Arizona couldn’t quite figure out Rachel Garcia, struggling to find a way to hit against UCLA’s ace.
As a result, the Wildcats are one loss away from having their season end.
The No. 3-seeded Bruins had no such offensive problems against Arizona’s Taylor McQuillin on Thursday, beating the No. 14 Wildcats 7-1 in Game 1 of the Los Angeles Super Regional.
The teams meet at 6 p.m. Friday. If UA wins, it would force a Game 3 on Saturday. The winner of the series advances to the Women’s College World Series.
“My hat goes off to UCLA, they’re a good team, but we really didn’t help ourselves,” Arizona coach Mike Candrea said. “We didn’t really have any quality at-bats early in the game. I thought we didn’t pitch well, we didn’t hit well and those are the results.”
The two winningest programs in college softball, who have combined for 19 of 35 WCWS, met in a Super Regional for the first time ever. It served as the first postseason matchup between both programs since 2010, when the Bruins beat UA in the WCWS championship series.
The rivalry drew a sold-out crowd (1,328) to Easton Stadium, and concerns about tough Bruins fans became a reality in the smaller, intimate stadium. UCLA fans were merciless throughout the game.
But Candrea wouldn’t use that as an excuse. In order to win in the postseason, a team has to be good on the road.
“It didn’t have anything to do with the fans,” Candrea said. “It had everything to do with our inability to get the job done.”
With elimination looming, Candrea said the team will just need to reset overnight. The team knows where they’re at and they just need to take it one game at a time.
There will also have to be adjustments in the circle.
“I kind of felt like tonight, we were pitching to not get hit instead of getting aggressive,” Candrea said. “Trusting our stuff, that’s the one thing I really felt that Taylor didn’t really trust herself. And it showed. I think we just need to get our minds back.”
The Bruins slowly built up their lead, scoring a run per frame in the first three innings.
The first came off an RBI double by Aaliyah Jordan that scored Kylee Perez, who beat the throw at first to single. The next two runs came on leadoff home runs in the second and third innings by Madeline Jelenicki and Perez, respectively.
The Wildcats had some action in the fourth with two runners on base — Reyna Carranco drew a walk and Jessie Harper got the team’s first hit with a grounder up the middle — but Dejah Mulipola struck out swinging for the final out.
Then both Garcia and Jelenicki belted two-run homers in the fifth to further extend the Bruins’ lead, 7-0. The four runs prompted Candrea to pull McQuillin and put in Alyssa Denham as relief.
UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said the team has great familiarity with McQuillin, which allows them to make adjustments against the Arizona ace. McQuillin, a Mission Viejo, California native, grew up playing travel ball with some of the Bruins players, like Jelenicki.
Inouye-Perez was also familiar with McQuillin throughout high school and now by playing against Arizona.
“She is a great pitcher. She does do great things,” Inouye-Perez said. “We are a team that knows what she can throw, also, and can make adjustments. So, credit to her career.”
“We’re going to have a great deal of respect if we see her again tomorrow.”
The Bruins made a pitching change at the top of the sixth and put in freshman Holly Azevedo as relief.
With a fresh arm in the circle, UCLA’s defense made a pair of spectacular plays in the sixth to prevent anything more than a single by Jenna Kean.
Arizona was ultimately able to score in the seventh, thanks in part to a passed ball that was able to advance runners to second and third base — it was the first time all game a Wildcat reached third — but it was too late for a comeback.
The Bruins out-hit Arizona 12-3. McQuillin allowed 10 of those hits and all seven earned runs while striking out six and walking two. Denham struck out one and allowed two hits in her two innings of relief.
Garcia just allowed one hit and walked one while striking out eight during a dominating five innings. Azevedo walked one while allowing two hits and an unearned run.
“At this stage of the game, it really doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Candrea said. “You’re going to be facing good teams from here on out, so you have to come out with big performances and we didn’t do it.”
