{"id":38427,"date":"2022-06-06T04:10:22","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T04:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ucla-bruins-beat-florida-gators-reach-wcws-ncaa-softball-semifinals\/"},"modified":"2022-06-06T04:10:22","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T04:10:22","slug":"ucla-bruins-beat-florida-gators-reach-wcws-ncaa-softball-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ucla-bruins-beat-florida-gators-reach-wcws-ncaa-softball-semifinals\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA Bruins beat Florida Gators, reach WCWS NCAA softball semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el\" aria-label=\"Video - 'Our goal is to win it': Oklahoma State isn't satisfied with just making it to the WCWS\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Savannah Pola called game.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">On Sunday afternoon in the bottom of the sixth inning, Pola, UCLA&#8217;s right fielder, smacked a pitch over second base and deep into centerfield.  As teammates Maya Brady and Delanie Wisz touched home plate, the inevitable became official.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">UCLA was moving on.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After leading the entire game, No. 5 UCLA defeated Florida in run-rule fashion 8-0, advancing to the semifinal round and eliminating the Gators from the Women&#8217;s College World Series.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThe emotions that ended the game were crazy,\u201d said Holly Azevedo, UCLA&#8217;s starting pitcher.  \u201cWhen (Pola) got that double, I was going crazy alongside all the girls in the dugout.  Then just having that moment with everyone just dumping water on me. &#8221; <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Two at-bats before Pola&#8217;s walk-off, Brady drove two runs in with a bases loaded double that whizzed between the first and second bases.  It inflated the Bruins lead to six shortly before Pola ended the game.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After struggling to get hits early in the game, the Bruins adjusted the second time through the lineup and finished with eight.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Blackberries:<\/strong>How UCLA surprised Delanie Wisz with new catching gear for WCWS that&#8217;s close to her heart<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI think that we just decided that we weren&#8217;t going to let the change-up be a factor anymore,\u201d Brady said.  &#8220;Our team definitely gets stronger throughout every single at-bat, and we kind of all take things from each other.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Besides UCLA finding consistent offense, the Gators injured themselves with several miscues. <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In the fourth inning, Florida shortstop Skylar Wallace bobbled an easy groundball from UCLA pinch-hitter Seneca Curo, resulting in a run scoring.  <\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Two batters later, a chopping, hard-hit groundball off UCLA&#8217;s Briana Perez&#8217;s bat again targeted Wallace.  Blinded by a runner taking off from second base, Wallace misplayed the ball.  It rolled toward the outfield and two more runs slid across home plate.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Three runs scored off balls that didn&#8217;t leave the infield.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Gators weren&#8217;t without some defensive gems too, with left fielder Katie Kistler robbing a home run from UCLA in the third inning.  <\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cJust didn&#8217;t have any answers offensively,\u201d Florida coach Tim Walton said.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez consistently emphasized defense throughout the season, and it showed up from the Bruins on Sunday.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Behind Azevedo &#8211; who tossed a complete game, allowing two hits and striking out two &#8211; the UCLA defense accounted for 16 of the 18 outs, the lone error being a throw to first on a bunt.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThat was the name of the game, defense today,\u201d Inouye-Perez said.  &#8220;So super proud.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Want to know the impact of Title IX ?:<\/strong>Look no further than the WCWS &#038; softball in Oklahoma<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:441px\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/05\/NOKL\/96540819-ff35-43fa-92db-f73b4dd81d36-USATSI_18462849.jpg?ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/05\/NOKL\/96540819-ff35-43fa-92db-f73b4dd81d36-USATSI_18462849.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=882&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"UCLA's Savannah Pola (5) slides home safely after a double by Kelli Godin as Florida catcher Emily Wilkie (18) is late with a tag.\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Bruins will now face top-seeded Oklahoma in the semifinals at 11 am Monday, needing to beat the Sooners twice to advance to the championship series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Last season, the Sooners eliminated the Bruins in the loser&#8217;s bracket en route to winning their fifth national title.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In the last season&#8217;s game, Azevedo entered the game in the sixth inning with the Bruins trailing five runs.  She allowed two hits and two runs in two-thirds of an inning, before OU officially eliminated the Bruins a half-inning later.  <\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"\/>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cObviously, they&#8217;re an incredible team all around, but I think for us something that I think that this team has gone through this year would be adversity,\u201d Brady said.  &#8220;I think that it has only made us stronger.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Brady went 2-for-4 against the Sooners in the WCWS last season.  Azevedo didn&#8217;t add to Brady&#8217;s remarks, but he agreed with everything Brady said about Monday&#8217;s game.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cI know that I have 23 sisters that are going to have my back throughout the whole game and I&#8217;m not doing it alone,\u201d Brady said.  &#8220;I think that it&#8217;s just a really amazing opportunity on the biggest stage with this team.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Inouye-Perez also kept the focus on the Bruins.  She used the Bruins loss to Texas on the first day of the tournament as an example of the fight the team has shown.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cThe biggest opponent we have is ourselves,\u201d Inouye-Perez said.  \u201cIf we can put ourselves in a position to play our game, the opponent, that is definitely respect.  &#8220;We respect everyone, we fear no one.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">Carlson:<\/strong>Jocelyn Alo decided Texas wasn&#8217;t going to shut down OU again.  She did something about it in WCWS.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/USAT\/b6af95d8-57dc-4115-ae7f-947598bd03e4-USATSI_18464968.jpg?resize=660%2C372&#038;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/06\/USAT\/b6af95d8-57dc-4115-ae7f-947598bd03e4-USATSI_18464968.jpg?crop=4238,2384,x0,y442&amp;width=1320&amp;height=744&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"372\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Savannah Pola called game. On Sunday afternoon in the bottom of the sixth inning, Pola, UCLA&#8217;s right fielder, smacked a pitch over second base and deep into centerfield. As teammates Maya Brady and Delanie Wisz touched home plate, the inevitable became official. UCLA was moving on. After leading the entire game, No. 5 UCLA defeated &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ucla-bruins-beat-florida-gators-reach-wcws-ncaa-softball-semifinals\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">UCLA Bruins beat Florida Gators, reach WCWS NCAA softball semifinals<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/06\/05\/NOKL\/deb480b3-e94a-4c48-bc4f-d54d86fee18d-AP22156805999241.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}