Bruins add on to series-winning streak with two-game victory against Cardinals

The Bruins snapped one streak this weekend but kept another intact.

No. 2 UCLA softball (45-3, 19-2 Pac-12) dropped game one but won the next two against Stanford (32-15, 8-10) to extend its series winning streak to seven – but ending its streak of sweeps at two.

“We’re in the part of the season where it’s all about winning series, so I’m proud of our ability to come back from Friday and do exactly that,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We always have to put ourselves in a position to play hard (in) innings one through seven and we were able to finish all the way to the end.”

In the opener, the Bruins left seven runners on base and only put together five hits in a 2-1 win by the Cardinal. Junior utility Bubba Nickles recorded two of those five hits and scored the only run UCLA could muster in the third inning.

In the circle, three pitchers were used in the loss.

Freshman Megan Faraimo started and allowed two runs on six hits in four innings, with both runs coming in the form of a two-run home run in the second inning.

The Bruins were able to even the series in game two with a 7-4 win Saturday. Redshirt junior Rachel Garcia picked up win No. 20 of the year, striking out five while allowing two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings.

At the plate, UCLA scored in four of the seven innings, and nine Bruins combined for 11 hits. Senior infielder Brianna Tautalafua, redshirt sophomore Aaliyah Jordan and sophomore infielder Briana Perez each drove in a run. Nickles drove in three runs with a pair of hits to extend her hitting streak to 15.

For the last couple of series, Nickles has hit in the leadoff spot after spending most of the year batting second. She said this is the first time in her career she’s hit atop of the lineup, and she sees benefits in her new spot for herself and the team.

“If I’m able to have a quality at-bat right away, it gives the rest of the lineup more momentum and confidence in their at-bats,” Nickles said. “I’ve definitely had to be a little more patient and see a little more balls and strikes and keep the pitcher throwing so that I can tell the rest of the lineup what she’s throwing.”

In the rubber match, Faraimo earned her 15th win of the season in UCLA’s 4-0 shutout victory – its 18th of the year.

Faraimo struck out four in her four innings of work, and Azevedo earned her first save of the year to finish off the shutout, fanning two and giving up one hit.

Perez picked up her fourth hit of the weekend with a double and later came in to score for the Bruins’ first run of the game. Over her last four games, Perez has gone 7-for-15 with a home run and four RBIs.

“I’ve just been trying to be aggressive and not let the pitcher get ahead in the count,” Perez said. “We didn’t really go into the first game with a straight game plan, especially myself, so I had to make sure I had a plan every at-bat.”

UCLA had a 2-0 lead after the first inning, then two solo home runs by freshman catcher Colleen Sullivan and Jordan in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, closing out the Bruins’ victory.

“There are always challenges that we can continue to learn and improve on as a team and that’s exactly what happened,” Inouye-Perez said. “The game challenged us and you don’t get to just own it all the time, but it’s how you respond, which is what matters the most, and we did a great job of responding.”