UCLA softball forces No. 4 Oregon into first conference losses of season
The UCLA softball team won the weekend series against the Oregon Ducks, with redshirt junior Paige McDuffee pitching for the Bruins in a 4-1 win Sunday.
By Brent Troop
April 3, 2016 10:46 p.m.
The weekend wasn’t short on offense for UCLA softball, as it scored more runs in one game against Oregon than the rest of the Pac-12 teams have all season.
The No. 16 Bruins (22-11-1, 4-3-1 Pac-12) stunned the No. 4 Ducks (27-6, 7-2 Pac-12) in their first series at the brand-new Jane Sanders Stadium. The conference losses were the first of the season for Oregon.
Behind the Bruins’ success was their penchant for scoring quickly against the Duck’s top-25 pitching staff. Led by freshman first baseman Brianna Tautalafua, UCLA opened up each game by scoring first.
Tautalafua brought power from the bottom of the lineup, hitting .556 with her first three home runs of the season.
“Our pitchers did so well this weekend and that pumped me up,” Tautalafua said. “It made me feel like I needed to support them.”
The series wasn’t perfect for Tautalafua though, as she recorded multiple fielding errors.
Despite the defensive mishaps, UCLA softball coach Kelly Inouye-Perez was pleased with how Tautalafua rebounded to dominate at the plate.
“What I commended her on was her ability to come up to the plate – separate her defense from her offense – and pick up an RBI,” Inouye-Perez said.
Across from the plate, the Bruins got a solid performance in the circle from redshirt-junior pitcher Paige McDuffee. After sparsely pitching this season due to last season’s injury, McDuffee threw 9 2/3 dominant innings against the Ducks.
McDuffee credited her win on Sunday to the work done behind the plate by sophomore catcher Madeline Jelenicki. The duo attacked the strike zone all game and allowed only one walk.
“Maddie was doing a really good job mixing up the pitches and keeping them off balance,” McDuffee said.
Entering the game in relief for sophomore pitcher Selina Ta’amilo, McDuffee was on a strict pitch count to prevent her from getting reinjured.
Her pitch count ended up not being a factor for Sunday’s game though, with McDuffee throwing only 58 pitches over 6 2/3 innings.
“If you stay under 100 (pitches), you put yourself in a position to have a really quality game,” Inouye-Perez said. “To be at 58 (pitches) – right under 60 (pitches) – is unheard of against a team like Oregon.”
The Bruins seemed to turn a corner this weekend and improved their record against ranked opponents to 6-9. With the series win, Inouye-Perez had some words for the rest of the top 25.
“We know were a better team. We know that were capable of being the best team in the country.”
With contributing reports by Korbin Placet, Assistant Sports editor. Email Troop at [email protected] or tweet him @b_troop.
