UCLA softball defeats San Diego to snap 2-game losing streak

Briana Perez set the tone early for the Bruins.

The redshirt senior infielder reached base to begin the bottom of the first, stole second on a swinging strike from redshirt senior infielder Kinsley Washington and proceeded to steal third on the throwback from the Torero catcher.

“Bri Perez is an absolute animal,” said redshirt sophomore pitcher/utility Lexi Sosa. “She’s always bringing up the level and pumping us up at the same time.”

Washington’s double off the left-field wall drove in Perez and gave the blue and gold a lead it would not surrender.

Ignited by Perez’s first-inning run, No. 4 UCLA softball (33-5, 10-2 Pac-12) returned to its winning ways, defeating San Diego (19-26, 4-1 WCC) by a score of 8-1 in its first game at Easton Stadium since April 3. The victory snapped the blue and gold’s two-game losing skid and pushed the Bruins’ all-time record against the Toreros to 12-0.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said the game against San Diego and the week in practice leading up to it came at a good point in UCLA’s season.

“We had a great week of practice,” Inouye-Perez said. “To be able to play a game like yesterday (Tuesday) to sharpen us up so we get back out there and go for it against a really good team in Oregon State at Oregon State, … I think it worked out for the best.”

Following Washington’s double, UCLA added three more runs in the first inning after loading the bases. The Bruins extended their lead to 4-0 on a hit-by-pitch and two-run single from redshirt sophomore catcher/first baseman Alyssa Garcia.

The Bruins would load the bases three more times on the night but only drove runners home in the third inning.

In the bottom of the third with runners occupying all the bases, Garcia forced a walk – one of UCLA’s eight on the night – to score a run. A sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore outfielder Lauryn Carter added to the tally before Perez cleared the bags with a two-RBI double to cap the Bruins’ scoring.

In the circle, graduate student pitcher Lauren Shaw started her sixth game of the year and pitched four innings, allowing one run – a solo shot to catcher/first baseman AJ Kaiser.

Sosa came to Shaw’s relief, making an appearance on the mound for the first time since March 3 against Cal Poly.

“That was such an awesome feeling,” Sosa said. “I’ve been out there at practice so being able to go in there in the game was awesome.”

Garcia said both pitchers executed the game plan well.

“They (Shaw and Sosa) were hitting their corners. They were hitting the change-ups and rise balls,” Garcia said. “They did really well today.”

Sosa earned the save, closing out the game by pitching three scoreless innings while limiting the Toreros to two total base runners.

UCLA will travel to Corvallis and take on Oregon State over the weekend to resume Pac-12 play starting Friday.