UCLA softball holds Pac-12 rival Arizona scoreless in 3 consecutive games

The Bruins held their opponent hitless for the fourth time in March.

This time around it was redshirt senior pitcher Holly Azevedo in the circle, and for the first time this season, the no-hitter came during conference play.

“It’s awesome,” Azevedo said. “We’re so blessed to have such depth ... can’t really ask for anything more.”

No. 4 UCLA softball (25-3, 3-0 Pac-12) began conference play with a series sweep of No. 9 Arizona (19-7, 0-3) from Saturday to Monday at Easton Stadium, blanking the Wildcats over 21 innings. The back-to-back-to-back shutouts mark the first time the Bruins have held their Pac-12 rivals scoreless in three consecutive games since 1990.

The victories also extended the blue and gold’s winning streak to 18 and continued its perfect month of March.

“The preseason allows you to prepare for the Pac-12,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We started playing great ball a couple weeks ago, and it was really good for us to be able to continue to build confidence (going) head to head with a very talented Arizona team. We’re playing really great ball right now on all parts – offense, defense and base running.”

In the opening game of the series, the Bruins got on the board early, adding a run in the bottom of the first. With redshirt senior infielder Kinsley Washington on second, redshirt senior infielder Delanie Wisz doubled her home with a drive to right-center field.

In the circle, redshirt junior pitcher/first baseman Megan Faraimo kept the Wildcats off the bases until the fourth inning. Redshirt sophomore utility Seneca Curo increased UCLA’s lead in the bottom of the fourth frame with a single into left to bring in a runner.

The blue and gold then added insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth with redshirt sophomore utility Maya Brady homering into the trees before Curo and Washington each added RBI singles to push the lead to 5-0.

Inouye-Perez praised the weekend Curo had – both in the batter’s box as well as in the field.

“She had quality at-bats,” Inouye-Perez said. “She was able to move the runner, she was able to come up with a sacrifice fly, she got the RBI (singles). She’s a phenomenal athlete. She’s here for her versatility, she can play any position. But she’s also the future of the program.”

On Sunday, Azevedo’s pitching and her team’s aggressiveness on the base paths secured the Bruins’ victory.

In the first inning, with redshirt senior infielder Briana Perez standing on second base, Wisz safely ran out a slow roller to the left side of the infield. On the throw to first, Perez never stopped running as she rounded third and beat the throw home to give UCLA the lead.

That run proved to be enough as Azevedo fanned 13 Wildcat batters, including four in the fourth inning on the way to her second no-hitter of the season.

“Holly has been such a selfless Bruin,” Inouye-Perez said. “She played on a team with Rachel Garcia and with Megan Faraimo and has done great things during her time here but we needed her to be able to step up to be the one. … To be able to throw a no-hitter against Arizona – that’s a historical moment.”

Faraimo entered the circle again Monday to close out the series against the Wildcats. Just as she did in Saturday night’s outing, the redshirt junior kept Arizona scoreless through four, allowing one hit.

But this time, Faraimo provided the run support herself.

With runners on second and third, Faraimo launched a rocket into left field, hitting –and temporarily disabling – the scoreboard at Easton Stadium with the first home run of her career.

“It felt really good,” Faraimo said. “I have so much support from my team, my family and my coaches. So to be able to kind of honor that support by finally getting one, it felt really good.”

Two innings later, freshman catcher Jayla Castro cleared the scoreboard entirely with a two-run blast of her own. Graduate student pitcher Lauren Shaw came on in relief and pitched three innings of scoreless work, securing the third shutout in as many days for the Bruins.

UCLA continues conference play on Friday as it travels to Seattle to take on Washington for a weekend series.