UCLA
Oregon St
No. 1 Softball Splits Twin Bill with No. 8 Oregon State
June 21, 1999 | Softball
May 2, 1999
LOS ANGELES - After dropping game one 5-3, the top-ranked UCLA softball team rallied back to defeat No. 8 Oregon State 10-1 in game two Sunday, as the two teams split a Pac-10 doubleheader at UCLA's Easton Softball Stadium. With the split, UCLA moves to 51-4 overall and 18-4 in the Pac-10, while OSU is now 40-19 and 11-11 in conference action.
With the Bruins up 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning of game two, Bruin right fielder Lupe Brambila's grand slam off OSU pitcher Amy Borbiro put UCLA up 10-1, ending the game in five innings. For Brambila, Sunday's home run was her third this season and fifth of her career. It was the second grand slam of her career, as she hit one exactly one year to the day (May 2, 1998) against Oregon in Eugene last season. She finished the day 3-for-6 with five RBI a home run and a double.
Bruin pitcher Courtney Dale, who sat out Saturday's doubleheader with No. 18 Oregon due to an injury, started on the mound in game two Sunday, giving up just four hits and one run in five-complete innings of work. She also added seven strikeouts, as she improved to 26-0 on the year, remaining the only undefeated pitcher in the nation.
The first game of the afternoon went down to the wire as OSU battled back in dramatic fashion to hand UCLA only its fourth loss of the season. With two outs and UCLA up 3-2 in the top of the seventh, Beaver first baseman Jenny Jodion hit a three-run home run to put OSU up 5-3. OSU pitcher Tarrah Beyster, who gave up just four hits in game one, came in to finish the game off in the bottom of the seventh, getting Bruin second baseman Lyndsey Klein to fly out to end the game.
Bruin center fielder Christie Ambrosi enjoyed a solid afternoon, finishing the day 4-for-6, with a double and a leadoff home run to start game one. Other top Bruin standouts included, Julie Adams, who was 2-for-3 in game two with a home run and Stacey Nuveman, who hit her 26th home run in game two, giving her 76 RBI on the season. She leads the nation in both categories.
The Bruins hit road next week, traveling to Arizona for doubleheaders with No. 3 Arizona on Friday, May 7 and No. 10 Arizona State on Saturday, May 8. The Bruins close out the regular season at home on Saturday May 15, hosting No. 5 Washington at 1:00 p.m. at UCLA's Easton Softball Stadium.
