It was bound to happen at some point. One can’t hold down the best offense in the Big Ten, and the second best in NCAA for an entire series. 

UCLA was not going to be swept at home, and it was going to win its last game in style. On the Bruins’ senior night, they launched four homeruns, put up double digits on the score board and only played five innings.

No. 15 Oregon softball (40-11, 20-4 Big Ten) finished up its series with No. 6 UCLA (45-7, 20-4 Big Ten) with an 11-3 loss, only its second time losing via the run rule this season.

Elise Sokolsky walked into the circle for the third time over the weekend and made her second start. She got rocked in the first 1.1 innings for four runs and that was all she was given. She  wasn’t the only pitcher for Oregon to get knocked around in the series finale.

UCLA started the scoring the only way it knows how, the long ball. Bruins’ shortstop Aleena Garcia launched a two run home run just out of Ayanna Shaw’s reach in center field.

Sofia Mujica launched another two run home run, this one in the bottom of the second inning, to center field. Sokolsky was chased after that for Taylor Spencer.

Over the weekend the Bruins had now crushed eight home runs. They only had one in Game 1, but UCLA tattooed five in Game 2 despite the loss. One of the hardest hitting teams in softball went Duck hunting early in Game 3.

The Bruins loaded the bases on a walk, a double and an intentional walk to Jaden Woolery. A single from Garcia careemed off Ho’s glove and got past Amari Harper in left field. Two runs came in to score and UCLA had a commanding 6-0 lead.

They continued to add on, another groundball off Ho’s glove, this time ruled an error, and drove in two more runs. 8-0 UCLA.

The left side of the infield had been a sponge all season. If it was hit around Ho, the chance was that she would make a play. But things looked different in Westwood on Sunday, the freshman had two ground balls hit her way, ground balls she usually fields, that got by her.

Oregon woke up at the plate in the top of the third. Katie Flannery and Elon Butler singled to start the inning, then Harper blooped a single near the line in left that drove in Presley Lawton (pinch running for Flannery). 

Stefini Ma’ake drove in another with a sacrifice fly and Rylee McCoy singled up the middle for the third Ducks run of the inning.

Lyndsey Grein took over in the third and got the first clean inning against the Bruins. She lived low in the zone with her fastball, got a ground out and two strikeouts. 

But she made a couple mistakes in the bottom of the fourth. A pitch caught too much of the zone to Rylee Slimp who got all of it and sent out the third home run for UCLA on the day.

Woolery got in on the party, got her pitch and didn’t miss it. Another two run blast for the Bruins to give them an 11-3 lead and their 10th homer in the series. 

Oregon got two on with one out in the top of the fifth. Kaylynn Jones was hit by the pitch and McCoy walked. Shaw got them to move over to second and third with a ground out to second, butAddison Amaral flew out to left field, and the game was over. 

Oregon has already secured the No. 2 seed for the Big Ten tournament, which means that they get a bye into the second round that starts on Thursday, May 7th. The tournament will be played in College Park, MD. at 10:30am PT. 

The tournament will be broadcast via the Big Ten Network (video) and KWVA (radio).