The Bruins are averaging 3.2 home runs a game.
But they hammered 18 across just three games last weekend.
No. 8 UCLA softball (37-5, 16-2 Big Ten) will face Cal Baptist (34-13, 10-2 WAC) on Tuesday at Easton Stadium and Long Beach State (24-16, 12-6 Big West) on Wednesday at LBSU Softball Complex. UCLA is coming off a series sweep against Illinois, where the Westwood squad bested its opponent by nine or more runs in each contest.
Eight Bruins connected on a homer in the series against the Fighting Illini, powering the squad to 17-0, 10-1 and 18-0 victories.
Redshirt freshman infielder Aleena Garcia, the reigning Softball America Defender of the Week, led UCLA with four homers throughout the weekend. She now has 13 on across the season, tied for fourth on the squad.
“I’m not focusing on the power – I’m focusing on the plan that my coaches are telling me,” Garcia said. “Trusting all the work I put in during the week, and I know I’m good enough to hit every pitch that’s coming at me, so, as long as I’m all in on the plan and trying to hit the ball hard, then the power comes with it.”
The Westwood squad’s lineup was also led by seniors infielder Jordan Woolery and utility Megan Grant, who combined for five homers against the Fighting Illini.
Woolery boasts a team-high .504 batting average with Grant behind her at .486. The duo is second and third in the country for home runs hit, with Grant recording 29 four-baggers and Woolery with 23.
The pitching rotation also had success in the series, with sophomore Brynne Nally allowing six hits in as many innings pitched, redshirt junior Sydney Somerndike allowing three hits in five innings and senior Taylor Tinsley allowing two across six frames.
“There’s been specific things that they’ve (the pitching staff) been striving to be able to do,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “Our defense does a great job getting them out of these situations.”
First up in the midweek-matchup schedule is Cal Baptist, which currently sits in first place in the WAC standings. The squad’s games are not as high scoring as the Bruins’, as the Lancers reached double-digit runs in only on of their last 26 games.
However, the Lancers’ pitching staff boasts a 2.88 ERA, lower than the Bruins’ 4.18. Two of the pitchers out of the Lancers’ bullpen have recorded double-digit wins, whereas Tinsley is the only Bruin to achieve the feat.
Cal Baptist faced Wisconsin on Feb. 27, where the former recorded a 4-1 win. The Bruins also played the Badgers this season in the Big Ten season-opener series from March 6-8. Inouye-Perez’s squad bested the Badgers in a series sweep that included two run-rule victories.
“As an offensive unit, we pride ourselves on making the first punch, striking first,” Grant said. “The coaching staff has prepared us tremendously. That way we can go out and do our thing.”
UCLA’s second midweek matchup is against Long Beach State, where Nally spent her first collegiate season.
Long Beach State faced No. 1 Oklahoma earlier in the season and handed the team one of its four losses this season. But Hawaiʻi, whom UCLA beat 9-5 on April 2, bested Long Beach State in two out of three contests.
The Beach have only recorded 16 home runs this year compared to the Bruins’ program record – and the second-most blasts in the country – 134. Just like Cal Baptist, though, Long Beach State holds a better ERA than UCLA with a 4.07 mark.
UCLA boasts the third-highest batting average in the country at a .386 clip, higher than both Cal Baptist and Long Beach State.
The Bruins’ bats continue to scorch, and the home run derby could persist through their upcoming midweek matchups Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’re going to take our momentum that we’ve gotten from this week, make sure we’re humble, respecting the game, getting after it when we get back to LA,” Grant said.
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