University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Bruins Finish Regular Season at Utah
May 03, 2016 | Softball
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#14/#13 UCLA at RV/#25 Utah
Friday, May 6 - 6 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network Los Angeles and Mountain
Saturday, May 7 - 5 p.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network National, Los Angeles and Mountain
Sunday, May 8 - 11 a.m. PT
TV: Pac-12 Network Los Angeles and Mountain
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13TH-RANKED BRUINS CLOSE REGULAR SEASON AT #25 UTAH
The 13th-ranked Bruins wrap up their 2016 regular season at #25 Utah this weekend. All three games, Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. (all times Pacific), will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. All three contests will also feature live stats on UCLABruins.com and Twitter updates @UCLASoftball.
SATARAKA NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Mysha Sataraka has been named Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week after belting three home runs and driving in seven in four UCLA victories last week. Sataraka went 4-for-10 (.400) in a win at Arizona last Monday and a sweep of Arizona State last weekend, adding five runs scored and six walks.
Versus the Wildcats to start the week, Sataraka belted a two-run, fifth-inning homer to get the Bruins to within a run at 4-3, as UCLA would go on to win, 8-7. The senior continued her hot hitting on Friday against the Sun Devils, tying career highs in homers (2), hits (3) and RBI (5), including a walk-off homer in the seventh. The Bruins trailed 6-3 heading into their last at-bat, but opened the inning with four straight singles and then a three-run homer by Sataraka. It was the second of her two homers in that game, as she added a two-run shot in the first to go with a single and a walk. Sataraka didn't get much to swing at on Saturday, setting a career high with four walks. She scored runs in all four wins.
Monday's award is the third of Sataraka's career after earning the honor twice on Feb. 25 and March 18, 2014. UCLA earned its fifth Pac-12 weekly honor of the season and its third conference Player of the Week. Junior Delaney Spaulding received the award on March 14, while sophomore Kylee Perez was named POW on Feb. 23. In addition, redshirt junior Paige McDuffee and freshman Brianna Tautalafua were named Pac-12 Pitcher and Freshman of the Week, respectively, on April 4. UCLA has won 77 Pac-10/12 Player of the Week awards.
BENNETT FINALIST FOR USA SOFTBALL NATIONAL POY
Senior Allexis Bennett was named a Top 25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, as announced by ASA/USA Softball on April 20. It is the second-straight season that Bennett has earned a spot as a finalist.
In its 15th year, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, given by the National Governing Body for softball in the United States, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Previous recipients of the award include former Bruin Stacey Nuveman, the winner of the inaugural accolade in 2002.
This year's Top 25 is comprised of nine seniors, 11 juniors and five sophomores. The student-athletes selected represent 20 NCAA Division I universities and nine athletic conferences. Just prior to the start of postseason play, the list will be narrowed to the Top 10 finalists on May 11.
The Top 3 finalists will be announced May 25, while the winner of the 2016 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 31 prior to the start of the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA remained at 13th for the second week in a row in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings and improved one spot to 14th in this week's USA Today/NFCA poll. The Bruins were ranked second in the Pac-12 preseason poll.
TEAM NOTES
Last season, UCLA set a school record with 28 double plays turned. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Bruins have already surpassed that total, coming into this week's action with 34 after recording one in each of their wins over Arizona State. As of stats released by the NCAA on Monday, UCLA maintained its national lead in twin killings, one ahead of Murray State ... UCLA has 15 comeback victories, with four of its last five wins being of that variety. Saturday's five-run comeback against ASU was a season high. The Bruins also have four-run comebacks versus Arizona (April 25) and Stanford (April 9) and three-run comebacks versus Colorado State (Feb. 12), Cal State Fullerton (March 29), Oregon State (April 16) and Arizona State (April 29) ... a total of 31 of UCLA's 33 wins have come when it scores at least three runs ... the Bruins' victory against Oregon was their first series win versus the Ducks since 2010 ... UCLA won its fourth-straight series against Arizona ... 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 ... UCLA is 18-0 when leading after five innings and 19-0 when up after six ... the Bruins are 24-4 when hitting at least one home run ... UCLA is 17-2 when not committing an error ... the Bruins are 24-3 when out-hitting their opponent ... UCLA has outscored its opponents in every inning but the sixth (35-33). Its largest margin is in the fourth when it has outscored its foes by 27 runs (57-30) ... the Bruins are 22-2 when holding their opponent to four runs or fewer.
PLAYER NOTES
Senior Allexis Bennett has hits in 13 of her last 14 games, posting a .489 (22-for-45) average during that stretch with eight RBI, 14 runs and nine walks. Seven of those have been multiple-hit games, including three-hit contests against ASU on April 29 and OSU on April 15. Bennett leads the team with 20 multiple-hit affairs ... junior Jelly Felix reached base in all three contests last weekend, posting singles in games one and two and walking twice in game three ... sophomore Johanna Grauer has appeared in each of the last 10 UCLA games, going 3-0 during that stretch with a 2.88 earned run average and 23 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings ... freshman Paige Halstead has hits in six of her last eight, going 9-for-22 (.409) with a homer and four RBI. She tied a season high with three RBI on April 25 at Arizona, recording a two-run homer and an RBI single ... sophomore Madeline Jelenicki tied career highs with two homers and five RBI last Sunday against ASU. She hit a grand slam in the first and a solo homer in the third. Jelenicki, who drove in seven last weekend, has RBI in six of her last 10 contests (14 total) ... junior Gabrielle Maurice has hits in nine of her last 11 games, batting .400 (14-for-35) during that stretch with two homers and eight RBI. Each of her last three contests with an RBI has seen her drive in at least two (three vs. ASU, April 30 and vs. OSU, April 17) ... redshirt junior Paige McDuffee earned her first save of the season on April 24 at Arizona, retiring the final two batters. In six relief outings, she is 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA and seven strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings ... sophomore Kylee Perez rebounded from a hitless series at Arizona by collecting six hits in nine at-bats last weekend versus ASU. She produced her team-leading, seventh three-hit game last Friday, adding two more hits on Sunday. Perez has scored in four straight contests and reached base in 25 of her last 26 games ... senior Mysha Sataraka has scored runs in eight straight games (10 total), going 9-for-22 (.409) with four homers, 12 RBI and seven walks during that stretch. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week tied career highs with three hits, two homers and five RBI last Friday. She didn't get anything to hit the next evening, as Sataraka walked a career-best four times ... freshman Zoe Shaw is 2-for-5 (.400) this season as a pinch-hitter with two RBI ... junior Delaney Spaulding has notched a run scored, a hit and an RBI in seven consecutive contests, batting .435 (10-for-23) during that span with four homers, 12 RBI and 10 runs. She drove in the game-winning runs in both victories at Arizona on a grand slam on April 23 and a two-run double on April 25, both coming in the sixth inning. Spaulding has three grand slams this season and at least one home run in five straight Pac-12 series' ... sophomore Selina Ta'amilo recorded all three UCLA wins against Arizona State. She struck out five in 10 2/3 innings ... freshman Brianna Tautalafua has reached base in 16 of her last 19 contests. She left the yard for the fifth time this season with a solo shot last Friday, adding a single for her fourth, multiple-hit game.
BRUINS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
The Bruins had a double play in each game last weekend and continue to lead the nation in twin killings with 34 in stats released by the NCAA on Monday. UCLA is also in the Top 50 in six other categories, ranking 14th in on base percentage (.425), 18th in slugging (.520), 19th in batting average (.328) and runs per game (6.47), tied for 33rd in home runs (51) and 46th in fielding percentage (.969). Senior Mysha Sataraka is third in the nation in walks with 51, 12th in on base percentage (.560), 41st in slugging (.748) and tied for 28th with sophomore Madeline Jelenicki in sacrifice flies (4). Senior Allexis Bennett ranks 19th in batting average (.444), tied for 20th in runs scored (52) and 27th in on base percentage (.533), while junior Delaney Spaulding is tied for 13th in runs batted in (55) and tied for 43rd with 13 home runs. Sophomore Kylee Perez is tied for 26th in sacrifice hits (11), junior Gabrielle Maurice is tied for 43rd in hit by pitches (12) and sophomore Johanna Grauer is tied for 48th with three saves.
BRUINS IN THE PAC-12 RANKINGS
UCLA leads all Pac-12 teams (through 5/2) in walks with 184 and also ranks tied for second in sacrifice hits (35), sacrifice flies (14) and saves (5) and third in batting average (.328), slugging (.520), on base percentage (.425), runs scored (304), runs batted in (279), hit by pitches (33) and fielding percentage (.969). Individually, senior Mysha Sataraka is tops among league players in on base percentage (.560) and walks (51) and tied for second in sacrifice flies with sophomore Madeline Jelenicki. Senior Allexis Bennett is second in batting average (.444) and hits (67) and third in on base percentage (.533) and runs scored (52). Junior Gabrielle Maurice is first with 12 hit by pitches, sophomore Kylee Perez is tied for first in sacrifice hits (11) and tied for third in hits (62), sophomore Johanna Grauer is tied for second in saves (3) and third in innings pitches (154.0) and junior Delaney Spaulding is second in runs batted in (55). A full list of the Bruins in the Pac-12 rankings can be found on page four of this release.
THE MATCHUP: UCLA VS. UTAH
The Bruins lead the all-time series with the Utes, 27-3, and have won six in a row, all at Easton Stadium. Last season, UCLA claimed 1-0, 4-2 and 6-0 victories (May 13-15). While the Bruins are 24-1 in home and neutral-site games, they are just 3-2 in Salt Lake City, losing the 2013 series (2-1), the only one as Pac-12 foes.
