A bat darted through the outfield of Easton Stadium on Saturday night, chasing insects through the air for a late-night dinner. Over in right field, Aaliyah Jordan leaned back, ready to swat at the nocturnal animal.
The UCLA softball team played well into the night on Saturday after starting a doubleheader against Washington with a game that lasted nearly three hours. But the effort was worth it, as the Bruins won the second game, 6-1, after dropping the matinee, 7-4.
“There was a lot of action, there was a lot of hits on defense and that, emotionally, can wear on you,” said UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “Being out here as long as we have all day, we knew this was a mental challenge and we’re really focusing on our mental toughness and our ability to stay focused and play the game one inning at a time, but it is a challenge for all teams.”
After beating the Huskies just a day before, Washington snapped the Bruins’ seven-game win streak. UCLA put up two runs in the first two innings and two more in the final two. Meanwhile, the Huskies only had two innings without denting the scoreboard.
Aaliyah Jordan hit an RBI single in the first inning, then Kinsley Washington singled for an RBI in the second for the Bruins (27-3 overall, 9-2 in Pac-12)
Maya Brady cracked a solo home run in the sixth inning and Delanie Wisz (2-4, RBI) followed up in the seventh to score Briana Perez (1-3, two runs).
The homer was the second of Brady’s freshman campaign, and she went on to add another in the second game.
“I’d like to say that I’m happy with how I’m doing,” said Brady, “but I honestly can’t because I hav a lot more high expectations for myself and I want to contribute more to my team. I want to say tonight is the beginning of the real season.”
Baylee Klingler homered for the Huskies (35-8, 13-3) in the top of the first inning and Washington (1-3, RBI, two runs) scored an unearned run for UCLA in the bottom. It wasn’t until the fifth inning that the Bruins’ offense fully came to life.
Washington started the five-run flurry, scoring Kelli Godin (3-3, run) on a single. Jordan sent Washington home on a ground out, then Wisz hit an RBI single and Brady wrapped up the party with her two-run homer.
All the while, Holly Azevedo pitched a complete seven innings, recording six strikeouts and giving up seven hits.
“Our head coach brought us together before the inning started and told us, ‘What are we doing?’ and how we need to help our pitcher out because she was pitching a great game against a great team,” Brady said. “So just really wanted to help out our pitcher, Holly, and get our team some run s especially coming after the loss. Getting a lot of runs is a huge confidence booster for our team.”
In the first game, Megan Faraimo pitched 5 1/3 innings for the Bruins, recording five strikeouts while giving up 10 hits. Rachel Garcia entered in the second inning and dealt four strikeouts and yielded four hits.
UCLA finishes the four-game series against Washington at 1 p.m. on Sunday, an event that should end much faster than Saturday’s six-hour endeavor.
“We just have to play us,” Godin said. “The only people that are going to beat us are ourselves, so I think if we go in there tomorrow, and just play some UCLA softball, we’re going to be just fine.”
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