UCLA
Princeton
#14 UCLA Beats Princeton, Long Beach
March 13, 2016 | Softball
UCLA Softball Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
LAKEWOOD, Calif. – Junior Delaney Spaulding and sophomore Madeline Jelenicki each hit two homers in Sunday's doubleheader sweep, as the 14th-ranked Bruins defeated Princeton by a score of 13-1 in five innings before knocking off Long Beach State, 3-2, at Mayfair Park.
Against Princeton (3-8), the Bruins (16-8) pounded out 16 hits, including four doubles and three home runs. Eight of the starting nine had at least one hit, as Spaulding went 3-for-3 with four RBI and freshman Paige Halstead added three hits, including a pair of doubles. Recording two-hit contests were Jelenicki, senior Mysha Sataraka, who also drove in three, sophomore Kylee Perez and freshman Zoe Shaw.
In the circle, sophomore Selina Ta'amilo improved to 8-2 by striking out four in five innings and allowing only one run, two hits and a walk. She retired the first six of the game, including two strikeouts in the second, and also had a 1-2-3 frame in the fourth.
Each of the first four Bruin batters reached base, as senior Allexis Bennett led off the game with a walk, Spaulding singled up the middle and Perez reached on a bunt single to load the bases for Sataraka, who doubled to the center-field wall to bring in a pair of runs. A sacrifice fly to right-center by Jelenicki brought home Perez to make it 3-0, and one out later, a Halstead single through the 5-6 hole plated Sataraka with UCLA's fourth run.
In the second, Shaw and Bennett led off with singles and Spaulding walked to load the bases. One out later, Sataraka lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Shaw to make it 5-0. The Bruins added two more in the third, as Halstead doubled to left-center with one out and junior Gabrielle Maurice followed with her first home run of the season to straightaway center to put UCLA up 7-0.
Princeton got on the board in the bottom of the third on an RBI grounder off the bat of Marissa Reynolds, but the Bruins responded with six in the fourth to bring the mercy rule into effect. Sataraka led off the inning with a triple, and when the Princeton right fielder misplayed it, the Bruin senior scampered home to make it 8-1. After the little league homer, Jelenicki provided the more conventional four-bagger, a deep shot to left-center for her fifth of the season.
One out later, Halstead doubled to left-center and was pinch-run for by freshman Imani Johnson, which was followed by walks to Maurice and Shaw to load the bases. After a fielder's choice by Bennett forced Johnson at home with the second out, Spaulding connected on her second grand slam and fourth homer of the season high off the fast-pitch fence in left field to give the Bruins a 13-1 advantage.
Versus Long Beach State (14-9), Jelenicki and Spaulding left the yard again, while Bennett and Shaw each had two-hit games. Grauer went the distance to move to 9-6, striking out two in seven innings and allowing two runs (one earned), two hits and five walks. She had 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth.
In the top of the second, Jelenicki continued her hot hitting with her fourth homer of the weekend and sixth of the season to take over the team lead. UCLA added to its lead in the third. Shaw led off with a single to right-center, stole second, moved to third on a bunt hit by Bennett and scored on the same play when the throw got away to make it 2-0.
Long Beach State got on the board when Tierra Falo hit a leadoff homer to left in the bottom of the third. The Bruins got that run back on one swing in the top of the fifth when Spaulding launched her second homer of the afternoon, third of the weekend and fifth of the season to dead center to put UCLA back up by two at 3-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, the 49ers got a run on an RBI single by Falo and had the tying run at third and go-ahead tally at second with one out, but Grauer got a strikeout and a pop up to end the game.
The Bruins start Pac-12 Conference play next weekend in Berkeley with a wraparound weekend series against California, starting Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The series continues on Sunday at 3 p.m. and culminates on Monday at 4 p.m. All three games will be televised on Pac-12 Networks (P-12 LA and Bay Area on Saturday; P-12 National, LA and Bay Area on Sunday and Monday).
