University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
LaRosa Named Athlete of the Week; Nick Kern Makes Play of the Week
LaRosa had hits and RBI in all four Bruin victories last week, recording six hits in 11 at-bats (.545) with eight runs batted in, two home runs and four runs scored. She had a .600 on base percentage and a 1.273 slugging, with two doubles and two walks. LaRosa opened the week with an RBI single in three plate appearances against Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, also getting hit by a pitch. On Thursday versus Oregon State, LaRosa reached in three of her trips to the dish, singling and scoring in the first, walking in the fifth and driving in a pair of runs in the sixth on a double, eventually scoring another run. In game two against the Beavers, LaRosa left the yard twice in the same game for the seventh time in her career, hitting a two-run shot in the first and a solo bomb in the sixth. On Saturday in the series finale, LaRosa had three productive at-bats, recording a sacrifice fly in the first, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the second and doubling in the sixth.
With the game tied at 1-1 and two outs in the top of the ninth, Kern made his first collegiate plate appearance as a pinch-hitter and hit the eventual game-winning two-run home run to give the Bruins the lead. The Brea, Calif. native came back out in the bottom of the ninth and earned the save with a scoreless frame to seal the victory for UCLA.