Thursday, May 9
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Arizona
Senior Paige Halstead's next game will be her 200th as a Bruin.
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
No. 2 Bruins Host No. 6 Arizona With Pac-12 Title on the Line
May 07, 2019 | Softball
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No. 6/6/7 Arizona at No. 3/2/2 UCLA • Thursday, May 9 - Saturday, May 11 • Easton Stadium
Thursday, May 9
7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Free Live Audio
Live Stats
Friday, May 10
5 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Free Live Audio
Live Stats
Saturday, May 11
12 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Free Live Audio
Live Stats
SECOND-RANKED BRUINS HOST NO. 6 ARIZONA
The second-ranked Bruins close out the regular-season schedule this weekend at Easton Stadium, hosting a three-game series with No. 6 Arizona. The series starts on Thursday at 7 p.m., continues on Friday at 5 p.m. and concludes on Saturday at 12 p.m. All three contests will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. Prior to Saturday's game, seniors Danae Blodgett, Paige Halstead, Taylor Pack, Zoe Shaw, Maddie Skibitzki, Brianna Tautalafua and Stevie Wisz will be honored.
RACE FOR THE PAC-12 TITLE
UCLA needs just one win this weekend to clinch the Pac-12 Conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and a share of the league title. With two victories or one win and one Washington loss, the Bruins would claim the outright conference championship. UCLA has won nine Pac-10/12 Championships (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009).
WHAT'S NEXT?
On Sunday, ESPN2 will air the NCAA Selection Show at 6 p.m., as the 64-team field and 16 host campus sites will be revealed. The three-day NCAA Regionals will be played Thursday, May 16-Sunday, May 19 and televised on the ESPN Family of Networks.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA checks in at No. 2 in the USA Softball and Softball America polls for the fourth week in a row, but dropped to third in this week's NFCA rankings. The Bruins were selected first in the preseason Pac-12 Conference coaches poll.
GARCIA, GODIN NAMED FINALISTS FOR USA SOFTBALL COLLEGIATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Redshirt junior Rachel Garcia and freshman Kelli Godin are two of 26 finalists for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, as announced by USA Softball on April 24.
Garcia won the award last year, while Godin is one of only three freshmen finalists for the honor. The finalists also include 10 seniors, nine juniors and four sophomores. UCLA's two finalists are tied for the second most.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female players across the country. Previous recipients of the award include UCLA alum Stacey Nuveman (2002) and Garcia.
The list of 26 finalists will be narrowed to the Top 10 on May 8 before the Top 3 finalists are named on May 22. The 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 28 at the Women's College World Series.
FARAIMO, GODIN NAMED TO FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR TOP 25 LIST
Two Bruins have been named to the 2019 Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 list, as announced on April 18, as freshmen Megan Faraimo and Kelli Godin have been named finalists.
UCLA, along with Virginia Tech, are the only two teams to have a pair of players on the Top 25 list. On May 9, the current Top 25 list will be trimmed down to 10, with the Top 3 finalists announced on May 21. The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented on May 28 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. The NFCA FOY is in its sixth year. The Bruins had the winner in 2017 in current redshirt junior Rachel Garcia.
BRUINS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS (THROUGH MAY 5)
Team Rankings - Earned Run Average (2nd, 1.22); Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (2nd, 5.82); Batting Average (3rd, .348); Runs Per Game (4th, 7.25); On Base Percentage (6th, .423); Shutouts (T-6th, 18); Slugging (8th, .554); Fielding Percentage (23rd, .973); Home Runs (T-34th, 57); Doubles (T-41st, 76).
Rachel Garcia - Earned Run Average (2nd, 0.71); Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (5th, 7.92); Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings (9th, 3.78); Wins (T-29th, 20); Strikeouts (31st, 190); Shutouts (T-37th, 6); Walks Allowed Per Seven Innings (39th, 1.32).
Megan Faraimo - Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (8th, 6.58); Earned Run Average (T-17th, 1.31); Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings (22nd, 4.14); Shutouts (T-37th, 6); Walks Allowed Per Seven Innings (38th, 1.31).
Bubba Nickles - Runs Batted In (T-19th, 55); Runs Scored (T-31st, 50).
Holly Azevedo - Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings (47th, 4.90).
Kelli Godin - Batting Average (13th, .441).
Aaliyah Jordan - Doubles (T-23rd, 17).
Briana Perez - Runs Scored (T-15th, 56).
NEWS AND NOTES
Bruin opponents have scored runs in just 44 innings this season, and on 22 occasions, UCLA has scored in its next at-bat (on three occasions, opponents as the home team scored in the last at-bat of the game, not allowing the Bruins to answer) ... UCLA averaged 7.83 runs per game and posted four double-figure scoring contests in its 12 Pac-12 road affairs, while averaging 5.67 runs per game and recording one double-figure scoring contest in its nine Pac-12 home matchups ... the Bruins set a season high with 17 hits on March 10 against Boston. UCLA had its second-most hits of the season on April 7 at Arizona State with 16. The Bruins have reached double figures in hits 23 times ... the 16 runs scored on April 7 were the second most this season for UCLA (17 vs. UC Riverside on Feb. 17). The Bruins have reached double digits in runs 12 times ... the Bruins had an early 3-0 deficit at Long Beach State on March 10, marking just their second three-run deficit (largest) of the season. UCLA also trailed 4-1 to No. 16 Kentucky on Feb. 23 before scoring 11 unanswered runs to mercy the Wildcats ... the Bruins have 12 comeback victories this season, recording their most recent one versus Oregon State on April 18 ... redshirt junior Rachel Garcia has recorded either a win (20) or a save (2) in 22 of her 23 pitching appearances, posting nine double-figure strikeout contests, including 12 on April 6 at Arizona State. Her season high in strikeouts is 15 at Hawaii (Feb. 8) and against No. 1 Oklahoma (Feb. 22). Garcia, who has 12 complete games in her 15 starts, has allowed zero or one earned run in 21 of her 23 games, and has not given up a home run since March 9 against BYU (78 innings) ... meanwhile at the plate, Garcia had back-to-back, three-RBI games against Oregon (April 14) and Oregon State (April 18), and has hits in nine of her last 10, batting .400 (12-for-30) during that stretch with two homers, nine RBI, 10 runs and five walks. She has reached base in 24 of her last 25 games. Garcia drove in a career-high six at Washington on March 17, her second game this year with at least five RBI (Florida, Feb. 27). She had a stretch of eight consecutive hits against Washington (March 16-17), Saint Mary's (March 24) and CSUN (March 24) ... junior Bubba Nickles enters the final weekend of Pac-12 play on a 16-game hitting streak, batting .519 (28-for-54) during this stretch with four home runs, 20 RBI, 17 runs and seven walks. Nine of her 16 games have gone for multiple hits, including three-hit contests three times. Nickles has hits in 42 of 48 games, has driven in runs in 31 contests and scored in 33. Nickles compiled a 24-game hitting streak before it came to an end versus Colorado State on Feb. 24. During the streak, she hit .466 (34-for-73) with 10 home runs, 30 runs batted in and 27 runs scored. Only three UCLA hitting streaks were higher than Nickles' (Natasha Watley, 32 in 2001 and 29 in 2002, and Stacey Nuveman, 28 in 1997) ... senior Taylor Pack has hits in 12 of her last 15 games, batting .413 (19-for-46) during the stretch with four homers, 15 RBI, 10 runs and five doubles. Six of the 15 contests have been for multiple hits, four have been multi-RBI affairs and nine of her 19 hits have gone for extra bases. Eight of Pack's nine homers this season have come since March 8, including the first two-homer game of her career on April 5 at ASU ... redshirt sophomore Aaliyah Jordan has hits in 12 of her last 16 games, batting .404 (19-for-47) with five homers, 19 RBI and 17 runs. She posted the first two-homer contest of her career on April 6 at ASU and had a three-hit contest on April 28 versus Utah. The team leader in doubles had three versus Liberty on March 9 to become the sixth Bruin ever to post three two-baggers in the same contest. Jordan, who returned to the outfield against Utah, has nine extra-base hits in her last 16 games ... sophomore Briana Perez has hits in eight in a row, batting .417 (10-for-24) with two homers, six RBI and six runs. She also has hits in 19 of her last 21. Perez had a pair of homers in the Utah series, and all five of her long balls this season have come since March 8. She is tied for the team lead with Nickles in multiple-hit games with 19, and has scored a run in 36 of 47 contests, including 18 of her last 24 ... freshman Megan Faraimo has 36 strikeouts in her last 29 innings. She had a scoreless innings streak of 26 1/3 from March 26-April 12. Faraimo tossed her second no-hitter on Feb. 24 against Colorado State. Along with it being the 111th in UCLA history, it marked the first time a Bruin had two no-hitters in the same season since 2015 (Ally Carda) and the first UCLA freshman to do so since 2005 (Anjelica Selden). She has eight games with at least eight strikeouts, fanning a career-best 12 against Robert Morris. Faraimo also had 11 strikeouts against Cal State Fullerton on March 26 and 10 in her first no-hitter versus Fresno State (Feb. 16) ... freshman Kelli Godin has hits in 18 of her last 23, batting .421 (24-for-57) during the stretch with 20 runs scored, seven RBI and 10 stolen bases. She has scored a run in 10 of her last 14. The freshman stole her first 18 bases before getting caught on March 26 against Cal State Fullerton. It was the most successful stolen bases to start a UCLA career. Godin stole three bases against Saint Mary's on Feb. 9 to tie a school record, and then did it again versus the Gaels on March 24 ... sophomore Holly Azevedo had a stretch of 19 2/3 consecutive shutout innings from April 12-May 3, striking out 14 and giving up only 10 hits and three walks in those six outings. She had back-to-back, complete-game shutouts at Oregon State (April 20) and versus Utah (April 28). Azevedo has allowed zero runs in nine of her last 11 appearances. Her best game of the year came against Florida on Feb. 27 when she struck out eight in five innings ... in her last seven games in which she has registered an at-bat, freshman Colleen Sullivan has home runs in four of them, including a stretch of three in four contests against Oregon State (April 19) and Utah (April 26-27). She has raised her batting average 30 points during the last seven games. Even if she doesn't record a hit, Sullivan has been getting on base via the walk, having drawn a team-best 12 free passes since the month of April began. She drew four walks in the April 6 game at ASU, just the seventh time a Bruin had accomplished that feat in one contest ... senior Brianna Tautalafua returned to the lineup against Utah, and in her last seven contests is 7-for-21 (.333) with a homer and seven RBI. She had hits in each of the last two games of the Stanford series ... sophomore Kinsley Washington has hits in nine of her last 14 games. She belted her first career homer on April 7 at ASU ... the Bruins have three grand slams this season, the latest coming off the bat of sophomore Malia Quarles, who had a pinch-hit salami on April 14 against Oregon. Quarles, who is 7-for-20 (.350) as a pinch-hitter with 11 RBI, started all three games at designated player against Utah. She went 4-for-6 (.667), going 2-for-2 with an RBI single and a solo homer on April 27 and 2-for-3 with a two-run single and an RBI single on April 28 ... senior Paige Halstead has a .994 fielding percentage with just one error in 174 chances ... junior Jacqui Prober recorded the first two-hit game of her career on April 19 at OSU, singling twice and adding an RBI grounder ... Perez led off the March 8 game against Robert Morris with an inside-the-park home run. It marked the first inside-the-park homer for the Bruins since Andrea Duran on June 3, 2006 versus Texas ... UCLA shattered a school record for most runs in one inning in a Feb. 17 victory over UC Riverside. The Bruins scored 16 runs in the first inning, including 13 before making an out. The 16-run outburst broke the previous school record of 13 runs scored on April 21, 1992 against Cal Poly Pomona. As far as national rankings go, the 16 runs are tied for the 11th-most runs in one inning, while the 16 first-inning runs are tied for the second-most, first-inning runs ever ... UCLA softball recorded its 1,900th victory in program history on March 8 against Robert Morris.
DOUBLE NICKLES: BUBBA WINS PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND WEEK IN A ROW
For the second week in a row, junior Bubba Nickles was named Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, as announced on April 22. Nickles reached in each of her first nine plate appearances in the Bruins' series sweep at Oregon State, going 7-for-10 (.700) with seven runs batted in, five runs scored, two home runs and three walks.
Nickles went 3-for-3 with two walks in game one (April 18), scoring three times and hitting a two-run homer. A day later, the junior again went 3-for-3, driving in two on an RBI single and a bases-loaded walk. Nickles rounded out the weekend with a three-run homer in her final at-bat of the series.
UCLA has received 15 Pac-12 weekly awards this season, and at least one award in 10 of 13 weeks, including a pair on three occasions (Feb. 19 and Feb. 26) and a sweep on March 19. Redshirt junior Rachel Garcia has been Player of the Week on March 19 and Pitcher of the Week four times (Feb. 12, Feb. 19, Feb. 26 and March 19). Megan Faraimo is a five-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 12, April 1 and April 8), Kelli Godin is a two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (March 19 and March 25) and senior Taylor Pack was Pac-12 Player of the Week on April 8.
SCOUTING THE ARIZONA WILDCATS
Arizona (40-11, 17-4 Pac-12) was swept at home by Washington last weekend to fall into a second-place tie with the Huskies in league play, two games behind UCLA. The Wildcats are hitting .329 as a team with 92 home runs and 12 stolen bases, averaging 6.90 runs per game. Nine players are batting at least .300, led by junior Reyna Carranco's .433 average. Junior Jessie Harper (.339) is first with 23 homers and 60 runs batted in, while junior Dejah Mulipola (.316) is second with 20 home runs. Senior Taylor McQuillin and junior Alyssa Denham have combined to pitch 75 percent of Arizona's innings. McQuillin is 19-7 with a 1.53 earned run average and 186 strikeouts in 160 1/3 innings, while Denham is 11-4 with a 1.80 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.
THE SERIES: UCLA VERSUS ARIZONA
UCLA has won five in a row against Arizona and leads the all-time series, 90-57. The Bruins are 48-22 at home versus the Wildcats. Last season, UCLA swept Arizona in Tucson in Pac-12 play by scores of 7-6, 7-3 and 10-3. A month later, the teams met again, this time at Easton Stadium for the NCAA Super Regionals, with the Bruins winning 7-1 and 3-2 to advance to the Women's College World Series. UCLA has dominated the series of late, winning 17 of the last 19 meetings (10-1 at Easton). Starting with 2012, the Bruins have won every Pac-12 series against Arizona.
No. 6/6/7 Arizona at No. 3/2/2 UCLA • Thursday, May 9 - Saturday, May 11 • Easton Stadium
Thursday, May 9
7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Free Live Audio
Live Stats
Friday, May 10
5 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Free Live Audio
Live Stats
Saturday, May 11
12 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Free Live Audio
Live Stats
SECOND-RANKED BRUINS HOST NO. 6 ARIZONA
The second-ranked Bruins close out the regular-season schedule this weekend at Easton Stadium, hosting a three-game series with No. 6 Arizona. The series starts on Thursday at 7 p.m., continues on Friday at 5 p.m. and concludes on Saturday at 12 p.m. All three contests will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. Prior to Saturday's game, seniors Danae Blodgett, Paige Halstead, Taylor Pack, Zoe Shaw, Maddie Skibitzki, Brianna Tautalafua and Stevie Wisz will be honored.
RACE FOR THE PAC-12 TITLE
UCLA needs just one win this weekend to clinch the Pac-12 Conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and a share of the league title. With two victories or one win and one Washington loss, the Bruins would claim the outright conference championship. UCLA has won nine Pac-10/12 Championships (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009).
WHAT'S NEXT?
On Sunday, ESPN2 will air the NCAA Selection Show at 6 p.m., as the 64-team field and 16 host campus sites will be revealed. The three-day NCAA Regionals will be played Thursday, May 16-Sunday, May 19 and televised on the ESPN Family of Networks.
BRUINS IN THE POLLS
UCLA checks in at No. 2 in the USA Softball and Softball America polls for the fourth week in a row, but dropped to third in this week's NFCA rankings. The Bruins were selected first in the preseason Pac-12 Conference coaches poll.
GARCIA, GODIN NAMED FINALISTS FOR USA SOFTBALL COLLEGIATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Redshirt junior Rachel Garcia and freshman Kelli Godin are two of 26 finalists for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, as announced by USA Softball on April 24.
Garcia won the award last year, while Godin is one of only three freshmen finalists for the honor. The finalists also include 10 seniors, nine juniors and four sophomores. UCLA's two finalists are tied for the second most.
The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball, recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by Division I female players across the country. Previous recipients of the award include UCLA alum Stacey Nuveman (2002) and Garcia.
The list of 26 finalists will be narrowed to the Top 10 on May 8 before the Top 3 finalists are named on May 22. The 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 28 at the Women's College World Series.
FARAIMO, GODIN NAMED TO FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR TOP 25 LIST
Two Bruins have been named to the 2019 Schutt Sports/NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 list, as announced on April 18, as freshmen Megan Faraimo and Kelli Godin have been named finalists.
UCLA, along with Virginia Tech, are the only two teams to have a pair of players on the Top 25 list. On May 9, the current Top 25 list will be trimmed down to 10, with the Top 3 finalists announced on May 21. The Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year trophy will be presented on May 28 at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. The NFCA FOY is in its sixth year. The Bruins had the winner in 2017 in current redshirt junior Rachel Garcia.
BRUINS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS (THROUGH MAY 5)
Team Rankings - Earned Run Average (2nd, 1.22); Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (2nd, 5.82); Batting Average (3rd, .348); Runs Per Game (4th, 7.25); On Base Percentage (6th, .423); Shutouts (T-6th, 18); Slugging (8th, .554); Fielding Percentage (23rd, .973); Home Runs (T-34th, 57); Doubles (T-41st, 76).
Rachel Garcia - Earned Run Average (2nd, 0.71); Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (5th, 7.92); Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings (9th, 3.78); Wins (T-29th, 20); Strikeouts (31st, 190); Shutouts (T-37th, 6); Walks Allowed Per Seven Innings (39th, 1.32).
Megan Faraimo - Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (8th, 6.58); Earned Run Average (T-17th, 1.31); Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings (22nd, 4.14); Shutouts (T-37th, 6); Walks Allowed Per Seven Innings (38th, 1.31).
Bubba Nickles - Runs Batted In (T-19th, 55); Runs Scored (T-31st, 50).
Holly Azevedo - Hits Allowed Per Seven Innings (47th, 4.90).
Kelli Godin - Batting Average (13th, .441).
Aaliyah Jordan - Doubles (T-23rd, 17).
Briana Perez - Runs Scored (T-15th, 56).
NEWS AND NOTES
Bruin opponents have scored runs in just 44 innings this season, and on 22 occasions, UCLA has scored in its next at-bat (on three occasions, opponents as the home team scored in the last at-bat of the game, not allowing the Bruins to answer) ... UCLA averaged 7.83 runs per game and posted four double-figure scoring contests in its 12 Pac-12 road affairs, while averaging 5.67 runs per game and recording one double-figure scoring contest in its nine Pac-12 home matchups ... the Bruins set a season high with 17 hits on March 10 against Boston. UCLA had its second-most hits of the season on April 7 at Arizona State with 16. The Bruins have reached double figures in hits 23 times ... the 16 runs scored on April 7 were the second most this season for UCLA (17 vs. UC Riverside on Feb. 17). The Bruins have reached double digits in runs 12 times ... the Bruins had an early 3-0 deficit at Long Beach State on March 10, marking just their second three-run deficit (largest) of the season. UCLA also trailed 4-1 to No. 16 Kentucky on Feb. 23 before scoring 11 unanswered runs to mercy the Wildcats ... the Bruins have 12 comeback victories this season, recording their most recent one versus Oregon State on April 18 ... redshirt junior Rachel Garcia has recorded either a win (20) or a save (2) in 22 of her 23 pitching appearances, posting nine double-figure strikeout contests, including 12 on April 6 at Arizona State. Her season high in strikeouts is 15 at Hawaii (Feb. 8) and against No. 1 Oklahoma (Feb. 22). Garcia, who has 12 complete games in her 15 starts, has allowed zero or one earned run in 21 of her 23 games, and has not given up a home run since March 9 against BYU (78 innings) ... meanwhile at the plate, Garcia had back-to-back, three-RBI games against Oregon (April 14) and Oregon State (April 18), and has hits in nine of her last 10, batting .400 (12-for-30) during that stretch with two homers, nine RBI, 10 runs and five walks. She has reached base in 24 of her last 25 games. Garcia drove in a career-high six at Washington on March 17, her second game this year with at least five RBI (Florida, Feb. 27). She had a stretch of eight consecutive hits against Washington (March 16-17), Saint Mary's (March 24) and CSUN (March 24) ... junior Bubba Nickles enters the final weekend of Pac-12 play on a 16-game hitting streak, batting .519 (28-for-54) during this stretch with four home runs, 20 RBI, 17 runs and seven walks. Nine of her 16 games have gone for multiple hits, including three-hit contests three times. Nickles has hits in 42 of 48 games, has driven in runs in 31 contests and scored in 33. Nickles compiled a 24-game hitting streak before it came to an end versus Colorado State on Feb. 24. During the streak, she hit .466 (34-for-73) with 10 home runs, 30 runs batted in and 27 runs scored. Only three UCLA hitting streaks were higher than Nickles' (Natasha Watley, 32 in 2001 and 29 in 2002, and Stacey Nuveman, 28 in 1997) ... senior Taylor Pack has hits in 12 of her last 15 games, batting .413 (19-for-46) during the stretch with four homers, 15 RBI, 10 runs and five doubles. Six of the 15 contests have been for multiple hits, four have been multi-RBI affairs and nine of her 19 hits have gone for extra bases. Eight of Pack's nine homers this season have come since March 8, including the first two-homer game of her career on April 5 at ASU ... redshirt sophomore Aaliyah Jordan has hits in 12 of her last 16 games, batting .404 (19-for-47) with five homers, 19 RBI and 17 runs. She posted the first two-homer contest of her career on April 6 at ASU and had a three-hit contest on April 28 versus Utah. The team leader in doubles had three versus Liberty on March 9 to become the sixth Bruin ever to post three two-baggers in the same contest. Jordan, who returned to the outfield against Utah, has nine extra-base hits in her last 16 games ... sophomore Briana Perez has hits in eight in a row, batting .417 (10-for-24) with two homers, six RBI and six runs. She also has hits in 19 of her last 21. Perez had a pair of homers in the Utah series, and all five of her long balls this season have come since March 8. She is tied for the team lead with Nickles in multiple-hit games with 19, and has scored a run in 36 of 47 contests, including 18 of her last 24 ... freshman Megan Faraimo has 36 strikeouts in her last 29 innings. She had a scoreless innings streak of 26 1/3 from March 26-April 12. Faraimo tossed her second no-hitter on Feb. 24 against Colorado State. Along with it being the 111th in UCLA history, it marked the first time a Bruin had two no-hitters in the same season since 2015 (Ally Carda) and the first UCLA freshman to do so since 2005 (Anjelica Selden). She has eight games with at least eight strikeouts, fanning a career-best 12 against Robert Morris. Faraimo also had 11 strikeouts against Cal State Fullerton on March 26 and 10 in her first no-hitter versus Fresno State (Feb. 16) ... freshman Kelli Godin has hits in 18 of her last 23, batting .421 (24-for-57) during the stretch with 20 runs scored, seven RBI and 10 stolen bases. She has scored a run in 10 of her last 14. The freshman stole her first 18 bases before getting caught on March 26 against Cal State Fullerton. It was the most successful stolen bases to start a UCLA career. Godin stole three bases against Saint Mary's on Feb. 9 to tie a school record, and then did it again versus the Gaels on March 24 ... sophomore Holly Azevedo had a stretch of 19 2/3 consecutive shutout innings from April 12-May 3, striking out 14 and giving up only 10 hits and three walks in those six outings. She had back-to-back, complete-game shutouts at Oregon State (April 20) and versus Utah (April 28). Azevedo has allowed zero runs in nine of her last 11 appearances. Her best game of the year came against Florida on Feb. 27 when she struck out eight in five innings ... in her last seven games in which she has registered an at-bat, freshman Colleen Sullivan has home runs in four of them, including a stretch of three in four contests against Oregon State (April 19) and Utah (April 26-27). She has raised her batting average 30 points during the last seven games. Even if she doesn't record a hit, Sullivan has been getting on base via the walk, having drawn a team-best 12 free passes since the month of April began. She drew four walks in the April 6 game at ASU, just the seventh time a Bruin had accomplished that feat in one contest ... senior Brianna Tautalafua returned to the lineup against Utah, and in her last seven contests is 7-for-21 (.333) with a homer and seven RBI. She had hits in each of the last two games of the Stanford series ... sophomore Kinsley Washington has hits in nine of her last 14 games. She belted her first career homer on April 7 at ASU ... the Bruins have three grand slams this season, the latest coming off the bat of sophomore Malia Quarles, who had a pinch-hit salami on April 14 against Oregon. Quarles, who is 7-for-20 (.350) as a pinch-hitter with 11 RBI, started all three games at designated player against Utah. She went 4-for-6 (.667), going 2-for-2 with an RBI single and a solo homer on April 27 and 2-for-3 with a two-run single and an RBI single on April 28 ... senior Paige Halstead has a .994 fielding percentage with just one error in 174 chances ... junior Jacqui Prober recorded the first two-hit game of her career on April 19 at OSU, singling twice and adding an RBI grounder ... Perez led off the March 8 game against Robert Morris with an inside-the-park home run. It marked the first inside-the-park homer for the Bruins since Andrea Duran on June 3, 2006 versus Texas ... UCLA shattered a school record for most runs in one inning in a Feb. 17 victory over UC Riverside. The Bruins scored 16 runs in the first inning, including 13 before making an out. The 16-run outburst broke the previous school record of 13 runs scored on April 21, 1992 against Cal Poly Pomona. As far as national rankings go, the 16 runs are tied for the 11th-most runs in one inning, while the 16 first-inning runs are tied for the second-most, first-inning runs ever ... UCLA softball recorded its 1,900th victory in program history on March 8 against Robert Morris.
DOUBLE NICKLES: BUBBA WINS PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND WEEK IN A ROW
For the second week in a row, junior Bubba Nickles was named Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week, as announced on April 22. Nickles reached in each of her first nine plate appearances in the Bruins' series sweep at Oregon State, going 7-for-10 (.700) with seven runs batted in, five runs scored, two home runs and three walks.
Nickles went 3-for-3 with two walks in game one (April 18), scoring three times and hitting a two-run homer. A day later, the junior again went 3-for-3, driving in two on an RBI single and a bases-loaded walk. Nickles rounded out the weekend with a three-run homer in her final at-bat of the series.
UCLA has received 15 Pac-12 weekly awards this season, and at least one award in 10 of 13 weeks, including a pair on three occasions (Feb. 19 and Feb. 26) and a sweep on March 19. Redshirt junior Rachel Garcia has been Player of the Week on March 19 and Pitcher of the Week four times (Feb. 12, Feb. 19, Feb. 26 and March 19). Megan Faraimo is a five-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 12, April 1 and April 8), Kelli Godin is a two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (March 19 and March 25) and senior Taylor Pack was Pac-12 Player of the Week on April 8.
SCOUTING THE ARIZONA WILDCATS
Arizona (40-11, 17-4 Pac-12) was swept at home by Washington last weekend to fall into a second-place tie with the Huskies in league play, two games behind UCLA. The Wildcats are hitting .329 as a team with 92 home runs and 12 stolen bases, averaging 6.90 runs per game. Nine players are batting at least .300, led by junior Reyna Carranco's .433 average. Junior Jessie Harper (.339) is first with 23 homers and 60 runs batted in, while junior Dejah Mulipola (.316) is second with 20 home runs. Senior Taylor McQuillin and junior Alyssa Denham have combined to pitch 75 percent of Arizona's innings. McQuillin is 19-7 with a 1.53 earned run average and 186 strikeouts in 160 1/3 innings, while Denham is 11-4 with a 1.80 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.
THE SERIES: UCLA VERSUS ARIZONA
UCLA has won five in a row against Arizona and leads the all-time series, 90-57. The Bruins are 48-22 at home versus the Wildcats. Last season, UCLA swept Arizona in Tucson in Pac-12 play by scores of 7-6, 7-3 and 10-3. A month later, the teams met again, this time at Easton Stadium for the NCAA Super Regionals, with the Bruins winning 7-1 and 3-2 to advance to the Women's College World Series. UCLA has dominated the series of late, winning 17 of the last 19 meetings (10-1 at Easton). Starting with 2012, the Bruins have won every Pac-12 series against Arizona.
Players Mentioned
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/ SoftballUCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Tennessee (June 1, 2025)
Sunday, June 01
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Texas Tech (May 31, 2025)
Saturday, May 31
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29