by oldNlazy » Sun Apr 22, 2012 1:10 am
It still counts as a win but they won't be preserving the video anywhere innocent children might see it. UCLA went from a 10-0 lead to Utah having the tying on deck at game's end. Entering the 5th the Bruins had a 9 run lead needing 3 outs for a mercy win. There was no reason to get complicated. Just let Carda finish it out, she needs the work anyway. But they brought in Rodino and all he11 broke loose. Three runs in 1/3 inning gave Utah new life and though Hall got them out in the 5th she and the defense had problems in the 6th. The statistic most responsible for Carda's early depature was only 41 strikes out of 71 pitches. To make matters more troubling when Utah started scoring, UCLA stopped. But they did the job in the 1st 4 innings. The 1st 3 batters in the UCLA lineup went 6-9 with 6 runs and 8 RBIs. There were HRs by Harrison (2) and LaRosa and Schroeder, Tiumalu and Snow all chipped in with 2 hits apiece. It was a cool and foggy evening with the Bruins wearing their pink on white breast cancer awareness shirts.
Utah 0 0 0 2 3 3 0=8-10-1
UCLA2 0 8 1 0 0 x=11-11-3
Nielsen vs Carda
Carda was shaky in the 1st. Two strikeouts were overturned by IP calls and there was a single, WP and BB but she got out of the inning with no damage. The Bruins wasted no time in grabbing the lead, Schroeder singled and LaRosa left the yard just to the right of the scoreboard. Carda faced the minimum in the 2nd and 3rd and the Bruins broke it open in their half of the 3rd. Snow led off with a single, Schroeder sacrificed and reached when the 2nd baseman dropped the throw to 1st. LaRosa doubled off the RF wall for 1 run and Harrison followed with a 3-run shot to right center. Yudin and Fox walked which spelled the end for Nielsen. Amu took her place and was greeted by Tiumalu's RBI single to CF. Carda walked and Snow ripped a single under the 3rd baseman's glove for 2 more runs. Carda was out at home but Schroeder kicked in with an RBI double.
After putting up 10 goose eggs Utah finally scored in the 4th. With 1 out and 1 on, Sweet doubled over the CF's head. Holm singled in 1 run and the 2nd scored when Schroeder mishandled the ball. Harrison led off the 4th with a HR to right and the Bruins appeared on the way to a run-rule victory. Rodino took the circle and struck out the 1st hitter. But Hoopiiaina singled to LF and Palauni followed with a single of her own. When Elliott followed with a 3-run dinger Rodino was gone too. Hall momentarily restored order getting the 2 batters she faced. Dickman walked to lead off the 6th and Holm followed with a single. After a force at 3rd an E-5 scored a run and Palauni singled off the first-baseman's glove for 2 more. Elliott singled but the runner was thrown out at 3rd.
The Bruins loaded the bases in the 6th despite a strange play I've never seen before. Harrison walked and Yudin singled which brought in Ramirez to pitch. Fox popped out (see below) and Tiumalu's hit loaded the bases but Carda grounded out to end the inning. It looked like Utah might make it interesting in the 7th as a single by Dickman and a WP put a runner at 2nd. Holm ripped it just foul off the RF wall and then to the same place but not quite as far and Bates grabbed it for the final out.
[Fox popped it up toward 1st base an the fielder, perhaps spooked by the approaching Fox let it drop where it hit Fox on the heel. I've never before seen a batter hit by their own popup. The ump called IF Fly so Fox was out and it didn't matter if the ball hit her. It did create a dead ball situation and the runners had to go back to 1st and 2nd.]