Homer-Happy Bruins Run-Rule Arizona
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TUCSON, Ariz. - The second-ranked Bruins hit five home runs on Thursday at Hillenbrand Stadium, including the first two-homer game of freshman Maya Brady's career, as UCLA run-ruled No. 8 Arizona by a score of 8-0 in five innings.
UCLA (39-3, 17-2 Pac-12) is one win (or one Washington loss) away from the program's 11th Pac-12 Championship.
Eight of the nine Bruins in the starting lineup had a hit, combining for 12, as sophomore Anna Vines produced three and junior Aaliyah Jordan joined Brady with two-hit games. Jordan, senior Rachel Garcia and junior Delanie Wisz also homered, as the five bombs were the most for a UCLA team since Feb. 11, 2017 against Weber State.
In the circle, Garcia (13-0) struck out two and allowed just two hits and a walk in five shutout innings. She had a 1-2-3 frame in the second.
The Bruins rallied with two outs in the top of the first, as Garcia, Wisz and Brady hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to make it 3-0. It was the 10th homer of the season for both Garcia and Brady and the 11th for Wisz.
In the second, Jordan left the yard for her seventh of the year to increase the lead to 4-0. Junior Briana Perez followed with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a Garcia grounder and scored on a Wisz grounder to make it 5-0.
UCLA added two more in the third. Vines led off with a single and moved to third on a single by freshman Alyssa Garcia. Junior Kinsley Washington was robbed of a home run, but settled for a sacrifice fly to score Vines to make it 6-0. After freshman Thessa Malau'ulu, who was running for Garcia, moved to second on a ground out, Jordan doubled her home to give UCLA a 7-0 lead.
The Bruins got to the mercy-rule mark in the fourth on a towering home run by Brady, her 11th, to make it 8-0.
UCLA takes on Arizona on Friday in a doubleheader. Game one will be at 4:30 p.m. and will air on Pac-12 Network, while game two (non-conference contest) will be at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.