Softball Defeats Long Beach State, 5-2, in Midweek Action

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The No. 9 UCLA softball team rode two home runs by redshirt seniors Maya Brady and Sharlize Palacios to a 5-2 victory over Long Beach State at the LBSU Softball Complex Tuesday evening.
 
The Bruins (28-9, 12-3 Pac-12) recorded seven extra-base hits and 11 total in the game. UCLA's five doubles were its most in a game this season and most since march 4, 2023 a 16-0 victory versus Cal Poly.
 
Tied 2-2 in the top of the sixth, The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez called upon Palacios to pinch hit after originally giving her the day off behind the dish. The redshirt senior backstop homered on the second pitch of the at-bat to left field to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead they held for the remainder of the game. Palacios and Brady have now homered in each of their last two games at the LBSU Softball Complex.
 
Freshman starting pitcher Kaitlyn Terry danced around the 10 batters she let reach base to pick up her 12th win of the season. Terry struck out 10 in the Beach (19-26) lineup, marking her second game this year with double-digit strikeouts. The southpaw from Arizona now sports an undefeated 12-0 record.
 
UCLA scored the first run of the game in the second inning. A leadoff double by Taylor Stephens and sacrifice bunt by Thessa Malau'ulu brought second baseman Savannah Pola to the plate with an RBI opportunity. Pola, making her first start since game three of the Oregon State series on April 7, cashed in with an infield single that tipped off the pitcher's glove.
 
Pola went 2-for-2 with a double and reached base in all three of her plate appearances.
 
Long Beach State answered in the bottom half of the second with a run of its own to even the score. Terry hit the elbow of the first batter of the inning and later surrendered three singles. In total, Terry issued five free passes to Long Beach State with two hit-by-pitches and three walks.
 
Due to leadoff the third inning was Brady who quickly restored the Bruins' lead with a towering solo blast to right field. UCLA's next two batters, Jadelyn Allchin and Jordan Woolery, each reached base with no outs, but the Bruins were unable to capitalize. Another scoring opportunity presented itself in the top of the fourth inning when UCLA's nine-hole hitter Janelle Meoño stretched a single into a double on a routine ball to center field. The lineup turned over and UCLA's leadoff hitter Megan Grant hit a ball up the middle, but Long Beach State center fielder Makayla Medellin threw a dart to gun down the Meoño at home plate.
 
The Beach tied up the game in the bottom of the fifth on a high fly ball by Sinclair Lawhorn. Left fielder Jadelyn Allchin was playing well in on the play and had to run back to the warning track to field the ball. The relay throw from Brady was not in time as Medellin slid into home.
 
UCLA notched an extra-base hit for a sixth straight inning, this time in the form of a Pola double into the right-center gap. After Palacios' go-ahead blast, Brady recorded her second RBI base hit of the night on a single into center field to score Meoño from second base.
 
Terry retired the side in the bottom of the sixth, and aside from a 10-pitch walk, sent the Beach down quietly in the seventh.
 
UCLA returns home to Easton Stadium later this week for its final Pac-12 Conference series homestand versus rival Arizona. The Bruins will be honoring their six seniors – Jadelyn Allchin, Maya Brady, Thessa Malau'ulu Janelle Meoño, Madison Pacini and Sharlize Palacios – prior to Sunday's 2 p.m. (PT) start time. The series begins Friday at 7 p.m. (PT).