The stakes of high-level games do not affect Megan Faraimo.

Or at least that’s what the redshirt senior pitcher says.

“I do better when the pressure is on,” Faraimo said. “Knowing that, in a sense, this is like a championship game – like we’re playing for something. … We just get in there and play UCLA softball no matter what’s on the line.”

No. 2 UCLA softball (47-4, 21-3 Pac-12) clinched the Pac-12 regular-season championship outright for the 12th time in program history and secured a road series win, defeating No. 23 Utah (31-13, 12-9) in the first two games of its last conference series. The Bruins upended the Utes by a score of 3-0 in Friday’s contest behind Faraimo’s seventh shutout of the season and redshirt junior utility Maya Brady’s two-run home run. The momentum continued into Saturday’s contest, as the bats came alive for 13 hits in a 10-1 run-rule win – Utah’s first such loss this season.

The story was all too familiar for the Bruins on Friday behind Faraimo’s seven shutout innings for her career-high 25th win on the season.

On cue, Brady returned the favor to Faraimo – both of whom are finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year – in the form of her two-run blast in the third inning while flashing the leather in the outfield, making five catches and six putouts.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Utes looked to come back from a three-run deficit as outfielder Sophie Jacquez stepped up to the plate. Jacquez – who had already hit a double earlier in the night – took a Faraimo riseball off the end of her bat into foul territory in left field. Brady sprinted past fifth-year infielder Rachel Cid and redshirt senior outfielder Kelli Godin to make an over-the-shoulder basket catch.

She's got all five tools 🧰🧤

📺: Pac-12 Network
💻: https://t.co/3sJRpsFr9V#GoBruins | @BradyMaya pic.twitter.com/xHOddkrrrP

— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) April 29, 2023

Faraimo said despite having just one strikeout in the game, she appreciated the teammates behind her Friday.

“Defense wins championships, and they were lights out,” Faraimo said. “Maya Brady had so many good plays, and then it’s also just making the routine outs – so that was really big.”

In Saturday’s contest, UCLA got off to a hot start in the second inning with a line drive single to center from Cid, scoring redshirt junior catcher Alyssa Garcia from second.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said Garcia’s heads-up base running created momentum for the team going forward.

“We can push the limit, and days like today (Saturday), that first one was a big one with the ability for us to be able to get on the board with aggressive baserunning,” Inouye-Perez said.

Throughout the game, only six UCLA batters tallied hits. Still, the impact of Garcia, freshman infielder Jordan Woolery, freshman utility Kennedy Powell and sophomore utility Savannah Pola generated run production against the Utes. Each of the four ended the night with multihit performances.

Pola – who lost her leadoff spot in the lineup earlier this season – came through big for UCLA, smacking an RBI single in the third and a two-run home run in the fifth. The latter swing was her first homer of the season, giving the Bruins a 7-1 lead heading into the sixth frame.

Pola did not think the swing had what it takes to leave the yard but said it was her turn to clutch up.

“I’ve just been trying to stay simple and not do too much,” Pola said. “It just happened.”

UCLA continued to tally crooked numbers into the rest of the fifth and sixth innings. A Garcia fielder’s choice and groundout led to two runs, and a third was scored on a Powell single, securing the 19th consecutive win for the Bruins.

Along with the 10-spot, sixth-year Brooke Yanez pitched her third straight one-run outing on 75 pitches, lowering her ERA to 1.94 on the season.

Inouye-Perez said the focus is now on gaining momentum toward upcoming challenges.

“Yesterday is as old as dirt,” Inouye-Perez said. “We’ll take it one day at a time – one pitch at a time – and understand that if we play our game, we’ll give ourselves a great chance to extend our season all the way to the end.”