive over the right-field wall to break up the tied game and give the Bruins the 1-0 lead.
“I was thinking ‘Just get on base,’ just do something for the team,” Perez said. “I know that I had big hitters behind me, so I actually just ran into one and it worked out!”
Garcia immediately followed with a line drive single herself and, three batters later, was brought in on another home run by freshman utility Colleen Sullivan to extend the lead.
Sullivan said Perez’s hit rejuvenated the team’s energy, which allowed her to hit her home run and for the team to finish the game strong.
“It definitely loosened us up, because I think we were really tight,” Sullivan said. “Rankingwise, we obviously should have scored more, in our opinion. … Once she did that it kind of let us all loosen up and get back to our normal and what we’re able to do.”
With the three-run cushion behind her, Garcia finished the game for UCLA, sending Utah’s batters down 1-2-3 in the seventh inning to secure the victory. Garcia finished the complete-game shutout having given up just two hits and a walk and striking out seven. The win marked her sixth shutout of the season, bringing her ERA down to 0.64.
“It really shows the complete depth of our team, because whether our offense is having a rough day or our pitching is having a rough day we’re able to pick each other up so much,” Sullivan said. “I think her being clutch in so many scenarios is what’s really going to get us to the end, and hopefully cinch something really big for us.”
The victory was Garcia’s first of her career as a pitcher againt Utah, as Utah swept UCLA in her redshirt freshman year and she was injured when UCLA traveled to Salt Lake City last season.
The series will continue Saturday night at 6 p.m.
