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Nebraska
Third Inning Better for 12th-Ranked Bruins in Win Over Nebraska
February 22, 2015 | Softball
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CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - All of Sunday's runs came in the third inning, as Nebraska recorded one, but the 12th-ranked Bruins came back with five in their half of the third and posted a 5-1, six-inning victory in the weekend finale of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
The Bruins (13-4) had seven hits as a team, one apiece from each of the first seven spots in the lineup. A trio of hurlers took the circle. Freshman Selina Ta'amilo started and struck out two in two shutout innings with two hits and two walks allowed. Junior Paige McDuffee (2-1) allowed an unearned run and a hit in the third. Freshman Johanna Grauer tossed the last three innings for her second save of the season, scattering three hits.
After each team left three on base over the first two innings, the Cornhuskers (6-9) struck in the top of the third. Kiki Stokes led off with an infield single to third and Alicia Armstrong was hit by a pitch. After both moved up a base on a passed ball, Dawna Tyson grounded back to the circle one out later to score Stokes with the game's first run.
In the bottom half of the third, the Bruins sent eight to the plate and netted five. Senior Ally Carda was hit by a pitch to open the inning and was pinch-run for by senior Tara Mueller. A single up the middle from sophomore Delaney Spaulding and a bunt single by sophomore Gabrielle Maurice loaded the bases for senior Stephany LaRosa, who singled through the 5-6 hole to plate Mueller and Spaulding to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
One out later, freshman Kylee Perez tripled inside the third-base line to bring in Maurice and LaRosa to make it 4-1. Freshman Maddy Jelenicki followed with a single to right to bring in Perez with the Bruins' fifth run.
Due to Nebraska's flight home, the game began with the issuance of a drop-dead ending time of 1 p.m., which came after Grauer closed out her third inning of work in the top of the sixth inning.
The Bruins play their final road tournament next weekend at the Long Beach Louisville Slugger Invitational. The first two days of competition will take place at Lakewood's Mayfair Park. On Friday, Feb. 27, UCLA takes on Wichita State (4:30 p.m.) and Long Beach State (7 p.m.), while on Saturday, Feb. 28, the Bruins will face Southern Utah (2 p.m.) and Portland State (7 p.m.). On Sunday, March 1, UCLA heads to the campus of LBSU and the 49er Softball Complex for an 11:15 a.m. matchup with Northwestern.
