2017 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic 1Feb 13, 2017 by FloSoftball Staff
UCLA Bruins Softball Off To Red-Hot Start
UCLA Bruins Softball Off To Red-Hot Start
The UCLA Bruins softball team is off to a dominant start to the 2017 season, outscoring opponents 48-2 en route to a 5-0 record.
The unusual amount of rain in Southern California recently has done nothing to dampen the UCLA bats.
The Bruins are on a roll -- a very dominant one -- to begin the 2017 season. UCLA is a perfect 5-0 and has outscored opponents 48-2. Currently, the squad is ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.
UCLA is coming off an 8-0, run-rule win over No. 22 Notre Dame on Sunday in Los Angeles. Rachel Garcia, a 2015 Hot 100 member and redshirt freshman, threw a two-hitter over the five-inning contest. The Bruins smashed Weber State by a combined score of 26-2 in a doubleheader Saturday.
This is the hottest start for UCLA since it rocketed out of the gate at 17-0 in 2014. That season, the Bruins won 52 games, the highest total so far for coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who is now in her 11th year guiding the program.
Last season, UCLA advanced to the Women's College World Series for the 26th time in school history but did not win a game, falling to Auburn and Florida State.
Garcia is 2-0 this year with a 0.00 ERA and is batting .583 with a home run and six RBIs. Johanna Grauer is 2-0 with a 0.58 ERA and Delaney Spaulding is hitting .706 with two home runs, six RBIs, and eight runs scored. UCLA has four hitters batting at .500 or better, literally getting hits more than half the time they step up to the plate. Seven hitters are batting over .400.
It doesn't get much better than that.
UCLA is back in action Wednesday at home against Kentucky. This weekend, the Bruins will be at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, CA. Cal Poly, Central Florida, UC Davis, Kentucky and Liberty will all be competing. The following week, UCLA will be at the Nutter event again with powerhouses such as Florida State and defending national champion Oklahoma on the schedule.
By Marc Raimondi
Watch weekend one of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic LIVE Feb. 17-19 only on FloSoftball
The Bruins are on a roll -- a very dominant one -- to begin the 2017 season. UCLA is a perfect 5-0 and has outscored opponents 48-2. Currently, the squad is ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.
UCLA is coming off an 8-0, run-rule win over No. 22 Notre Dame on Sunday in Los Angeles. Rachel Garcia, a 2015 Hot 100 member and redshirt freshman, threw a two-hitter over the five-inning contest. The Bruins smashed Weber State by a combined score of 26-2 in a doubleheader Saturday.
This is the hottest start for UCLA since it rocketed out of the gate at 17-0 in 2014. That season, the Bruins won 52 games, the highest total so far for coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who is now in her 11th year guiding the program.
Last season, UCLA advanced to the Women's College World Series for the 26th time in school history but did not win a game, falling to Auburn and Florida State.
Garcia is 2-0 this year with a 0.00 ERA and is batting .583 with a home run and six RBIs. Johanna Grauer is 2-0 with a 0.58 ERA and Delaney Spaulding is hitting .706 with two home runs, six RBIs, and eight runs scored. UCLA has four hitters batting at .500 or better, literally getting hits more than half the time they step up to the plate. Seven hitters are batting over .400.
It doesn't get much better than that.
UCLA is back in action Wednesday at home against Kentucky. This weekend, the Bruins will be at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, CA. Cal Poly, Central Florida, UC Davis, Kentucky and Liberty will all be competing. The following week, UCLA will be at the Nutter event again with powerhouses such as Florida State and defending national champion Oklahoma on the schedule.
By Marc Raimondi
Watch weekend one of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic LIVE Feb. 17-19 only on FloSoftball
