It’s been a long two weeks for the Bruins.

Following back-to-back series on the road in Oregon and Michigan, the squad had to wrap up just one final midweek game of the regular season before Senior Night.

“I’m very proud of this team’s ability to come out and find a way to get a W after a long road trip and late return and a day off,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “It doesn’t even matter how we got the W at the end of the day. They’re tired right now, so it was great to be able to see them find a way to win tonight.”

No. 8 UCLA softball (46-7, 16-3 Big Ten) defeated Cal State Fullerton (34-15, 19-5 Big West) 4-2 on Wednesday at Easton Stadium. Despite trailing by one after the top of the second inning, the Bruins reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the second and kept it until the game’s closure.

Freshman outfielder Rylee Slimp paced the team with three hits and three runs, with two of her three runs coming at the benefit of Titan errors and miscues. Fullerton finished the affair with four errors to UCLA’s one.

“Just doing whatever it takes, finding a way to get on,” Slimp said. “It doesn’t always have to be perfect, great, solid hit, but finding a way to make contact and leading off for a team.”

Senior pitcher Jada Cecil made her sixth start of the season in the circle, and through four innings pitched, she racked up three strikeouts while allowing four hits and one run.

Sophomore pitcher/outfielder Kaitlyn Terry started the game at right field but took command of the circle, following Cecil at the beginning of the fifth inning. Terry recorded four strikeouts in her relief appearance while also continuing to hit.

The half-inning before Terry slid into the circle, she warmed up as her time at the plate approached and eventually hit in that inning.

“It’s definitely challenging,” Terry said. “But just knowing that sometimes I do have to be in a 9-1-1 playing different positions, but just honestly practicing the 9-1-1 drill, everything just works really well.”

In addition to retiring opponents, Terry also contributed to the scoring efforts. After the Titans picked up a run in the top of the second inning on UCLA’s lone error of the night, Terry’s RBI single sent Slimp home to tie things at one apiece.

Terry continued around the bases by way of a double steal and then headed home to take the lead for the Bruins in the second inning off a RBI single from graduate student outfielder Jessica Clements.

“KT’s just in great shape. In general, she plays all out,” Inouye-Perez said. “She’s emptying the tank every single time, but the fact that she can hit for power, she can do short game, she can steal bases. And then she has the ability to hit 70 on the radar gun tonight.”

Senior sendoff

Easton Stadium will stage the home curtain call of the inaugural Big Ten season for No. 8 UCLA softball (46-7, 16-3 Big Ten) against Northwestern (27-16-1, 14-5) this weekend, hosting the Wildcats for their first three-game series since 2006.

Northwestern will head west on the heels of a last-inning home victory against Wisconsin – fueled by a go-ahead home run from infielder Kaylie Avvisato, who leads the Wildcats in batting average.

However, her .379 clip doesn’t eclipse that of UCLA’s top four hitters – and neither does her team-high 53 hits.

Leading the Bruins in both categories is utility Savannah Pola, who – alongside other senior Bruins – will be taking her home curtain call Sunday. Pola, similar to Avvisato, aided the fight to bridge a four-run gap against Michigan to secure UCLA’s most recent conference series win before the team defeated Cal State Fullerton Wednesday.

But all eyes won’t just be on the seniors this weekend, as multiple Bruins have been named to watchlists for this year’s most premier awards. This week alone, freshman pitcher/utility Addisen Fisher received a nod for the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 List, while powerhouse junior duo utility Megan Grant and infielder Jordan Woolery were tapped as USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalists.

Winning this weekend could only be the beginning, as UCLA will head to next week’s Big Ten tournament and into the NCAA postseason – a lineup freshman outfielder Rylee Slimp said only fuels the team’s mindset.

“It’s just – definitely, right now – all about picking up momentum and taking it into our next series, our last series and then just the tournament and after postseason,” Slimp said.