Facing a top-10 opponent is always a challenge.
But playing three in two days is even more difficult.
And the Bruins did just that.
No. 7 UCLA softball (7-3) walked away from Saturday and Sunday’s games at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational 1-2 against top-10 teams, falling to No. 3 Tennessee 11-0 (10-0) in five innings and No. 6 Florida State (8-2) 11-7 on Saturday before defeating No. 10 LSU 8-0 (7-4) in six innings. The Bruins were outscored 31-24 across the five-game invitational.
Freshman pitcher/utility Natalie Cable held the Lady Vols scoreless across the first two innings before they exploded for eight runs in the third inning. Four Tennessee players hit home runs, hitting one against Cable and three against sophomore pitcher Brynne Nally.
The Bruins hit at just a .063 clip, their lowest mark of the season and well below their season average of .372. Sophomore infielder Kaniya Bragg recorded UCLA’s sole hit in the top of the second inning.
“We hit the balls really well in the Tennessee and Florida State game, but they were caught,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “Our game’s tricky, but you’ve got to continue to focus on what’s in your control and how they play the game, how they have rhythm and control, how they’re able to live in the moment – all those things, but the game is the game.”
Florida State, which ranked just above UCLA, proved to be a closer matchup.
Senior utility Megan Grant hammered a home run in the top of the first to get the Bruins on the board before the Tigers walked her the rest of the game. Grant leads the Bruins with nine home runs across 10 games.
Cable replaced senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley halfway through the bottom of the second frame once the Seminoles led 7-1. Cable has played in four games and started in three, recording 13 total strikeouts while allowing 15 hits so far this season.
“I learned that I need to trust myself a little bit more,” Cable said after the invitational. “Knowing that I have a great defense behind me and knowing I can go out there and be myself and play the game.”
Florida State outscored UCLA 11-2 by the end of the third, but UCLA plated four top-of-the-fourth-inning runs. The game ended with the Bruins falling 11-7 despite hitting at a .300 average – the same percentage they posted in their 6-5 victory over Missouri on Friday.
The final top-10 matchup of the weekend ended with an 8-0 six-inning mercy-rule victory over LSU. Tinsley pitched a complete game, recording four strikeouts and allowing three hits. The Bruins’ defense did not allow more than five players to bat in any inning.
Sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp and freshman infielder Bri Alejandre led UCLA with two hits each, and senior infielder Jordan Woolery hit her sixth home run of the season. The Bruins batted .393, their highest mark of the invitational.
“Honestly, it felt really good (to beat LSU), because the way we played today was just the way the Bruins play – having fun, being free, loose,” Alejandre said. “Everyone was doing their job. Everyone had each other’s backs. It was nonstop flow. If someone didn’t get something done, the next person after them had them no matter what.”
UCLA’s season continues at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 19-22, and the team is looking to take the experience from the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational Clearwater and apply it to future competitions.
“I love that we’re getting challenged because now we get to work on it and do something about it,” Inouye-Perez said. “If you look at our program throughout history, we get stronger through a season, always. This is nowhere different than where we’ve been in the past. Our goal is to be our best at the end, and I believe we’re on that path.”
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