UCLA Softball: Walk-off Single Beats Bears to Extend Win Streak to 14

Tonight, the UCLA softball team hosts the UC Berkeley Golden Bears in the middle game of this weekend’s three-game series at 7 pm at Easton Stadium. The Bruins will be looking for the series win tonight after beating the Bears, 3-2, last night, but it wasn’t another easy Bruin victory.

Last Time Out

Like I said, it wasn’t easy last night. That’s because the normally big Bruin bats were unusually quiet. Thankfully, UCLA had Rachel Garcia in the circle because that meant UC Berkeley wasn’t going to score many runs and they didn’t.

For the game, Garcia allowed two runs, one of which was earned, on six hits and a walk while striking out eight. She held the Bears scoreless in the first two, but UC Berkeley managed to score an unearned run in the third, taking a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins got the run right back in the bottom half of the inning. Briana Perez got things going with a double down the left field. After Bubba Nickles flew out, Aaliyah Jordan singled to move Perez up to third. Garcia, then, helped her own cause with a sacrifice fly to center, which scored Perez to tie the game.

It stayed that way until the seventh when the Golden Bears took a 2-1 lead on an RBI single, but, again, UCLA got the run back relatively quickly in the bottom of the seventh, even if it was on a quirky play. Garcia started things off with a walk and Anna Vines pinch-ran for her. Taylor Pack also walked to give the Bruins runners on first and second with one out. Pinch-hitting for Paige Halstead, Colleen Sullivan reached on an error to load the bases. Jacqui Prober came to the plate and hit a grounder to third, but Berkeley third baseman Karlee Sparacino threw home to force out Vines. Catcher Makenna Smith tried to double up Prober at first, but hit her in the back and Pack was able to tie the game on the bad throw. Kinsley Washington popped up to short to strand the winning run on third and send the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Garcia send down the Bears in order.

Kelli Godin left off the bottom half of the inning with an infield single and Perez bunted her over to second. That brought up Bubba Nickles who singled to left, scoring Godin to win the game, 3-2.

Tonight, Holly Azevedo gets the start for UCLA as the Bruins look for the series’ win against the Bears. First pitch is at 7 pm PT and the game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks National and Bay Area.

This is your UCLA Bruins vs. UC Berkeley Golden Bears softball game two open thread.


Go Bruins!!