The UCLA softball team begins its sixth consecutive appearance in the Women’s College World Series tonight, making its 30th overall appearance.
« The last six years have prepared us, » said UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. « We need to get in position to celebrate this crazy year the fact that we have found each other here in Oklahoma City and have the opportunity to win after another championship. »
After beating Virginia Tech last weekend and winning the Los Angeles Super Regional, the No. 2 seeded Bruins will open the eight-team tournament at 6:30 pm. PT tonight against the 10th seeded Florida State.
UCLA traveled to Oklahoma City without Megan Faraimo, a key part of the Bruins’ one-two pitching strike, due to an injured right hand, the team said.
Rachel Garcia will continue to lead the team in a circle and bring a 17-1 record into the weekend. On her last appearance against Virginia Tech, she recorded 13 strikeouts and gave up two hits.
Holly Azevedo (8-1) and Lexi Sosa (2-0) also support the pitching of the Bruins. Azevedo last threw an inning in UCLA’s inaugural superregional loss to Virginia Tech.
« You have this fantastic opportunity to definitely move up and get into your game, » said UCLA junior infielder Kinsley Washington. « When I’m on the field at first base or second base, I always twitter to the pitcher that it’s nine against one, and that means we’re nine on the defensive, there’s a batter. »
After losing their first game to Virginia Tech, UCLA returned with two shutout wins. Redshirt freshman Maya Brady homered on every win, bringing her grand total for the season to 13th with a batting average of .333 to go.
Redshirt junior Briana Perez also has 13 homers and a 0.364 score to lead the team. She is second in the team in RBIs with 41. Redshirt junior Delanie Wisz leads in home runs (14) and RBIs (43) with a hit of .301.
Redshirt senior Bubba Nickles, a Team USA player, made her first appearance in the outfield and on the record since March in the Los Angeles Regional.
« We always make that joke, » said Redshirt junior Aaliyah Jordan. « We always say, ‘Hey, who’s going to start today? » We never know until Coach I (Inouye-Perez) tells us. It’s not actually a competition, but it’s more like a joke, like, “Who will lead? Who will be third? What will the line-up look like today? ‘ »
Florida State defeated LSU in two games to win the Baton Rouge Super Regional, knocked out the Tigers 1-0 in the first game, and won nine innings in the second game for a 4-3 win for their 11th Appearance in Women’s College World Series program history.
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Sydney Sherrill leads the FSU offense, scoring .313 with 28 RBIs taking third place on the team. Cassidy Davis beats all batter with nine home runs to go with a .279 batting average.
« They come out swinging every time, » Washington said. “Very similar to Virginia Tech. Your entire lineup is swinging for the fences, something our defenses get excited about, something our pitchers have been working on. »
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