The Bruins had wrapped up their Big Ten series sweep against Indiana over the weekend, but the Titans didn’t give their ranked opponent a chance to rest. UCLA’s pitching staff was under constant fire throughout the course of the game and the four pitchers totaled 13 hits, two balls and 13 runs, while recording just three strikeouts.
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explosive start
The Titans walked four Bruins batters in the first and UCLA punished them for it. Fresh off a victory in the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship, senior utility Megan Grant hit a two-run home run in her first at-bat. Redshirt junior center fielder Alexis Ramirez had her turn and hit a grand slam to put UCLA up by six runs to end the top of the first.
Undefended
Despite the exquisite start by UCLA’s hitters, the Bruin pitching staff struggled to limit their errors in the bottom of the first. Cal State Fullerton would tie the game with six runs that were set up by five hits, two walks and two hits by a pitch.
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The bats are alive.
After both teams scored another run in the second, UCLA would regain the lead on a two-run home run in the top of the third by Jolyna Lamar. Cal State Fullerton didn’t let the Bruins lead for long with four runs coming off three hits and two errors in the bottom of the third, putting them up 11-9.
stop swinging
Between the two teams, 20 runs were scored in the first three innings. That changed in the next two innings with three hits and two errors with no runs between both teams.
clutch time
UCLA played its best when they needed it most with a home run in the sixth by Aleena Garcia and a two-run homer after a run in the seventh by Kaniya Bragg, putting the Bruins up by three. The Bruins’ pitching was excellent in the no-hitter seventh leading to a clean inning and a win.
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The Bruins will head to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, to open their series against Illinois at Eichelberger Field on Friday with a scheduled start time of 3 pm Pacific Time.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA Bruins softball defeats Cal State Fullerton in explosive outing