UCLA
Texas
Seventh-Seeded Bruins Dig the Long Ball in Victory Over Texas
May 16, 2015 | Softball
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LOS ANGELES - The seventh-seeded Bruins used three homers to account for their four runs, as UCLA advanced to the Los Angeles Regional Championship Game with a 4-1 victory over Texas on Saturday at Easton Stadium.
The Bruins improve to 47-10 on the season and will play San Diego State on Sunday in the Los Angeles Regional Championship at Noon. That game will air on ESPN3.com. Texas falls to 38-16.
UCLA had six hits, including long balls by senior Stephany LaRosa, sophomore Delaney Spaulding and freshman Maddy Jelenicki.
Senior Ally Carda moved to 28-6 on the season, striking out three in the complete-game five-hitter. She gave up a run and three walks, posting a pair of whiffs in the third and 1-2-3 frames in the fourth and sixth.
After Texas stranded the bases loaded in the top of the first, UCLA scored a pair on one swing of the bat in its half. With one out, junior Allexis Bennett walked, and one out later, LaRosa launched her 17th homer of the season to left-center to put the home squad up.
In the top of the third, the Longhorns cut their deficit in half with an RBI single from Erin Shireman.
UCLA got that run back on one swing in the bottom of the third when Spaulding re-took the home run lead with her 18th to left to put the Bruins up 3-1.
A great defensive play in the fifth kept it a two-run lead for the Bruins. With a runner at third and two outs, Gabby Smith grounded one into the 3-4 hole, but senior Gracie Goulder dove and from her stomach rolled it to first for the final out of the inning.
In the sixth, the Bruins hit their third homer of the game when Jelenicki hit her eighth to right field to extend the lead to 4-1.
