Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez started Saturday by instructing her team to set 14 personal goals for the doubleheader.
Considering the games were the shortest in the last two years – with five fewer batting innings than anticipated – it could seem unlikely that the team would have delivered.
But speed doesn’t mean lack of efficiency.
At least, it didn’t for the Bruins, who returned nearly full checklists to their coach amid their victory lap.
In just under three hours of play, No. 16 UCLA softball (17-6, 3-0 Pac-12) swept its home doubleheader against Loyola Marymount (12-14) in two run-rule victories with matching scores of 8-0.
“The word that we wanted to focus on was being able to have intent,” Inouye-Perez said. “All the things that we’re working on is what this game did.”
Janelle Meoño recorded the Bruins’ first hit in her return to the leadoff spot. Boosting the redshirt senior outfielder to the top of the lineup proved efficient, as leadoff knocks in both games extended her reached base streak to 14 games – over double that of last season.
In the first contest alone, she crossed the plate three times, the final one courtesy of a walk-off grand slam by redshirt senior catcher Sharlize Palacios.
“I knew it was going to happen,” Meoño said. “She was made for that moment, and I think that we just really carried it into game two today, and it shows.”
By the end of the day, Palacios owned six of UCLA’s total 16 runs. She said the grand slam, her second as a Bruin, provided the midday sprint her team needed before resetting just about 30 minutes later.
“Our team is doing a really good job of rallying, we have really good momentum on our side right now,” Palacios said. “Having that type of at-bat and moving into the next game, it’s really good for our team.”
In the second game, two new UCLA batters were folded into the order.
In place of junior catcher Jayla Castro, freshman utility Mia McNulty made her collegiate debut at the plate with a sacrifice fly that advanced sophomore infielder Jordan Woolery to third base – from which she would eventually come home. Junior Kate Blunt briefly replaced redshirt senior Maya Brady at shortstop for the final inning, before freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Terry struck out what became the final LMU batter.
Palacios said mixing more players into the roster increases morale.
“It’s just really nice when we’re able to get more Bruins onto the field,” Palacios said. “That brings our team a lot of joy, so it does push us to be able to put up runs.”
And when it came to closing out the day’s final inning, the reins fell in Savannah Pola’s hands. The junior utility ended her two-week hitting drought in the fourth inning and hit a two-RBI single to force the second early conclusion.
But the Bruins stepped up defensively as well, with Terry and Castro working in tandem to throw two batters out at home with the bases loaded. Elsewhere in the infield, senior Thessa Malau’ulu became the fourth Bruin to play second base in the last week, switching over from third midway through the series.
Inouye-Perez said games like these prove the importance of versatility.
“We’ve made some changes in the lineup to be able to really focus on how we can work at our best defensively, … and there’s still room for improvement,” Inouye-Perez said. “But they’re getting themselves out of big situations where before, we weren’t going to stop the bleeding.”
When considering the Bruins’ trip up to Washington next weekend – their second conference series of the year – and the rest of the season, Inouye Perez said she credits her team’s determination to improve.
“There is no failure, and wins and losses are irrelevant – we’re just practicing on how we can be better every single day,” Inouye Perez said. “Even on a win, there’s people saying we need to be better. I love that.”
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