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Eight is Enough for Eighth-Ranked Bruins in Mercy of #18 Cal
April 18, 2015 | Softball
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LOS ANGELES - The eighth-ranked Bruins recorded their fifth-straight, mercy-rule victory on Friday at Easton Stadium, defeating #18 California 8-0 in five innings. Seniors Gracie Goulder and Stephany LaRosa each homered, while senior Ally Carda struck out six in a one-hit shutout.
The Bruins improve to 36-8 overall and 10-3 in Pac-12 play, while the Golden Bears fall to 32-10 and 5-8 in league action.
Eight different Bruins accounted for their nine hits, as freshman Maddy Jelenicki recorded a pair. Carda moved to 19-4 on the season, allowing just a first-inning walk and a third-inning single, both with two outs. She struck out one in every inning, including two in the second, setting down the last seven of the game.
The Bruins jumped out to a two-run lead in the first when sophomore Delaney Spaulding led off with a single to left and came home on LaRosa's team-leading ninth home run of the season, which hit the fair pole down the right-field line.
In the second, sophomore Gabrielle Maurice walked, moved to second on a Goulder sacrifice and to third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, a sacrifice fly to left off the bat of freshman Kylee Perez plated Maurice with the Bruins' third run.
UCLA tacked on three more in the third on one swing of the bat thanks to a two-out rally. Jelenicki singled up the middle, Maurice walked and Goulder crushed her third homer of the season to right-center to put the home team up 6-0.
A two-spot in the fifth sent everyone home early for the fifth game in a row. With one out and senior Tara Mueller running at second following a pinch-hit single from junior Mysha Sataraka, Jelenicki singled to left-center to tally the Bruins' seventh run. A Maurice double to right-center put runners at third and second, with senior Jessica Amaral running for Jelenicki, and Bennett ended the game with a single to left-center to finish off the eight-run win.
The Bruins and the Bears continue their series on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks, while free audio and live stats will be available on UCLABruins.com. The game is a near sellout, with approximately 100 tickets available at Easton Stadium starting at 1 p.m. on a first come, first serve basis. In the event of ticket holders not showing up, every effort will be made to allow all fans entry to the stadium.
