UCLA softball concludes Cal State Fullerton contest with mercy-rule victory

With the bases loaded in the fifth, redshirt freshman utility Maya Brady hit a hard ground ball that the Titans couldn’t field cleanly, scoring her teammate for a Bruin walk-off win.

“Any time you get an opportunity, you just have to jump on it,” Brady said. “I was going to do anything to put the ball in play. That was my mindset.”

No. 4 UCLA softball (9-1) used a walk-off error to defeat Cal State Fullerton (9-8) by mercy rule in a midweek matchup, winning 9-1 after five innings.

Going into the fifth inning up by five runs, the Bruins tacked on two more on a ground out and a double, putting the winning run on second base with just one out. The next two batters walked to load the bases, bringing Brady to the plate to knock in the winning run.

UCLA had come from behind to win both games of its doubleheader versus Fullerton 12 days ago, but on Wednesday, the Bruins needed just one inning to take the lead for good.

Though Fullerton scored in the top of the first on a walk, stolen base and a double, UCLA’s offense responded immediately. The Bruins plated four in the bottom of the frame as 10 players came to bat – the third time UCLA batted around in the first inning this season.

“As a team, we wanted to come out strong in general,” Brady said. “Fullerton has a lot of different pitchers who all look very different, so jumping on their pitchers early, passing the bat and doing a good job of connecting hits together was on our team’s mind.”

The Bruins added on another run in the second and fourth innings, with the first coming courtesy of an RBI single from redshirt sophomore utility Anna Vines and the second on a sacrifice fly from Brady.

In contrast to recent games in which UCLA has scored by way of home runs and extra-base hits, Vines said the Bruins focused more on small ball in Wednesday’s game, as they collected seven walks and 10 hits, six of those singles.

“Last weekend we had a lot of long balls, but this week, I think being a little more selective at the plate and taking advantage of the smaller strike zone with the umpire allowed us to take walks and advance,” Vines said.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said she was also impressed with the production coming from every part of the team’s lineup, not just the top half.

“We’re a unique lineup. I think you can take my bottom half of the lineup, and they would be a starting half anywhere across the country,” Inouye-Perez said. “That’s when you know we’re at our best, when you see all parts of the lineup contributing, and that’s when we’re very dangerous as an offensive unit.”

When redshirt junior pitcher Holly Azevedo started against Fullerton two weeks ago, she surrendered four runs, three earned before being pulled. Starting again on Wednesday, Azevedo gave up just one run over five innings, striking out four to record the win.

UCLA will next take the field at Long Beach State Saturday afternoon before starting a multi-week homestand.