Faraimo Wins Game for UCLA with Pitching and Hitting
A win tonight will send the Bruins to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
When Rachel Garcia was UCLA’s top pitcher, it wasn’t uncommon to see her help the Bruins win with both her pitching and her hitting. Well, last night, Megan Faraimo channeled her inner Garcia as she pitched and hit the Bruins past the Duke Blue Devils, 3-2.
Things got off to a rough start in the first two innings. Faraimo gave up a game-opening walk to Jameson Kavel that came back to bite her when Duke’s Rachel Crabtree doubled to left center with one out to give the Blue Devils a quick 1-0 lead.
With one out in the top of the second, Faraimo gave up a homer to Ana Gold and the Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead over the Bruins.
Meanwhile, UCLA struggled to get runners across the dish. The Bruins left 5 runners on base, three of whom were in scoring position, through the first four innings. UCLA’s Kinsley Washington was even thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the third on a double to right center by Briana Perez. After four innings, the Bruins still trailed, 2-0.
It wasn’t till the bottom of the fifth that the Bruins were finally able to score. With one out in the fifth, Kinsley Washington singled. She moved to second following a passed ball. Delanie Wisz was able to double to right center but, this time, Washington wasn’t thrown out at home and the Bruins were able to cut the deficit to just a run, 2-1.
With one out in the sixth, freshman Savannah Pola reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Anna Vines walked to put the go-ahead run on first. Thessa Malau'ulu’s grounder to second moved the runners up with two outs and Faraimo pinch-hit for Kelly Godin. While the move was somewhat questionable given Godin’s .297 batting average and Faraimo’s .211 average, Faraimo singled to right, scoring both runners to give UCLA a 3-2 advantage. Godin, then, re-entered the game by pinch-running for Faraimo. Washington’s bunt single moved Godin to third. While Washington stole second to give Perez a pair of runners in scoring position, she struck out ending the Bruin rally.
But that rally proved to be enough as Faraimo sent the Blue Devils down in order in the top of the seventh to send the Bruin fans home happy.
Tonight, UCLA will look to sweep the series for another berth in the Women’s College World Series. Duke will almost certainly send Peyton St. George to the circle with their season on the line. The question for the Bruins is: Will Kelly Inouye-Perez go with Faraimo again tonight or will she opt for Holly Azevedo instead?
That decision could determine whether the Bruins close out the series tonight or whether they will need to play a deciding game tomorrow.
Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game.
Los Angeles Super Regional
Game #2
Teams:Â #5 seed UCLA Bruins (46-8) vs. #12 seed Duke Blue Devils (44-9)
When:Â 5:30 pm PT, Saturday, May 28, 2022
Where:Â Easton Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
TV:Â ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app
Live Audio: uclabruins.com
Live Stats:Â UCLA StatBroadcast
NCAA.com
Official Preview
Go Bruins!!!
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Baseball in pitching duel with Beavers, win 25-22. This forces a second game with winner playing Stanford for championship.