Friday, March 7
Los Angeles, CA
4:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
20-4
12
vs
4
Sacramento State
12-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
R
H
E
Sacramento State
0
0
1
2
0
1
4
4
1
UCLA
2
4
0
2
1
3
12
13
0
Freshman Rylee Slimp hit the mercy-rule walk-off homer.
Photo by: Mac Brown
Late-Game Homers Secure 12-4 Mercy-Rule Win for No. 6 Softball
March 07, 2025 | Softball
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 6-ranked UCLA softball team totaled 13 hits in a 12-4 win over Sacramento State in six innings at Easton Stadium Friday night, marking the team's second mercy-rule victory of the week.
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The Bruins (20-4) used two sixth-inning homers by junior Megan Grant and freshman Rylee Slimp to secure the win. Slimp's blast โ her first since opening day โ put the mercy-rule into effect with a two-run shot to right field.ย Grant's homer earlier in the inning marked her fourth straight game with a home run. That feat was last accomplished by a Bruin in April 2023 by then-redshirt junior Maya Brady.
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UCLA's batters stayed patient at the plate by drawing seven walks one night after receiving 10 free passes by the LMU Lions on Thursday (six walks, four hit-by-pitches). The Bruins have drawn four-plus walks in six straight games (6.5 BB/G) and, in total, have worked four-plus walks in 11 of 24 games this season.
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Four UCLA players recorded multiple hits in the contest. Slimp and Jessica Clements tallied three hits apiece while Grant and Kaniya Bragg both reached base via hit twice. Clements is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and has recorded multiple hits in six of those games. The graduate transfer from Cal Poly paces the Bruins' offense with a .446 batting average and 37 hits.
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Senior Jada Cecil earned her first win of the season in her second start of the year. The only two hits Cecil allowed to the Hornets' (12-9) hitters in her 4.1 innings were home runs. Despite giving up the longball, Cecil put forth her longest and most impressive outing of the year with 105 total pitches and a season-high five strikeouts. Cecil retired the first seven batters she faced and sent three of those hitters down by way of strikeout. After allowing her second homer of the game to Sacramento State's top hitter Andrea Lira in the fourth inning, Cecil walked the next batter she faced and buckled down to induce a double-play ball to second base. A flyout by the next batter closed the inning.
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For a second straight game, Clements led off the bottom half of the first with a base hit into right field. She moved herself into scoring position during Savannah Pola's at-bat with her team-leading fifth stolen base of the season. After a walk to Pola, junior Jordan Woolery hit a hot shot down the left field line that flicked off the Hornets third baseman's mitt for an RBI double to score the game's first run. Bragg plated the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to center field.
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UCLA put up a four spot in the bottom of the second to stretch the lead to 6-0. The rally started with two walks to the Bruins' No. 8 and No. 9 hitters, Kaitlyn Terry and Seneca Curo. Clements drove in the first run with her second hit of the game. With two outs and the bases loaded, Megan Grant smacked a sharply-hit ball to shortstop behind second base that was too difficult to manage, allowing two more to score. Bragg hit a groundball to second base that was booted which scored the final run of the inning.
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The freshmen came through with two outs in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of RBI base hits. Bragg laced a double into the right-center gap to bring Pola home from first base and was followed by an RBI single from Slimp, pushing the score to 8-3. Slimp finished the game with a season-high three RBI.
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Pola also recorded an RBI base hit in the fifth inning after Clements reached on a double.
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Next Up
UCLA plays two games tomorrow at SDSU Softball Stadium in San Diego, Calif. versus Sacramento State in a neutral-site rematch at 2:30 p.m. (PT) and host San Diego State at 5 p.m. The Bruins' game against the Aztecs will be available for streaming on the Mountain West Network.
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The Bruins (20-4) used two sixth-inning homers by junior Megan Grant and freshman Rylee Slimp to secure the win. Slimp's blast โ her first since opening day โ put the mercy-rule into effect with a two-run shot to right field.ย Grant's homer earlier in the inning marked her fourth straight game with a home run. That feat was last accomplished by a Bruin in April 2023 by then-redshirt junior Maya Brady.
ย
UCLA's batters stayed patient at the plate by drawing seven walks one night after receiving 10 free passes by the LMU Lions on Thursday (six walks, four hit-by-pitches). The Bruins have drawn four-plus walks in six straight games (6.5 BB/G) and, in total, have worked four-plus walks in 11 of 24 games this season.
ย
Four UCLA players recorded multiple hits in the contest. Slimp and Jessica Clements tallied three hits apiece while Grant and Kaniya Bragg both reached base via hit twice. Clements is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and has recorded multiple hits in six of those games. The graduate transfer from Cal Poly paces the Bruins' offense with a .446 batting average and 37 hits.
ย
Senior Jada Cecil earned her first win of the season in her second start of the year. The only two hits Cecil allowed to the Hornets' (12-9) hitters in her 4.1 innings were home runs. Despite giving up the longball, Cecil put forth her longest and most impressive outing of the year with 105 total pitches and a season-high five strikeouts. Cecil retired the first seven batters she faced and sent three of those hitters down by way of strikeout. After allowing her second homer of the game to Sacramento State's top hitter Andrea Lira in the fourth inning, Cecil walked the next batter she faced and buckled down to induce a double-play ball to second base. A flyout by the next batter closed the inning.
ย
For a second straight game, Clements led off the bottom half of the first with a base hit into right field. She moved herself into scoring position during Savannah Pola's at-bat with her team-leading fifth stolen base of the season. After a walk to Pola, junior Jordan Woolery hit a hot shot down the left field line that flicked off the Hornets third baseman's mitt for an RBI double to score the game's first run. Bragg plated the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to center field.
ย
UCLA put up a four spot in the bottom of the second to stretch the lead to 6-0. The rally started with two walks to the Bruins' No. 8 and No. 9 hitters, Kaitlyn Terry and Seneca Curo. Clements drove in the first run with her second hit of the game. With two outs and the bases loaded, Megan Grant smacked a sharply-hit ball to shortstop behind second base that was too difficult to manage, allowing two more to score. Bragg hit a groundball to second base that was booted which scored the final run of the inning.
ย
The freshmen came through with two outs in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of RBI base hits. Bragg laced a double into the right-center gap to bring Pola home from first base and was followed by an RBI single from Slimp, pushing the score to 8-3. Slimp finished the game with a season-high three RBI.
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Pola also recorded an RBI base hit in the fifth inning after Clements reached on a double.
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Next Up
UCLA plays two games tomorrow at SDSU Softball Stadium in San Diego, Calif. versus Sacramento State in a neutral-site rematch at 2:30 p.m. (PT) and host San Diego State at 5 p.m. The Bruins' game against the Aztecs will be available for streaming on the Mountain West Network.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cecil, Jada (1-0)
L: Ortiz, Alexa (2-3)
Batting:
HR: Lira, Andrea 1 ; Evers-Lyles, Madison 1 ; Garcia, Shannon 1
RBI: Lira, Andrea 2 ; Evers-Lyles, Madison 1 ; Garcia, Shannon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Malepeai, Lafulafu 1 ; Lira, Andrea 1 ; Evers-Lyles, Madison 1 ; Garcia, Shannon 1
Batting:
2B: Clements, Jessica 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 1 ; Bragg, Kaniya 1
HR: Grant, Megan 1 ; Slimp, Rylee 1
RBI: Clements, Jessica 1 ; Pola, Savannah 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 1 ; Grant, Megan 3 ; Bragg, Kaniya 2 ; Slimp, Rylee 3
SF: Bragg, Kaniya 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clements, Jessica 3 ; Pola, Savannah 2 ; Woolery, Jordan 1 ; Grant, Megan 1 ; Bragg, Kaniya 1 ; Blunt, Kate 1 ; Slimp, Rylee 1 ; Terry, Kaitlyn 1 ; Curo, Seneca 1
SB: Clements, Jessica 1
CS: Osteen, Liesl 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
SS
/ SoftballINF/UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
UTIL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
INF
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