UCLA to Host Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA softball team is back home for the first time in a month when it hosts the 20th annual Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, beginning Thursday, March 10 and ending Saturday, March 12. The Bruins(17-3) will play five games in the three days, starting with Pennsylvania on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT. The Bruins will play double-headers on Friday (vs. CSU Bakersfield - 4:30 p.m. and Fresno State - 7 p.m.) and Saturday (vs. Fresno State - 2 p.m. and CSU Bakersfield - 4:30 p.m.). UCLA's Saturday games will be available for live streaming.

GAME 1: Thursday, March 10 vs. Pennsylvania (2-8)
Venue: Easton Stadium
First Pitch: 7 p.m. PT
Listen: UCLA Lean Player
Talent: Nick Koop
Live Stats

GAME 2: Friday, March 11 vs. CSU Bakersfield (2-6)
Venue: Easton Stadium
First Pitch: 4:30 p.m. PT
Listen: UCLA Lean Player
Talent: TBD
Live Stats

GAME 3: Friday, March 11 vs. Fresno State (3-15)
Venue: Easton Stadium
First Pitch: 7 p.m. PT
Listen: UCLA Lean Player
Talent: TBD
Live Stats

GAME 4: Saturday, March 12 vs. Fresno State (3-15)
Venue: Easton Stadium
First Pitch: 2 p.m. PT
Listen: UCLA Lean Player
Talent: Andrew Rector
Live Stats

GAME 5: Saturday, March 12 vs. CSU Bakersfield (2-6)
Venue: Easton Stadium
First Pitch: 4:30 p.m. PT
Listen: UCLA Lean Player
Talent: Andrew Rector
Live Stats

LAST TIME THEY MET/SERIES HISTORY
Pennsylvania: This will be the first meeting between UCLA and Pennsylvania.
CSU Bakersfield: The Bruins are undefeated, 9-0, in the all-time series with the Roadrunners dating back to the two programs' first meeting in 2008. Four of UCLA's nine wins have come in mercy-rule fashion. The Bruins last faced the Roadrunners twice in the most recent Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament in February 2020. UCLA won the first game, which was also the 2020 season-opener, 14-0 in five innings behind a two-homer game from Delanie Wisz in her first contest as a Bruin since transferring from Loyola Marymount. Maya Brady also left the yard in her first game as a college softball player.
Fresno State: The Bruins own a 49-11 advantage in the all-time series over the Bulldogs after defeating Fresno State last week, 14-0, in five innings at the Judi Garman Classic. UCLA has dropped only one contest in its last 20 meetings with Fresno State.

FARAIMO PERFECT AGAIN
After setting a new career-high of 18 strikeouts the week prior, redshirt junior Megan Faraimo twirled the second perfect game of her career against Fresno State last Thursday, retiring 12 of the 15 batters she faced on strikeouts. Faraimo became just the fourth player in program history to toss multiple perfect games in their career, joining Debbie Doom (six perfect games), Keira Goerl (2) and the Mark Kalmansohn UCLA Assistant Softball Coach Lisa Fernandez (2). Against the Bulldogs, Faraimo struck out the first six batters she faced as well as struck out the side in the fourth inning. Faraimo needed just 67 pitches to achieve perfection for the 20th perfect game in program history and 18th individual perfect game. Faraimo's first perfect game came last season on Feb. 24 against San Diego State. Faraimo capped her weekend with another complete-game, double-digit strikeout (10) effort against Kansas last Friday. Her performances earned her the fourth Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week award of her career and her first since the 2020 season. Faraimo leads the Pac-12 with 106 strikeouts and a 11.59 strikeout per seven innings ratio.

AZEVEDO REACHES 50 CAREER WINS
Redshirt senior Holly Azevedo picked up three wins at the Judi Garman Classic, earning her a milestone with career win No. 50 to become the 18th pitcher in UCLA's illustrious history of hurlers to achieve the benchmark. Azevedo threw 10.0 total innings last weekend, allowing no runs on just five hits while striking out 15. She leads the pitching staff and ranks third in the Pac-12 (min. 30.0 innings pitched) with a 0.87 earned run average. Azevedo is tied with Faraimo for the team-lead in victories with eight, which also ranks T-2nd in the conference, trailing only Stanford's Alana Vawter with 10 wins. Megan Faraimo also joined the 50-win club earlier this season.

POLA GOES BACK-TO-BACK
Utility Savannah Pola has hit in the three hole in the Bruins' lineup in 11 out of 12 games since Aaliyah Jordan went down with a left knee injury, and has been thriving in that role. Pola repeated her stellar performance at the Mary Nutter Classic two weeks ago by going 7-for-14 with five extra-base hits and a team-best nine RBI at the Judi Garman Classic to take home Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors the second week in a row. After doubling four times in the Bruins' last three games, Pola now ranks second in the Pac-12 in the statistical category. And with her nine RBI last weekend, Pola now leads UCLA and all Pac-12 freshmen with 23 RBI. Pola's best game of her career to date came in the finale of the Judi Garman Classic against Texas A&M when she knocked in a career-high six RBI on a 3-for-4 night with two doubles and a solo home run for eight total bases. Pola knocked in the game's first five runs with her two doubles against the Aggies. She leads the squad with 13 extra-base hits and ranks second with a .368 batting average and .448 on-base percentage (min. two plate appearances per game).

SEASON-HIGH FIVE HOMERS VERSUS TEXAS A&M
The Bruins hit a season-high five home runs against the Aggies last Saturday. Delanie Wisz led the charge in leaving the yard, going deep twice in the second and fourth innings for the fourth multi-homer game of her career. Wisz's longball in the fourth frame was sandwiched by homers from Pola and Brady as the Bruins went back-to-back-to-back for the second time this season (last time was against Auburn in the sixth inning; Washington, Pola and Jordan homered consecutively). 

BRADY'S BACK
Utility Maya Brady has led the Bruins in their last eight games with five home runs and 14 RBI. After her two homers at the Judi Garman Classic, Brady leads the team with six on the season and ranks second with 21 RBI. Brady has also recorded at least one RBI in seven of UCLA's past nine contests. Brady's six homers are tied for fifth-most in the Pac-12.

BRUINS BY THE NUMBERS
UCLA's pitching staff leads the Pac-12 with a 10.14 strikeout to walk ratio and ranks second with 184 total strikeouts in 127.0 innings pitched, trailing only Oregon State (197 strikeouts) which has pitched 17 more innings than the Bruins. Faraimo and Azevedo rank first and second, respectively, in the Pac-12 with 11.59 and 10.59 K/7 ratios (min. 30 innings pitched). In addition to Faraimo leading the conference with 106 total strikeouts, Azevedo is sixth with 61.