Friday, February 24
Cathedral City, CA
5:30 PM
UCLA
14-0
6
vs
3
Kentucky
9-2-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Kentucky
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
3
8
1
UCLA
2
2
0
2
0
0
X
6
6
2
Lauren Shaw
No. 1 Bruins Defeat No. 18 Kentucky and Iowa
February 25, 2023 | Softball
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. โ The No. 1 UCLA softball team continued its hot start to the season, defeating No. 18 Kentucky, 6-3, and Iowa, 2-1, on day two of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday.
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Brooke Yanez earned the win in the Bruins' (15-0) win over the Wildcats (9-2-1) and Faraimo got in the win column for the ninth time this season against the Hawkeyes (7-4).
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Game 1: UCLA 6, Kentucky 3
UCLA took a 2-0 lead they would not surrender for the rest of the game in the first inning. Jordan Woolery scored Savannah Pola on a sacrifice fly for her 16th RBI of the season. One batter later, Maya Brady was able to dash home and score on a wild pitch.
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The Bruins answered the Wildcats' run in the top half of the second with two more runs of their own. Brady recorded her second double and 10th extra base hit of the season to plate Janelle Meoño. Brady came around to score once more on a Megan Grant sacrifice fly.
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Grant recorded the first triple of her career two innings later in the fourth to bring home another UCLA run. Grant, who entered the week leading all freshmen in the nation with 15 RBI, is now up to 20 RBI through three weeks.
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Yanez's day was done after five innings and nine strikeouts. Faraimo entered in relief in the sixth, and despite allowing four hits, kept Kentucky off the scoreboard and earned her first save of the season. Last season, Faraimo was tied for the national lead and set a single-season program record with seven saves.
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Game 2: UCLA 2, Iowa 1
The Hawkeyes took a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning on a frigid night at the Big League Dreams Sports Complex. In the bottom half, Meoño reached on an error and was moved into scoring position on a Savannah Pola bunt base hit, setting the table for Megan Grant. Grant came through for the third time of the day with a deep sacrifice fly to right field to tie the game, 1-1.
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Faraimo entered in relief for the second time of the night in the sixth, inheriting a runner on first base, and quickly struck out the next three batters she saw.
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Sharlize Palacios came up clutch with a solo home run to leadoff the bottom half to give the Bruins a one-run buffer. That's all Faraimo would need, recording three more strikeouts en route to earning her nation-leading ninth win of the season.
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Next Up
UCLA will play two more at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday when it squares off with No. 19 Northwestern at 2:30 p.m. (PT) and Texas A&M at 5 p.m. (PT). Both games can be streamed on FloSoftball.com behind a paywall.
ย
Brooke Yanez earned the win in the Bruins' (15-0) win over the Wildcats (9-2-1) and Faraimo got in the win column for the ninth time this season against the Hawkeyes (7-4).
ย
Game 1: UCLA 6, Kentucky 3
UCLA took a 2-0 lead they would not surrender for the rest of the game in the first inning. Jordan Woolery scored Savannah Pola on a sacrifice fly for her 16th RBI of the season. One batter later, Maya Brady was able to dash home and score on a wild pitch.
ย
The Bruins answered the Wildcats' run in the top half of the second with two more runs of their own. Brady recorded her second double and 10th extra base hit of the season to plate Janelle Meoño. Brady came around to score once more on a Megan Grant sacrifice fly.
ย
Grant recorded the first triple of her career two innings later in the fourth to bring home another UCLA run. Grant, who entered the week leading all freshmen in the nation with 15 RBI, is now up to 20 RBI through three weeks.
ย
Yanez's day was done after five innings and nine strikeouts. Faraimo entered in relief in the sixth, and despite allowing four hits, kept Kentucky off the scoreboard and earned her first save of the season. Last season, Faraimo was tied for the national lead and set a single-season program record with seven saves.
ย
Game 2: UCLA 2, Iowa 1
The Hawkeyes took a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning on a frigid night at the Big League Dreams Sports Complex. In the bottom half, Meoño reached on an error and was moved into scoring position on a Savannah Pola bunt base hit, setting the table for Megan Grant. Grant came through for the third time of the day with a deep sacrifice fly to right field to tie the game, 1-1.
ย
Faraimo entered in relief for the second time of the night in the sixth, inheriting a runner on first base, and quickly struck out the next three batters she saw.
ย
Sharlize Palacios came up clutch with a solo home run to leadoff the bottom half to give the Bruins a one-run buffer. That's all Faraimo would need, recording three more strikeouts en route to earning her nation-leading ninth win of the season.
ย
Next Up
UCLA will play two more at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday when it squares off with No. 19 Northwestern at 2:30 p.m. (PT) and Texas A&M at 5 p.m. (PT). Both games can be streamed on FloSoftball.com behind a paywall.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Yanez, Brooke (4-0)
L: Izzy Harrison (1-1)
S: Faraimo, Megan (1)
Batting:
HR: Grace Lorsung 1
RBI: Kayla Kowalik 1 ; Rylea Smith 1 ; Grace Lorsung 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grace Lorsung 1 ; Vanessa Nesby 1 ; Margaret Tobias 1
SB: Rylea Smith 1
CS: Chelsea Mack 1
Batting:
2B: Brady, Maya 1
3B: Grant, Megan 1
RBI: Pola, Savannah 1 ; Brady, Maya 1 ; Grant, Megan 2 ; Woolery, Jordan 1
SF: Grant, Megan 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pola, Savannah 2 ; Brady, Maya 2 ; Meoño, Janelle 2
SB: Meoño, Janelle 1
HBP: Powell, Kennedy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
2b/ph
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
2b/dp
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
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