Friday, May 19
Los Angeles, CA
5:00 PM
UCLA
52-6
2
vs
3
Grand Canyon
47-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Grand Canyon
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
3
3
0
UCLA
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
7
0
Megan Grant went 2-for-4, including her 14th homer of the year, against GCU tonight.
Photo by: Jesus Ramirez
Bruins’ Comeback Bid Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to Grand Canyon
May 19, 2023 | Softball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 2 seed UCLA softball team fell to Grand Canyon, 3-2, in the first game of the NCAA Softball Regionals at Easton Stadium on Friday night.
The Bruins (52-6) led 1-0 heading into the fourth inning when the Lopes (47-11) put up a three spot off two hits and one walk, including a three-run homer by Madison Schaefer for her 10th longball of the year.
Redshirt senior Megan Faraimo registered five strikeouts in the first three innings, including three consecutive in the top of the third inning after walking the Lopes' leadoff hitter to keep the game scoreless. In the bottom half of the third, Alyssa Garcia singled through the right side to get things going for UCLA. Lauren Hatch came in to pinch run and advanced to second on a perfect sac bunt by Janelle Meoño. Megan Grant then singled to right center, scoring Hatch from second, to put the Bruins up 1-0. But GCU was able to hold the Bruins to just one run after getting Grant out at second base with a fielder's choice to short on Maya Brady and then getting Jordan Woolery to ground out at short.
Katelyn Dunckel opened the fourth with a double to right field for GCU. Then Faraimo made history, striking out Ramsay Lopez for the 1,000 strikeout of her career, becoming just the third Bruin in the history of the program to reach that milestone. She joined Anjelica Selden (1,441 SO; 2005-08) and Keira Goerl (1,095 SO; 2001-04) in the UCLA 1,000 K club. But after walking the very next batter to put runners on first and second, Madison Schaefer homered down the left field line off the foul pole to put GCU up 3-1. Lauren Shaw entered the game to replace Faraimo and retired the next two batters to get out of the inning without any more damage.
Shaw held the Lopes at bay in the top of the fifth, and then with two outs in the bottom half, Grant continued her hot streak with a straight away solo shot to center field, her 14th of the year, to pull the Bruins to within a run at 3-2.
Brooke Yanez came on for Shaw in the sixth and stymied the Lopes, picking up two strikeouts in the top half of the inning. But the GCU pitching and defense were solid in the bottom half getting a fly out and a groundout after a second single of the game by Aaliyah Jordan with one out to end the inning.
Yanez was also stellar in the top of the seventh, getting two GCU hitters out with with infield pop-ups and then a groundout to first to end the top half of the inning. In the bottom half of the seventh, with two out and an 0-2 deficit, Meoño battled back and singled to right field to keep the Bruins' hopes alive. But Ariel Thompson got Grant to pop up to second base and help GCU pull off their first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament.
Faraimo (29-3) would take the loss while Emily Darwin (9-3) would earn the win for GCU with Thompson getting her third save of the season.
UCLA will play Liberty tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. PT on the ESPN Family of Networks. Surviving that, the Bruins will play again tomorrow versus the loser of Grand Canyon/San Diego State at 7 p.m. PT.
The Bruins (52-6) led 1-0 heading into the fourth inning when the Lopes (47-11) put up a three spot off two hits and one walk, including a three-run homer by Madison Schaefer for her 10th longball of the year.
Redshirt senior Megan Faraimo registered five strikeouts in the first three innings, including three consecutive in the top of the third inning after walking the Lopes' leadoff hitter to keep the game scoreless. In the bottom half of the third, Alyssa Garcia singled through the right side to get things going for UCLA. Lauren Hatch came in to pinch run and advanced to second on a perfect sac bunt by Janelle Meoño. Megan Grant then singled to right center, scoring Hatch from second, to put the Bruins up 1-0. But GCU was able to hold the Bruins to just one run after getting Grant out at second base with a fielder's choice to short on Maya Brady and then getting Jordan Woolery to ground out at short.
Katelyn Dunckel opened the fourth with a double to right field for GCU. Then Faraimo made history, striking out Ramsay Lopez for the 1,000 strikeout of her career, becoming just the third Bruin in the history of the program to reach that milestone. She joined Anjelica Selden (1,441 SO; 2005-08) and Keira Goerl (1,095 SO; 2001-04) in the UCLA 1,000 K club. But after walking the very next batter to put runners on first and second, Madison Schaefer homered down the left field line off the foul pole to put GCU up 3-1. Lauren Shaw entered the game to replace Faraimo and retired the next two batters to get out of the inning without any more damage.
Shaw held the Lopes at bay in the top of the fifth, and then with two outs in the bottom half, Grant continued her hot streak with a straight away solo shot to center field, her 14th of the year, to pull the Bruins to within a run at 3-2.
Brooke Yanez came on for Shaw in the sixth and stymied the Lopes, picking up two strikeouts in the top half of the inning. But the GCU pitching and defense were solid in the bottom half getting a fly out and a groundout after a second single of the game by Aaliyah Jordan with one out to end the inning.
Yanez was also stellar in the top of the seventh, getting two GCU hitters out with with infield pop-ups and then a groundout to first to end the top half of the inning. In the bottom half of the seventh, with two out and an 0-2 deficit, Meoño battled back and singled to right field to keep the Bruins' hopes alive. But Ariel Thompson got Grant to pop up to second base and help GCU pull off their first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament.
Faraimo (29-3) would take the loss while Emily Darwin (9-3) would earn the win for GCU with Thompson getting her third save of the season.
UCLA will play Liberty tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. PT on the ESPN Family of Networks. Surviving that, the Bruins will play again tomorrow versus the loser of Grand Canyon/San Diego State at 7 p.m. PT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Darwin, Emily (9-3)
L: Faraimo, Megan (29-3)
S: Thompson, Ariel (3)
Batting:
2B: Dunckel, Katelyn 1
HR: Schaefer, Madison 1
RBI: Schaefer, Madison 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Dunckel, Katelyn 1 ; Rodrigues, Emma 1 ; Schaefer, Madison 1
SB: Barnes, Macee 1
Batting:
HR: Grant, Megan 1
RBI: Grant, Megan 2
SH: Meoño, Janelle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grant, Megan 1 ; Hatch, Lauren 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ Softball
P/1B
/ SoftballC/1B
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P
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