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LONG BEACH, Calif. - Sophomore Brianna Tautalafua, a few miles from her hometown of Carson, left the yard in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader at the LBSU Softball Complex, as #10 UCLA defeated Boston University 6-1 and Long Beach State 1-0 at the Louisville Slugger Invitational.
In game one, seven different Bruins (19-5) combined for 10 hits, as junior Kylee Perez went 3-for-4 and junior Madeline Jelenicki added a pair of hits and two RBI. In the circle, junior Selina Ta'amilo picked up the win in relief to move to 6-0 on the season. She struck out two in four shutout innings, giving up just three hits, posting a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth. Redshirt senior Paige McDuffee started and in three innings allowed a run, a hit and two walks, retiring the final seven batters she faced.
Boston University (8-13) would score the game's first run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Alexa Ponce. UCLA would take the lead for good with a four spot in the top of the third. Perez produced a one-out single to left, sophomore Paige Halstead singled through the 3-4 hole and both moved up on a wild pitch. Jelenicki then singled to left-center to score both runners to put the Bruins up 2-1. The very next pitch was hammered deep to left-center by Tautalafua, who tied for the team lead with her seventh to make it 4-1.
The Bruins added two more runs in the fifth with a two-out rally, as a Tautalafua walk was followed by the third home run of the year by freshman Bubba Nickles.
In game two, junior Johanna Grauer (7-1) and redshirt freshman Rachel Garcia combined on a five-hit shutout. Grauer, in relief, struck out five in five innings and gave up just three hits. Garcia started and fanned a pair in two frames, allowing two hits and a walk. At the plate, the Bruins (20-5) had four hits.
Tautalafua got the Bruins on the board in the top of the second, crushing the first pitch she saw out to center for her team-leading eighth homer and fourth in her last five games.
The closest Long Beach State (7-12-1) got to scoring came in the second. With runners at second and first, a single up the middle by Rachel Loera appeared that it would tie the game, but senior Gabrielle Maurice gunned down Sammi Gyerman at the plate to keep it a 1-0 game.
From there, it was all Grauer, who struck out a pair in the third and retired the final seven batters of the game.
The Bruins return to Easton Stadium on Sunday, hosting Texas at 4 p.m. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks National and Los Angeles and will also feature free live audio and live stats on UCLABruins.com.