Wisz’s late-game heroics fuel UCLA’s 3-1 win over Stanford as Bruins capture 25th straight win

Apr 8, 2022

STANFORD, Calif. – A solo shot from Delanie Wisz and an insurance knock from Anna Vines in the top of the eighth inning vaulted the No. 3 UCLA softball team to a 3-1 victory over Stanford on Friday evening at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium.

The Bruins (32-3, 10-0) have now set a program record with 10-straight victories to open Pac-12 play, eclipsing the previous record of nine back in the 2019 season. UCLA's 25-game winning streak is also tied for the longest stretch of consecutive wins across The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez's career, with the 2018 team winning its first 25 games to start the season.

The Bruins scored their first run of the game in the second inning. Seneca Curo led off the inning with a double and Vines followed with a walk. Kinsley Washington knocked Curo in with a single in her first plate appearance in over two weeks to put UCLA ahead, 1-0, but flyouts from Kelli Godin and Briana Perez stalled the inning.

Stanford cashed in for a run in the bottom of the seventh after Kaitlyn Lim notched a sacrifice fly to score Sydney Steele. Steele opened the inning with a double down the third base line to get the rally going for the Cardinal.

We are all Wisznesses. pic.twitter.com/f6agvH5PHC

— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) April 9, 2022

Wisz's solo shot with two outs in the top of the eighth broke the deadlock and gave the Bruins the 2-1 lead. UCLA wasn't done in the inning, as Maya Brady walked and then came around to score on a single from Vines to push the lead to 3-1.

Megan Faraimo slammed the door in the bottom of the eighth, retiring three-straight Cardinal hitters after surrendering a leadoff single. With 8.0 innings of one-run ball, she improved to 15-1 on the year and improved her ERA to 1.25. Faraimo struck out 11 Cardinal hitters for her eighth double-digit strikeout outing of the season.

The Bruins totaled nine hits in the ballgame to just four for the Cardinal. Perez, Wisz, Curo, and Vines each contributed two hits apiece. Washington tallied her aforementioned hit in her first game since March 20.

Game two of the weekend series against Stanford is scheduled for Saturday, with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. PT.