Courtesy of UCLA Athletics
LOS ANGELES – Senior Jessica Hall hit a grand slam and freshman Gabrielle Maurice also homered, while Hall and junior Ally Carda teamed up for a three-hitter in the circle, as the third-seeded Bruins improved to 2-0 in the Los Angeles Regional with a 7-0 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday at Easton Stadium.
The Bruins move to 50-6 on the year and advance to the Los Angeles Regional Championship Game on Sunday at 12 p.m. against Notre Dame, which rebounded to defeat Long Beach State 10-1 later Saturday to advance to Sunday’s action. The contest will be televised live on ESPN3.com and will feature live audio and stats at UCLABruins.com. Notre Dame (41-12 after win vs. LBSU) must beat UCLA twice on Sunday, with the if necessary second game starting at 3 p.m.
Seven different Bruins accounted for the team’s seven hits. In the circle, Carda started and tossed five shutout innings, striking out two and giving up three hits. She had 1-2-3 innings in the second and fifth. Hall tossed two hitless frames of relief, striking out three and allowing only a sixth-inning walk, as she fanned a pair in a 1-2-3 seventh.
The Bruins got on the board in the second when Maurice led off the inning with a solo homer to center, her sixth of the season.
In the third, the Bruins added a five spot. Carda led off with a single through the 5-6 hole and moved to second on a sacrifice by freshman Delaney Spaulding, which was followed by back-to-back walks to junior Stephany LaRosa and sophomore Mysha Sataraka to load the bases. Maurice was hit by a pitch to force home Carda with the Bruins’ second run. One out later, Hall smashed a grand slam to center, her eighth homer of the season, to make it 6-0.
UCLA pushed across its seventh run in the sixth. Sophomore Allexis Bennett led off with a single up the middle, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Notre Dame catcher Cassidy Whidden. Spaulding followed with a perfect squeeze bunt single in front of the plate, as Bennett scored to make it 7-0.
