Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Sat, Feb 19 2:37 pm
(Edited Sat, Feb 19 2:55 pm)
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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The Bruins got a solid win over the Longhorns (no sign of former Bruin Colleen Sullivan, as she has not shown up on a stat sheet all season). Squandered a lot of scoring chances, and the top of the 9th was dicey as Faraimo came close to blowing another chance to close out the game when Texas got the first 2 batters aboard with nobody out. But, Megan got through the inning and won the game 2-1. Always good beating that arrogant prick Mike White.
However, the more significant news out of the game is the injury to Aaliyah Jordan. She collapsed along the 1st base line after beating out a throw in the 4th inning. She was clearly in pain and it looks like a knee injury. She had to be assisted off the field, and later returned to the dugout on crutches with an ice wrap. Recall that Jordan redshirted her freshman year after tearing her ACL during a fall practice game. I don't know if this is the same leg.
Jordan is the Bruins' best hitter. Losing her for an extended time would be a huge loss. This is a deep roster with a lot of bats that can take her place. But, Jordan is a 6th year super senior with a lot of experience in pressure situations.
The Bruins now play an early morning game against Wisconsin at 9am PT tomorrow morning before the showdown against #6 Florida State on ESPN at 4pm PT. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Sun, Feb 20 11:53 am
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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Aside from an unearned run in the 1st inning, Holly Azevedo was lights out again, striking out 7 Badger hitters and allowing no hits over 5 innings. She doesn't have electric stuff or a lot of movement on her pitches. But, she's using the strike zone and varying the speeds on her pitches.
The Bruins scored all 5 of their runs in the 2nd inning.
https://uclabruins.com/documents/2022/2/20/UCLA_5_WIS_1.pdf
Freshman Savannah Pola filled in for the injured Aaliyah Jordan in RF. Pola is the Bruins' most touted freshman, coming in as the #6 overall national recruit. And yes, she's also the niece of Troy Polamalu. So, it might make for some interesting fan sightings at Easton Stadium if her uncle and Maya Brady's Uncle Tommy start showing up. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Sun, Feb 20 6:16 pm
(Edited Sun, Feb 20 6:16 pm)
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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Weird game. Bruins took a 2-1 lead, and then the Noles answered with 2 runs to take a 3-2 lead. Kinsley Washington tied the game with a HR in the 5th, and that's where it stayed until FSU won it in extra innings with a walkoff hit.
Megan Faraimo did not have her best stuff tonight. Her control was off and FSU had numerous opportunities before she was pulled in the 4th inning. Holly Azevedo came in as the reliever, and shut the Noles down for almost 4 innings. She did not allow a hit until the walkoff in the 8th inning.
The St Pete Elite tournament uses the international tiebreaker that starts extra innings with a runner on 2nd. The Bruins loaded the bases in the top of the inning, but could not push across the go-ahead run. FSU got just the one hit off of Azevedo, but that was enough. As far as I know, the Pac-12 and the NCAA tournament do not use the international tiebreaker.
With so much of the season riding on Faraimo, it's concerning to see her with two bad outings in this tournament. It's the best out-of-conference competition that the Bruins will see until the postseason, and UCLA needs to test themselves against different styles of play.
Azevedo though looked sharp, and has greatly improved to where she can actually come in and relieve Megan when she has an off night like tonight.
The Bruin hitting seems like a work in progress. They broke through against the FSU starter, but were shut down by Sandercock, who had given them fits two years ago in the St. Pete Elite tourney. The Bruins threatened in the 8th, but couldn't get the timely hit they needed. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Fri, Feb 25 10:04 pm
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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The Bruins are playing the Mary Nutter Classic this weekend. While it doesn't have quite the high level of competition that last weekend's St. Pete Elite tournament had, the Bruins are playing 5 games this weekend -- all Power 5 competition with 2 ranked opponents.
The Bruins started the tournament tonight with back-to-back games against Iowa State and Texas Tech.
In the Iowa State game, the Bruin hitters were held in check for much of the game by Cyclones starter Ellie Spelhaug, who allowed only 1 base runner through 5 innings. The Bruins finally mounted a rally in the 6th when they got a lead off hit and Spelhaug walked the bases loaded. The Iowa State relievers walked in 2 runs and an RBI single to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead.
But, the Bruin pitchers were also lights out, pitching a one-hit shutout. Shaw pitched 5 shutout innings of her own, and Azevedo shut the door.
In the late game, UCLA beat Texas Tech 2-1. In this game as well, the Bruin bats were dormant for most of the game. They had a solo HR from Wisz in the 2nd, and had a rally with 2 runners aboard with 1 run scored on a sac fly from freshman Savannah Pola.
Megan Faraimo had a good outing. Complete game with 12 strikeouts. She allowed 4 hits, including a solo HR in the 3rd but no walks.
The level of competition will pick up tomorrow morning with #15 Tennessee and their large top-ranked freshman class. The Bruins also play Baylor, and then close out the tournament against #14 Missouri. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Sun, Feb 27 4:00 pm
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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The Bruins won both games on Saturday against #15 Tennessee and Baylor, and today's game against #16 Missouri.
The Tennessee game started with Megan Faraimo giving up a solo HR to the first batter up. She settled in, but could only manage a solo HR of their own by Delanie Wisz. UCLA walked off the win in the 8th thanks to the international tiebreaker rule. The Bruins advanced the runner to 3rd and walked off with a sac fly by Savannah Pola.
In the late game, UCLA took an early 4-0 lead in the 1st with homers by Brady and Perez. Azevedo seemed to have things under control with the Bruins up 7-1, until Baylor scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th. Shaw had to come into the game to close out the final 2 outs.
In today's game, Brady again struck early with a 1st inning grand slam. And the Bruins built up a 7-0 lead with Faraimo in the circle. But, slowly the Tigers chipped away at the lead. It was 7-4 when Azevedo relieved Faraimo, and promptly gave up an unearned run to make the score 7-5. Azevedo was able to retire the side without allowing a run in the 7th.
Faraimo is having a good season, but it's a step down from what we're used to seeing. She has already given up 9 homers, and her ERA is now up to 1.82. Faraimo gave up 11 HRs the entire season last year with a 1.10 ERA. Things have been balanced out by the big improvement we've seen from Azevedo. But, Megan is the ace and hopefully things will get sorted out as the season progresses. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Fri, Mar 04 4:56 pm
(Edited Fri, Mar 04 4:58 pm)
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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After facing more formidable major conference competition the last couple of weekends, the Bruins are playing another preseason tournament this weekend with more in-state rivals in the Judi Garman Tournament at Fullerton.
Bruins started with a couple of run-rule wins against Cal Poly and Fresno State. In the 9-0 win against Cal Poly, Holly Azevedo took a huge lead through 4 shutout innings, and the coaches put Lexi Sosa into the game. She was reportedly nursing a sore knee, and hasn't pitched in 3 weeks. She gave up a couple of walks with only one out, and Shaw ended up coming in to retire the final two batters.
In the late afternoon game, Megan Faraimo pitched a 5-inning perfect game, striking out 12 batters in a dominant 12-0 win over Fresno State. This is the 2nd perfect game of Megan's career and the 19th in program history.
This afternoon, UCLA beat Kansas 4-1 with Faraimo going the distance allowing 3 hits and 1 lone run in the 7th. The Bruins play Weber State in the late afternoon game. Last season, Lexi Sosa pitched a no-hitter against Weber State. No telling if she will pitch today.
Tomorrow, the Bruins will take on unranked Texas A&M. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Sun, Mar 06 9:28 am
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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The Bruins went yard 5 times in a 5-inning mercy rule win over the Aggies. Texas A&M has been hit hard by transfers, so this team is not at the level of what we're used to seeing.
But, UCLA did not waste any time putting this game away. They scored in each of the first 4 innings. Azevedo and Shaw each pitched 2 innings, while Faraimo closed out the game. Faraimo struck out the side in the 5th, but allowed an earned run on a HBP, passed ball, and . Shaw gave up an unearned run in the 3rd.
The Bruins host the Stacy Winsberg tournament against Penn, CSU Bakersfield, and Fresno State before starting Pac-12 play against Arizona the following week. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Fri, Mar 11 9:12 pm
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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Softball is dominant again as they have won the 1st 3 games in the Stacy Winsberg Memorial tournament, 2 of them by mercy rule.
Today, Megan Faraimo pitched her 2nd perfect game in a week in a 12-0 mercy rule win over Cal State Bakersfield. Faraimo struck out all 15 batters she faced.
And last night, she combined with Lauren Shaw on another perfect game in a 13-0 mercy rule win over Penn. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Fri, Mar 18 12:39 pm
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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The preseason is now over with the Bruins riding a 15-game winning streak. UCLA now begins Pac-12 play with a two week stretch that could well define UCLA's place in the conference race. The Bruins play long-time rival #20 Arizona this weekend, and then play #7 Washington and #13 Oregon.
https://uclabruins.com/news/2022/3/17/softball-no-4-ucla-hosts-no-9-arizona-to-start-pac-12-play.aspx
The Bruin pitching has been great the last couple of weeks, and Megan Faraimo is coming off of 3 straight perfect games (2 solo and 1 shared with graduate transfer Lauren Shaw). They've won 8 out of their last 10 games by mercy rule and are beating up on the teams they should beat. Now, the level of competition steps back up and we'll see if the Bruins can keep it up against better teams. |
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
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Posted Fri, Mar 25 8:47 am
(Edited Fri, Mar 25 8:54 am)
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In response to Softball: Big weekend tournament for #3 UCLA on ESPN (Woochifer)
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The Huskies were one of the co-favorites for the Pac-12 title going into the season. With preseason AA Bayleigh Klingler and super senior ace Gabby Plain coming back, they were poised for a return to the WCWS and to challenge for the Pac-12 title.
https://uclabruins.com/news/2022/3/24/softball-no-3-ucla-heads-to-no-9-washington-with-18-game-winning-streak.aspx
But, they lost their opening series to surprising Cal, which is a young rising team under their new coach Chelsea Spencer (they seem too inconsistent to challenge for the conference title this year, but they have no seniors on their roster and will be a contender in the years ahead). The Huskies are now under the gun to right the ship after starting 1-2 in Pac-12 play.
This won't be easy against the streaking Bruins who are red hot and playing their best ball of the season after a series sweep over Arizona to open conference play last weekend. Another sweep this weekend by the Bruins would push UW down to 1-5 in conference play, and virtually out of the conference race (this will be the last year that the regular season decides the Pac-12 title -- the conference tournament begins next season).
According to the official release, the Bruins have won 9 out of the last 10 meetings with the Huskies, and haven't lost in Seattle since 2017.
The series will be in Seattle, so weather might be a factor. Friday and Saturday's games will be on Pac-12 Network, while Sunday's finale will be on ESPNU at 4pm PT. |
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