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Stanford at #13/#15 UCLA
Saturday, April 9 - 7:30 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Network National, Los Angeles and Bay Area
Sunday, April 10 - 6 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Network Los Angeles and Bay Area
Monday, April 11 - 7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Network National, Los Angeles and Bay Area
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13TH-RANKED BRUINS HOST STANFORD
The 13th-ranked Bruins host Stanford at Easton Stadium for a three-game wraparound weekend series, starting on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., continuing on Sunday at 6 p.m. and wrapping up on Monday at 7 p.m. The Saturday and Monday games will air on Pac-12 Network National, Los Angeles and Bay Area, while the Sunday contest will be televised on P-12N L.A. and Bay Area. All three games will also feature live audio and stats on UCLABruins.com and Twitter updates @UCLASoftball.
$2-MILLION GIFT RECEIVED FROM JIM AND PHYLLIS EASTON
The UCLA Athletics Department is pleased to announce a generous commitment of $2,000,000 from longtime university benefactors Jim and Phyllis Easton that will be used to support improvements, including a new scoreboard, to Easton Stadium, the home of 11-time NCAA National Champion UCLA Softball.
In appreciation of the Eastons' generosity, the new scoreboard at Easton Stadium will also prominently display the Easton name.
“Few people have had more of an impact upon both the athletic and campus communities here at UCLA than Jim and Phyllis Easton,” said Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero. “From the building of Easton Sports into an athletic equipment empire to their tireless dedication to philanthropy, the scope of the Eastons' contributions reaches well beyond school and department walls. The Eastons have had a direct impact on individual lives, and their generosity and leadership is quite simply an inspiration. I would like to thank both of them for their continued dedication to UCLA and, more specifically, our historic softball program.”
Jim, a UCLA graduate with a degree in engineering, and his wife, Phyllis, have been generous supporters of UCLA Athletics and entities across the university for many years, including the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Anderson School of Management, and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.
In 2014, Jim, who has the distinction of serving on the International Olympic Committee and was mayor of the Olympic Athletes Village at UCLA during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, was awarded the UCLA Medal of Honor – the university's highest honor bestowed on an individual for extraordinary achievement.
“It is an honor and pleasure to continue our support of UCLA Athletics with a new scoreboard and improvements at Easton Stadium…home of the top softball program in the country,” said Jim Easton. “We celebrate their success. Go Bruins!”
“Easton Stadium, tucked away on the UCLA campus and enjoyed by fans and players for over 20 years, is a jewel steeped in the tradition of excellence,” said Phyllis Easton. “We are excited and proud to support women's softball with this gift to UCLA Athletics.”
This transformative gift from the Eastons represents significant support for UCLA Softball. Upon securing this gift, UCLA has partnered with Daktronics to design, manufacture and install an integrated video display for Easton Stadium. It is anticipated that the new scoreboard will be installed prior to the UCLA versus Stanford game on April 9.
The new LED video display will feature 15HD pixel layout and measure nearly 14.5 feet high and more than 26.5 feet wide. It will incorporate excellent image clarity and contrast with wide angle visibility to appeal to every seat in the stadium.
“Jim and Phyllis Easton have supported UCLA Softball throughout the history of our program,” said UCLA Softball head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “It was the Easton family that provided the funding to transform a field into a stadium in the mid-90's. Today, we thank Jim and Phyllis for another generous donation. The video scoreboard will allow us to share our tradition and keep us in the forefront of college softball.”
McDUFFEE, TAUTALAFUA EARN PAC-12 WEEKLY HONORS
The Bruins received a pair of weekly honors from the Pac-12 Conference on Monday, as redshirt junior Paige McDuffee was named Pitcher of the Week and Brianna Tautalafua earned league Freshman of the Week accolades.
The duo helped the 16th-ranked Bruins to their first series win against Oregon since 2010 and handed the fourth-ranked Ducks their first Pac-12 series loss since 2013.
McDuffee was stellar in two appearances in Eugene, picking up a win on Sunday and posting a 0.72 earned run average and four strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. After missing the last home series against Washington due to a left leg injury, she was on a pitch count versus the Ducks, but was incredibly economical in her pitching numbers, particularly on Sunday. Starting Saturday's game, she tossed three innings before reaching her limit, striking out two and giving up just a run and two hits. The redshirt junior induced three double plays during the game, as UCLA kept the national lead in that category.
McDuffee was outstanding though on Sunday, getting through 6 2/3 innings of relief with only 58 pitches. She struck out two and gave up just one unearned run, one hit and one walk. McDuffee retired the last 14 batters of the game to win her second contest of the season. She has a 0.75 ERA on the year with eight strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings, holding opponents to a .138 batting average.
Tautalafua's hit total rose throughout the weekend at Oregon, recording one hit on Friday, two on Saturday and three on Sunday. Including a midweek win at Cal State Fullerton, Tautalafua batted .500 with six hits in 12 at-bats, adding three home runs, six runs batted in and five runs scored. In game one against Oregon, after reaching base via errors in her first two at-bats, the freshman connected on her first long ball of the weekend, a three-run shot in the fifth, in the Bruins' 16-6 rout.
A day later, Tautalafua singled in her first at-bat and posted an RBI hit in her third appearance before leaving the yard twice on Sunday. She hit a solo homer in the second and added another solo shot in the fifth, adding a seventh-inning single for the first three-hit game of her career. Tautalafua is batting .294 this season with four homers and 11 RBI.
UCLA earned its third and fourth Pac-12 weekly honors on Monday, having now won one of each. Junior Delaney Spaulding (March 14) and sophomore Kylee Perez (Feb. 23) each received conference Player of the Week accolades. McDuffee's award is the first of her career and the 63rd Pac-10/12 Pitcher of the Week award for UCLA, while Tautalafua's nod was the first league Freshman of the Week plaudit for the Bruins in just the second year of the award's existence.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA improved three spots in both national polls this week, moving to 13th in this week's USA Today/NFCA poll and jumping to 15th in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. The Bruins were ranked second in the Pac-12 preseason poll.
TEAM NOTES
The Bruins' victory against Oregon was their first series win versus the Ducks since 2010 ... UCLA came back from a three-run deficit (4-1) at Cal State Fullerton on March 29, tying for its biggest comeback of the season. The Bruins trailed 3-0 in the season opener against Colorado State on Feb. 12 before coming back to post a 6-5 win ... a total of 21 of UCLA's 22 wins have come when it scores at least three runs ... the Bruins' tie against California on March 21 was just the fifth in school history, the first-ever draw in a conference contest for UCLA and the first tie since Feb. 18, 2000 versus Michigan ... the Bruins are 12-0 this season when leading after both five and six innings ... UCLA is 16-3 when hitting at least one home run ... the Bruins are 12-2 when not committing an error ... UCLA is 15-3 when out-hitting its opponent.
PLAYER NOTES
Senior Allexis Bennett has reached base in all but four games this season, recording hits in 26 of 34 contests. She posted her team-best, 14th multiple-hit game last Sunday at #4 Oregon, giving her nine two-hit contests, three three-hit affairs and two four-hit games ... freshman Paige Halstead drove in a pair of runs on a single last Friday in Eugene to give her six multiple-RBI games. She made her first appearance at catcher since March 13 last Saturday against the Ducks ... sophomore Madeline Jelenicki has eight RBI, six hits, two homers and two doubles in her last five games. She has also been fantastic behind the plate with only three passed balls, committing just one error in 137 chances (.993 fielding percentage) between catcher and first base ... junior Gabrielle Maurice has hits and runs in five of her last six games, recording a pair of hits, including a three-run homer last Friday at Oregon. She added another long ball on Sunday to give her three on the year ... redshirt junior Paige McDuffee retired the last 14 batters of the game on Sunday at Oregon to earn her second win of the season. She tossed 6 2/3 innings and only needed 58 pitches to do so ... sophomore Kylee Perez is batting .500 during her current seven-game hitting streak, going 12-for-24 with four RBI, three doubles and five runs. Last weekend, she had a three-hit game on Saturday and posted a pair of doubles on Sunday ... senior Mysha Sataraka only has two hits in her last eight games, but has still been on base 13 times thanks to 11 walks. The national leader in free passes with 39 already has 13 more than last year and one more than she had in 2014 when she posted a career-high 38 ... junior Delaney Spaulding has hits in five of her last six games, recording a pair of RBI in four of those contests. She homered in three straight games last week at Cal State Fullerton (last Tuesday) and the first two contests in Eugene to tie her for the team lead with eight dingers ... sophomore Selina Ta'amilo won twice last week, defeating Cal State Fullerton thanks to 5 1/3 innings of shutout relief with five strikeouts. She also won on Friday, pitching 3 2/3 frames and fanning two ... freshman Brianna Tautalafua found her bat in Eugene, collecting more hits last weekend at Oregon (6) than she had in her previous 10 games combined (4). She posted the first two-homer and three-hit contest of her career last Sunday to help her earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors.
BRUINS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
After turning five double plays last weekend at Oregon, including three in the first three innings of Saturday's game, the Bruins continue to lead the nation in twin killings turned with 27. UCLA is also in the Top 40 in seven other categories entering the week, including 16th in on base percentage (.422), 26th in runs per game (6.32), 31st in slugging (.501), 34th in fielding percentage (.969), 36th in batting average (.319), tied for 39th in triples (8) and tied for 40th in home runs (34). Senior Mysha Sataraka leads the nation with 39 walks, is tied for 17th in on base percentage (.554) and tied for second with sophomore Madeline Jelenicki with four sacrifice flies. Junior Gabrielle Maurice is tied for 12th in hit by pitches (12), senior Allexis Bennett ranks tied for 15th in runs scored (38), junior Delaney Spaulding is tied for 28th with 38 runs batted in and sophomore Kylee Perez is 38th with a .438 average.
BRUINS IN THE PAC-12 RANKINGS
Showing they get on any way they can, the Bruins lead Pac-12 teams in walks (136) and hit by pitches (28), while also ranking tied for second in triples (8) and third in on base percentage (.422), sacrifice hits (23) and sacrifice flies (12). Individually, senior Mysha Sataraka is tops among league players in on base percentage (.554) and walks (39) and tied for second in sacrifice flies (4) with sophomore Madeline Jelenicki, who is also tied for first in triples (2) with freshman Paige Halstead. Senior Allexis Bennett is tied for second in runs scored (38) and hits (47) and tied for third in stolen bases (11), freshman Kylee Perez is tied for first with eight sacrifice hits and junior Gabrielle Maurice is first with 12 hit by pitches. A full list of the Bruins in the Pac-12 rankings can be found on page four of this release.
THE MATCHUP: UCLA VS. STANFORD
The Bruins lead the all-time series against Stanford, 62-20, and have won five in a row, including a sweep in the Bay Area last April 10-12 (12-4 in 6, 18-3 in 5, 10-2 in 6). UCLA won 2-of-3 in the last matchup at Easton Stadium in 2014 and are 27-12 in Westwood versus the Cardinal.
SPAULDING NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Delaney Spaulding was named Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week for the second time in her career on March 14 after posting a great offensive showing at the Long Beach State Louisville Slugger Invitational.
Spaulding was 9-for-16 (.563) with 11 runs batted in, three home runs, seven runs scored and two stolen bases in four Bruin victories. It was Spaulding's second career POW award after receiving the honor last March 9. The accolade is the 76th Pac-10/12 Player of the Week award for UCLA and the second this season after sophomore Kylee Perez picked up the nod on Feb. 23.
PEREZ NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Kylee Perez was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Feb. 23 after her outstanding offensive display at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic I.
Perez had hits in all five games in Cathedral City, going 11-for-16 (.688) with seven runs batted in, five runs scored, two home runs, two walks and a stolen base. She had multiple hits in four of the five contests and at least three RBI in two games.
BENNETT, SPAULDING ON PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Senior Allexis Bennett and junior Delaney Spaulding have been named to the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, as announced by ASA/USA Softball on Feb. 3.
The pre-season Watch List includes 25 seniors, 15 juniors and 10 sophomores. Freshmen can be considered for the award once they have competed at the collegiate level. The Top 25 finalists for the award will be announced on April 13. While an athlete does not have to be on the Watch List to be considered for the Top 25, the eventual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will come from the Top 25 finalists.