No. 1 Bruins Rally Twice to Sweep Doubleheader at Fullerton

PDF Box - Game 1 | PDF Box - Game 2 | Boxscore

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FULLERTON, Calif. - The top-ranked Bruins overcame early deficits twice on Saturday to sweep a doubleheader at Cal State Fullerton, winning game one 6-2 before rallying with a seven-run seventh to claim a 10-4 victory in the nightcap at Anderson Family Field.

In game one, sophomore Megan Faraimo (2-0) struck out seven in seven innings, allowing two runs, five hits and two walks. She had 1-2-3 innings in the second, third and fifth, fanning a pair in the fourth and sixth frames. Junior Briana Perez had a pair of hits, two runs and two walks, while junior Aaliyah Jordan added two RBI. UCLA had eight hits from seven different players.

Back-to-back, two-out solo home runs in the bottom of the first gave Cal State Fullerton (4-5) an early advantage, but the Bruins (2-0) responded with six unanswered runs in their final five trips to the plate. Perez led off the top of the third with a single and scored on a double to left-center by Jordan. Senior Julie Rodriguez followed with a double of her own to left-center to bring in Jordan and tie the score.

In the fourth, sophomore Kelli Godin tripled to lead off the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly to right off the bat of senior Bubba Nickles to put the Bruins on top. The Bruins loaded the bases on three walks in the fifth, and an error allowing Godin to reach scored junior Kinsley Washington to make it 4-2.

Another leadoff triple would come in to score in the sixth, as Perez tripled to right and came homeward on a Jordan grounder to increase the lead to 5-2. In the seventh, freshman Alyssa Garcia hit the first home run of her collegiate career, a shot to center, to put the Bruins up 6-2.

In game two, the Bruins (3-0) had 13 hits from seven different players. Nickles and sophomore Anna Vines each posted three-hit contests, while Perez and freshman Taylor Edwards both had two-hit games. Perez drove in three and Edwards and Washington both had two RBI. Faraimo (3-0) earned another victory in relief, retiring all nine batters she faced, striking out two in three innings. Junior Holly Azevedo started and struck out four in four innings, giving up four runs (three earned), four hits and one walk. She had a 1-2-3 third inning and fanned two in the fourth. 

Yet another leadoff triple figured in the scoring for the Bruins in their first at-bat, as Nickles had a three-bagger to open the game. One out later, Jordan walked, and following another out, Washington doubled to left to score Nickles and Jordan to put UCLA up early.

The Bruins tacked on another run in the second when Vines started the frame with a homer to right.

Cal State Fullerton (4-6) picked up all of its runs on one swing in the bottom of the second on a grand slam by Kelsey Whitmore.

The Bruins had chances, leaving runners on base in the third and fourth and multiples in the fifth and sixth before finally breaking through in the seventh. Jordan and junior Delanie Wisz each walked to open the inning. Two outs later, and down to her last strike, Vines took a free pass to load the bases. Edwards then found herself down to her final strike before she blooped a double just inside the left-field line to score Jordan and freshman Grace Guzman, who was running for Wisz, to put UCLA on top 5-4. 

Godin then reached on an infield single to short to plate freshman Thessa Malau'ulu, who had been running for Vines, to up the lead to 6-4. An RBI single up the middle for Nickles brought in Edwards to make it 7-4, and then Perez put in the final nail in the coffin with a three-run homer to left-center to increase the margin to 10-4.

The Bruins are back in action on Sunday at Easton Stadium, hosting Loyola Marymount for a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Free live streaming will be available on UCLABruins.com.