LOS ANGELES – Megan Faraimo pitched her fifth shutout of the season to lead the No. 3 UCLA softball team to a 4-0 blanking of Washington at Easton Stadium on Saturday.
The Bruins (26-3, 3-2 Pac-12) have now evened the series with the Huskies (22-5, 3-2 Pac-12) after dropping yesterday's contest.
Faraimo racked up five strikeouts and allowed just two hits en route to picking up her 12th win of the season. She has lowered her earned run average to 1.44. Washington's Kelley Lynch earned the loss and was rocked for all four of the Bruins' runs, two of which were solo homers by freshmen Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant in the third inning.
UCLA came out swinging to begin the game with its first four batters reaching base before the Huskies could record an out. After a leadoff walk to Savannah Pola, Maya Brady hit a double off the wall in the right-center gap to put two in scoring position for Woolery.
Woolery put the Bruins on the board with a single to right field to give UCLA an early 2-0 advantage. She finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Woolery is hitting 5-for-7 for the series, including her 3-for-4 outing in game one for her fourth longball of the year.
One batter later, Grant powered a line-drive homer to opposite field to score the Bruins' final run of the day. Grant now leads the team and all freshmen in the county with 33 runs batted in.
Defensively, redshirt senior Anna Vines was full of highlight reel material at second base. In the top of the third, Vines covered roughly 50 feet to make a catch against the netting in foul territory for the first out of the inning. And in the fourth, Vines showed off her quick reflexes with a backhand grab and throw to first base for the final out.
UCLA will go for its second Pac-12 series win of the season when it hosts Washington for the game three rubber match tomorrow at 12 p.m. (PT) at Easton Stadium. Anne Marie Anderson and Bruin alumni Amanda Freed will be on the call on Pac-12 Network.
The Bruins (26-3, 3-2 Pac-12) have now evened the series with the Huskies (22-5, 3-2 Pac-12) after dropping yesterday's contest.
Faraimo racked up five strikeouts and allowed just two hits en route to picking up her 12th win of the season. She has lowered her earned run average to 1.44. Washington's Kelley Lynch earned the loss and was rocked for all four of the Bruins' runs, two of which were solo homers by freshmen Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant in the third inning.
UCLA came out swinging to begin the game with its first four batters reaching base before the Huskies could record an out. After a leadoff walk to Savannah Pola, Maya Brady hit a double off the wall in the right-center gap to put two in scoring position for Woolery.
Woolery put the Bruins on the board with a single to right field to give UCLA an early 2-0 advantage. She finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Woolery is hitting 5-for-7 for the series, including her 3-for-4 outing in game one for her fourth longball of the year.
The freshman from Walnut Creek, Calif. tacked on another run in the third with a solo shot over the Easton Stadium left field scoreboard, her second time doing so this season. Woolery now ranks second on the team with a .400 batting average and 13 extra-base hits in 2023.JoJo ???????????????? that one ?? She has all three of the Bruins' RBI today!
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) March 18, 2023
??: Pac-12 Network
??: https://t.co/U1uj3onQMo#GoBruins | @jordanwooleryy pic.twitter.com/5lvFgsoYYv
One batter later, Grant powered a line-drive homer to opposite field to score the Bruins' final run of the day. Grant now leads the team and all freshmen in the county with 33 runs batted in.
Defensively, redshirt senior Anna Vines was full of highlight reel material at second base. In the top of the third, Vines covered roughly 50 feet to make a catch against the netting in foul territory for the first out of the inning. And in the fourth, Vines showed off her quick reflexes with a backhand grab and throw to first base for the final out.
Vines also finished a six-pitch at-bat with a base hit in the fourth inning.Anna Vines makes the catch into the netting! ??
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) March 18, 2023
??: Pac-12 Network
??: https://t.co/U1uj3onQMo#GoBruins | @avines2000 pic.twitter.com/FtvlVlhg81
UCLA will go for its second Pac-12 series win of the season when it hosts Washington for the game three rubber match tomorrow at 12 p.m. (PT) at Easton Stadium. Anne Marie Anderson and Bruin alumni Amanda Freed will be on the call on Pac-12 Network.