Nothing lasts forever.
And just as the season is coming to an end, an undefeated home record ends as well.
No. 6 UCLA softball (44-6, 19-3 Big Ten) fell to No. 15 Oregon (39-10, 19-3) 8-2 on Friday at Easton Stadium. The loss tied the two teams at second in the Big Ten rankings, leaving the door open for the Ducks to overtake the Bruins in the final two games of the series.
“We didn’t play our game, and that hasn’t happened a lot this season,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “I told them to just own it. We didn’t adjust. That’s our strength, and we didn’t do it today. We still have opportunities, but there are great lessons learned right now.”
The game started close, with senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley throwing just seven pitches in the top of the first, and a double from redshirt freshman infielder Aleena Garcia brought in one runner in the bottom half of the frame to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fifth, with the Bruins leaving runners stranded and wasting a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the third. Two home runs from the Ducks allowed them to take a narrow lead entering the bottom of the frame.
Yet, freshman utility Jolyna Lamar answered, hitting a blast of her own to knot the game at two entering the sixth inning.
“I’m really proud of my performance,” Lamar said. “I hope that our team comes back together tomorrow and really shows our best stuff. Today wasn’t our best day, but we still competed, and can’t wait to get after it tomorrow.”
But the Bruins struggled after a scoreless sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, the Ducks scored six runs on six hits, including two home runs, one of which plated three runners.
Once the Bruins had a chance to respond, they were trailing 8-2. Despite a single from junior utility Soo-Jin Berry and sophomore utility Mia Phillips, who served as a pinch runner, advancing to second on a wild pitch, UCLA failed to score.
“I’m not going to go deep with them and start pointing fingers – it is what it is,” Inouye-Perez said. “We didn’t show up today, and that’s something this team has not done in a long time. There’s the opportunity to learn. It’s still the regular season. … This is a great opportunity for the games testing us a little bit, and I look forward to seeing how we respond.”
The chance for a response is coming quickly, as the two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon at Easton Stadium.
Although the Bruins lost, the players learned multiple lessons from the matchup.
“It’s sticking to our game and trusting each other and making adjustments quicker, from at-bat to at-bat and from person-to-person, picking each other up better,” Lamar said. “Taylor (Tinsley) pitched her butt off, so, having her back behind her on defense and having our bats to match her pitching.”
Tinsley, who pitched the entirety of the afternoon contest, is one of the three seniors approaching what could be their final appearance at Easton Stadium. She recorded two strikeouts and two walks, giving up a season-high 13 hits.
While it may not have been her strongest outing, one of her teammates supported her on the defensive end.
Garcia, who had the double to secure UCLA’s first run, made a diving catch in shallow left field during the fourth to end the inning, leaving Oregon runners stranded on all bases. And even if the overall defense faltered, the team is not letting that stop it from moving forward.
“We’re excited to get back on the field tomorrow,” Lamar said. “We know that today wasn’t our best stuff, so we’re excited to get back out there and really play our game and be the best that we can be.”
Reaching that best during the rest of the season comes at a critical moment.
The two teams are vying for second place in the Big Ten, as they currently are tied in the standings and trail Nebraska.
And the two squads may face each other beyond the weekend series.
“Postseason is huge, you have double elimination,” Garcia said. “Oregon could be a team we end up playing there. So it’s postseason softball, playing good teams, playing good pitchers, and we know we’re good enough to beat teams like this too.”
Two more games await, with the chance for the Bruins to pull ahead of the Ducks this weekend and claim their spot in the standings.
“We still have an opportunity to win the series, and, with that, we’ve got to show up tomorrow, and we’ve got to play our game,” Inouye-Perez said. “These are our last opportunities. It’s senior weekend. There’s a lot to play for. But, more than that, I believe the team will have a little more conviction, a little bit more focus tomorrow, which will allow us to be able to get a better outcome than we got today.”
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