Friday, March 17
Los Angeles, Calif.
5:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Utah
UCLA has eight comeback victories this season.
#10 UCLA Hosts #20 Utah to Open Pac-12 Play
March 15, 2017 | Softball
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#20/#21 Utah at #10/#11 UCLA
Friday, March 17
5 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks Los Angeles
Live Stats
Saturday, March 18
3:30 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks Los Angeles
Live Stats
Sunday, March 19
5 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks National and Los Angeles
Live Audio
Live Stats
All Games at Easton Stadium
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#10 UCLA OPENS PAC-12 PLAY AGAINST #20 UTAH
The 10th-ranked Bruins begin Pac-12 Conference play this weekend against #20 Utah at Easton Stadium. The series begins on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by a Saturday affair at 3:30 p.m. and a Sunday tilt at 5 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks Los Angeles, while the Sunday contest will have free audio on UCLABruins.com.ย
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bruins have their Pac-12 bye next week, but they aren't off from game action, hosting #25 BYU in a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, March 25, followed by a 10 a.m. contest on Sunday, March 26 against Dartmouth at Easton Stadium.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA stayed steady in the polls this week, remaining at 10th in the USA Today/NFCA rankings and 11th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. The Bruins are first in the Pac-12 preseason coaches poll, earning three first-place votes and 59 points.
NEWS AND NOTES
The Bruins are three wins away from 1,800 as a program ... UCLA had 17 comeback victories last season and already has eight this year after rebounding from early deficits last Saturday against Boston and last Sunday versus Texas ... the Bruins were 22-0 last year when leading after five innings and 23-0 when up after six. This year, UCLA is 14-0 and 15-0 in those instances ... the Bruins led the nation in double plays last season (45) and have 12 in 2017 (tied for 14th) ... UCLA is also third in the country in home runs (35) and ninth in slugging percentage (.549) ... the Bruins are 6-0 on Saturdays this season ... seven of UCLA's 35 homers have been hit on the first pitch of an at-bat ... five of the seven victories for redshirt freshman Rachel Garcia have been in relief, as she is 5-1 with a 1.46 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Of her nine outs last weekend, Garcia had strikeouts on five of them ... junior Johanna Grauer tossed nine shutout innings last weekend at the Louisville Slugger Invitational in picking up two victories. She has allowed zero or one run in 11 of her 14 appearances, recording a 0.66 ERA, a 7-0 record and 53 strikeouts in as many innings in those 11 contests ... sophomore Paige Halstead had singles in all four games at Long Beach State last weekend. She opened the season with hits in 15 of her first 18 games ... junior Madeline Jelenicki has hits in six of her last seven contests, with five of those games being two-hit affairs. She has at least one home run in each of the first five weekends of the season, and defensively, has yet to commit an error in 138 attempts ... senior Gabrielle Maurice hit her third homer of the season against Baylor on March 5, a two-run shot. It was her third multi-RBI contest of the season ... redshirt senior Paige McDuffee allowed just one hit in three innings last Saturday against Boston University. Each of her last four appearances has seen her earn the start ... freshman Bubba Nickles broke a home-run drought in a big way last weekend, leaving the yard against Boston and Texas, the latter being the go-ahead shot in the sixth inning. The other two homers for Nickles, who has hits in six of her last eight games, came in a Feb. 11 doubleheader against Weber State ... thanks to an 11-for-16 (.688) performance last weekend, junior Kylee Perez has raised her career average to .401. Only four other Bruins, Stacey Nuveman, Natasha Watley, Allexis Bennett and Sue Enquist, finished their careers with an average above .400. Perez, who is tied for first in the nation in doubles (11) and tied for fourth in hits (42), tied a career high with four hits on Friday against Longwood, the third time she has posted four hits in a game ... sophomore Zoe Shaw drove in runs in three straight games against ranked teams on Feb. 25 versus LSU, Feb. 26 against Florida State and March 2 versus Michigan. She had the game-winning RBI against LSU and Michigan ... senior Delaney Spaulding has hits in 22 of her 25 contests, including a pair of two-hit games last Friday. She is in the UCLA Top 10 in 10 categories, including second in runs scored and third in doubles and slugging percentage ... junior Selina Ta'amilo has not allowed an earned run in 21 1/3 consecutive innings, picking up three wins last weekend. Leading the team in ERA at 1.06, she has struck out 17 in those 21 1/3 frames, giving up just 12 hits and three unearned runs ... sophomore Brianna Tautalafua has home runs in three of her last five games, including three in a row against Longwood, Boston and Long Beach State. From March 5-11, she had hits, RBI and runs in five straight games, hitting .429 (6-for-14) with nine RBI.
SCOUTING THE UTAH UTES
Utah enters Pac-12 play at 18-4, having defeated a pair of ranked teams (Tennessee and LSU) at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic II. The Utes are batting .343 as a team with 13 home runs and 28 stolen bases, averaging 6.6 runs per game. Three players are hitting over .400, led by senior Anissa Urtez's .485 average. Senior Hannah Flippen is second at .463, first with five homers and tied for first with 25 RBI, while junior Heather Bowen is batting .422 with four homers and 25 RBI. Utah has a 1.02 team earned run average, with sophomore Hailey Hilburn holding a 0.57 ERA, a 3-0 record and 26 strikeouts in 37 innings, junior Miranda Viramontes posting a 0.80 ERA, a 5-0 mark and 29 strikeouts in 35 innings and junior Katie Donovan recording a 1.41 ERA, a 10-4 record and 65 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings.
SERIES MATCHUP: UCLA VS. UTAH
UCLA holds a 29-3 series advantage over Utah and has won eight in a row. The Bruins won both matchups in a rain-shortened series in Salt Lake City last May (15-7 in five innings and 8-0 in six). UCLA is 11-0 at home versus Utah, including 9-0 since the Utes joined the Pac-12.
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