UCLA
Utah Valley
#14 Bruins Sweep Saturday Doubleheader
March 13, 2016 | Softball
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LAKEWOOD, Calif. – Junior Delaney Spaulding had five hits, six runs batted in, four runs scored and a homer in Saturday's doubleheader, as #14 UCLA won twice at Mayfair Park. The Bruins run-ruled Utah Valley, 19-0, in five innings and defeated Iowa State by a score of 7-1.
Against Utah Valley (4-20), the Bruins (14-8) scored in each of the first four innings to record their most runs in a game since May 18, 2013 (NCAA Regionals at Louisville). Spaulding tied career highs with three hits and five runs batted in, while sophomore Madeline Jelenicki posted personal bests with a pair of homers and five RBI. UCLA had 11 hits and drew 13 walks, tied for the third-most free passes in a single game in school history. Senior Allexis Bennett, junior Gabrielle Maurice and freshman Zoe Shaw each scored three times.
In the circle, sophomore Johanna Grauer moved to 7-6 on the season, striking out two in three shutout innings and allowing a hit and two walks. She posted a 1-2-3 inning in the second. Sophomore Selina Ta'amilo tossed two frames of run-free relief, fanning five and giving up a pair of walks. She struck out the side in the fourth and two in the fifth.
In the top of the first, Bennett drew a leadoff walk, stole second, moved to third on a grounder by Spaulding and scored on a single to center from sophomore Kylee Perez to make it 1-0.
The Bruins added three more in the second. With one out, Maurice tripled to left-center and came home on a single through the 5-6 hole by freshman Brianna Tautalafua in her first collegiate at-bat. Later in the inning, and with second and first and one out, Spaulding doubled off the base of the wall in center field to plate Shaw and Bennett to make it 4-0.
UCLA tacked on six more in the third after sending nine to the plate. Freshman Paige Halstead drew a leadoff walk and was pinch-run for by freshman Imani Johnson, who stole second and scored on Jelenicki's first homer of the game and third of the season, a shot to left-center, to extend the lead to 6-0. Walks to Maurice and Tautalafua brought up Shaw, who laid down a great bunt to advance the runners, and when the throw to first was wild, Maurice scored, junior Robyn Corruth, who was running for Tautalafua, moved to third and Shaw advanced to second. A sacrifice fly to left by Bennett brought home Corruth to make it 8-0, which was followed by a two-run homer from Spaulding to left-center, her third of the season, to bring the lead to 10-0.
In the fourth, the Bruins sent a dozen to the plate and scored nine times. UCLA loaded the bases on a leadoff single by Halstead and one-out walks for Maurice and Tautalafua. Back-to-back free passes to Shaw and Bennett brought in a pair of runs, which was followed by a Spaulding single to right-center to make it 13-0. A walk to Perez extended the lead to 14-0 and a Sataraka sacrifice fly scored Bennett with the Bruins' 15th run. UCLA brought the lead to 16-0 on an infield single off the bat of Halstead which scored Spaulding. Jelenicki then belted her second homer of the day to the same spot in left-center, her fourth of the season, to make it 19-0.
Against Iowa State (12-9), the Bruins (15-8) broke the game open with a five-run sixth inning. UCLA had 10 hits, as Perez recorded three and Spaulding added two more. Grauer (8-6) picked up her second victory of the afternoon, striking out two in four innings of relief and allowing a run, five hits and one walk. Redshirt junior Paige McDuffee made her season debut and tossed three scoreless frames, giving up a hit and three walks.
The Bruins rallied with two outs in the bottom of the first. Spaulding had a one-out single to center and came home on a bloop double to right by Sataraka to put UCLA on the board. Sataraka then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an illegal pitch to make it 2-0.
In the fifth, Iowa State got on the board on an RBI single by Kelsey McFarland to cut its deficit to 2-1.
The Bruins busted it open with five in the sixth, sending nine to the plate. Halstead posted a one-out single to left and was pinch-run for by Johnson, who scored one out later on the first home run of Tautalafua's career to dead center to make it 4-1. Shaw followed with a bunt single in front of the circle, moved to second on an error by the Iowa State pitcher and scored on a double to left off the bat of Bennett to bring the lead to 5-1. An RBI single by Spaulding to left-center made it 6-1 and a triple to left-center from Perez extended the advantage to 7-1.
The Bruins close out the weekend on Sunday with two more games, squaring off with Princeton at 10 a.m. and Long Beach State at 12:30 p.m. Live stats will be available at UCLABruins.com.
