The Bruins defeated the Ducks 9-3 on Saturday evening in Eugene to sweep the crucial Saturday doubleheader between the two powerhouses.
Hoping to avenge a loss in the first game, head coach Melyssa Lombardi turned to Makenna Kliethermes in the second game in hopes that she can get the team back in the win column on the bump.
UCLA however, similar to game one, struck early. Aaliyah Jordan led off the game with a single to right, followed by a Rachel Garcia single to right-center which gave the Bruins runners on the corners with one out.
Delanie Wisz was due up next, and she did her job by sending a flyball to center field that was deep enough to score Jordan and give UCLA an early 1-0 advantage.
Holly Azevedo got the nod on the mound for the Bruins coming into the game 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA. Despite giving up two first-inning singles, the righty wiggled out of trouble with no damage done.
With two outs in the UCLA fourth, NFL star Tom Brady’s niece, Maya Brady, walked. This was followed by a Thessa Malau’ulu walk, and an Oregon pitching change to Samaria Diaz.
UCLA greeted Diaz with a successful double steal setting up runners in scoring position for Anna Vines. Vines, who’d been quiet on the day so far, made her presence felt with a double to left-center scoring Brady and Malau’ulu to grow the lead to 3-0.
Oregon’s offense, which had been flirting with the run column all day, finally broke through in the fourth. With one out, Mya Felder grounded to the shortstop Briana Perez, but a bobble and throwing error allowed Felder to advance to second. Lombardi then opted for Ariel Carlson to run for Felder.
A groundout by Deijah Pangilinan advanced Carlson to third for freshman Vallery Wong. Wong clutched up for the Ducks sending a base hit to left field to make it 3-1.
UCLA cracked the game open in the fifth. With one out, Jordan was hit by a pitch, forcing head coach Kelly Inouye Price to pinch-run Seneca Curo for Jordan. Perez walked, and Garcia singled up the middle scoring Curo and setting up first and third.
Wisz provided the knockout punch of the inning, game, and day with a three-run bomb to left center scoring Perez and Alana Snow, who pinch ran for Garcia. With the home run, UCLA grew its lead to 7-1.
Haley Cruse began the bottom of the fifth with an infield single. Later in the inning, Allee Bunker, who had a two-run homer in Friday night’s win, struck again with another two-run blast to left. There was a glimmer of hope for the Ducks, but it quickly subsided.
UCLA added a run in the sixth and seventh on RBI singles by Perez and Kinsley Washington respectively to grow the lead to 9-3. In the first game of the doubleheader, Diaz struck out 4/9 batters she faced while only surrendering one hit. In the second game, she was responsible for seven hits and six runs allowed.
“I didn’t think our pitching, or our defense put us in a situation to win in the second game,” Lombardi said.
Azevedo sent down the Ducks in the seventh to cap off the 9-3 win. She finished the game with eight strikeouts while only surrendering one walk and three runs.
With the doubleheader sweep, Oregon falls to 27-4 while UCLA improves to 21-2. Of Oregon’s four losses this season, three of them have been to the Bruins. The Ducks will have a chance to finish out the series with a win tomorrow at noon in Eugene.
