The Titans were not impervious to Kaitlyn Terry on Tuesday night.
“She was on fire,” said junior catcher Jayla Castro. “When she gets into a rhythm and a mode, it’s really hard to kind of snap her out of that and it’s so easy working with her when she gets like that.”
The freshman pitcher/outfielder mowed down eight batters as No. 11 UCLA softball (23-9, 8-3 Pac-12) blanked Cal State Fullerton (24-14, 10-2 Big West) with eight runs in a six-inning run-rule victory. After yielding just two runs over 9.2 innings of work over the weekend against Oregon State, Terry held Cal State Fullerton scoreless in a complete-game shutout.
Originally scheduled to open the season against the Titans in February, the Bruins instead found themselves in a Tuesday night contest in the midst of conference play.
“We were (in February) nowhere near where we are today,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We’re playing better ball. There’s more confidence.”
Two days after being shut out by the Beavers, the Bruin offense returned.
A first-inning opposite-field blast from sophomore infielder Jordan Woolery gave the Bruins an early 2-0 advantage. In the next inning, redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady followed suit with one of her own – squeaking a fly ball just over the wall and the outstretched glove of the Titan’s left fielder to double their lead.
Fullerton managed to put runners on base in all but the fifth inning, yet Terry held the Titans scoreless throughout. Errors by Woolery and redshirt senior outfielder Janelle Meoño in the first and third innings were mitigated by Terry as she punched out two in each frame to escape unscathed.
“She pitched her game. They tried to adjust. She had the ability to go in the opposite direction,” Inouye-Perez said. “It’s impressive to be able to see her as a freshman be able to do so much.”
After procuring just two hits in its last game, UCLA was able to produce quality at-bats up and down the order – prohibiting the Fullerton pitchers from settling in.
The Titans utilized a combination of three pitchers – re-entering their starter into the circle in the final inning – yet none lasted more than three innings.
Pressuring opposing pitching staffs while allowing their own to pitch with a lead has been a main point of emphasis for UCLA’s hitters, Woolery said.
“I feel like that’s a big part of what we’ve been focusing on,” Woolery said. “I think that was really shown today with our 12 hits. It was really cool to see all the work kind of come to fruition on the field.”
The depth of the Bruin lineup was showcased in the sixth inning as three consecutive pinch hitters – sophomore infielder Ramsey Suarez, junior utility Savannah Pola and freshman catcher/infielder Addison Mettler – all reached base via singles.
After tacking on three runs to build a 7-0 lead in the sixth inning, the stage was set for graduate student outfielder Jadelyn Allchin – no stranger to clutch plays for the Bruins this season. Already sporting one walk-off hit in her first year with the program, she had the opportunity to add to her total.
With a runner on third and one out, Allchin found a way to deliver once again.
She lofted a sacrifice fly into right field, deep enough to drive in the winning run and send her team home early with a victory.
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