Maurice’s homer kept UCLA alive – and on its way to World Series

The Oregon Ducks led UCLA 2-1 on Sunday and stood two outs away from a trip to the Women’s College World Series. The crowd in Eugene anticipated a celebration.

The Bruins’ Gabby Maurice, standing at the plate, had a different idea.

“I had been getting worked inside by (Ducks ace Megan Kleist) all weekend,” Maurice said. “I kind of anticipated the pitch and squared up on one.”

Maurice, the UCLA junior left fielder and graduate of Johansen High School, sent it over the wall in right for a tying home run and the biggest clutch hit of the Bruins’ season. UCLA, which dropped the opener of the Super Regional to Oregon 8-1, eventually won Game 2 by 2-1 in nine innings. Then, in the winner-take-all Game 3, UCLA held on for another 2-1 win.

The Stanislaus District will be well-represented when the WCWS begins Thursday in Oklahoma City. Besides Maurice, former Sierra star Allie Walljasper will pitch for LSU. Both local stars are making back-to-back trips with their teams to the pinnacle of the collegiate softball season.

Maurice’s home run wasn’t her final contribution. In Game 3, her diving catch in the sixth inning kept UCLA in charge. Then, with Oregon putting the tying run at second base in the bottom of the seventh, Maurice made a running catch of Nikki Udria’s slicing liner down the line for the final out.

“It was definitely a roller coaster ride,” she said. “Hitting a home run wasn’t even on my mind. Getting on base was the goal.”

Maurice, a second-team All-Pacific-12 Conference choice last year, enjoyed another good season. She’s batting .277 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs. Surprisingly, UCLA won four of six this season at Oregon, the two-time reigning conference champion. Maurice also homered in the Bruins’ WCWS win over Oregon last year.

“We had a large group graduating and a large group of new players to replace them. There was a lot of adversity early in the season with injuries and slumps,” Maurice said. “We earned it.”

The 12th-seeded Bruins (40-14-1) open the WCWS against fourth-seeded Auburn (54-10), which sent UCLA home from Oklahoma City with a tough 11-10 loss in 10 innings. Catcher Madeline Jelenicki, Maurice’s roommate, homered in the seventh inning to put UCLA in front before Auburn forced extra innings.

“It’s great that we’ll see them again,” Maurice said. “It’s kind of like the Oregon thing.”

Like Maurice, Walljasper played a major role in her team’s advance to the WCWS. LSU, which lost its Super Regional opener to James Madison 3-2, handed the ball to Walljasper (11-5, 1.74 ERA) for the must-win Game 2. She delivered an 84-pitch gem, a five-hit shutout to win 2-0 and force a Game 3.

The Tigers built a lead in the decisive game, then handed the ball to Walljasper for the final three innings. She preserved the lead, but not without major drama in the seventh.

James Madison loaded the bases for cleanup hitter Jailyn Ford. Walljasper answered the challenge by striking out Ford to clinch the 3-2 victory.

As a freshman last year, Walljasper won 16 games, the last win vs. Alabama during LSU’s 2-2 showing at the WCWS.

LSU, the 10th seed (50-16), opens against No. 2 Michigan (51-5).

Notes – Columbia University senior Maddie O’Brien, a graduate of Central Catholic, was named first-team All-Region for the second straight year by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association last week.

“We are especially proud of Maddie O’Brien’s back-to-back first-team all-region honors,” Columbia coach Scott Ramsey said. “It became even tougher to make the first team last season when the entire Ivy League was moved into the same NCAA region, and Maddie has still made it both years under the new format, which is a tremendous accomplishment.”

▪ Beyer’s Rachel Coleman won the gold medal at the California Regional Pentathlon at Davis. Coleman, who totaled 821 points, led in the swim, fence and combined distance run/pistol target shooting disciplines.

“I was especially pleased my shooting went well ... and it was great to have my shooting coach of four years, Pete Camarena of the Modesto Rifle Club, here to lend his guidance,” Coleman said.

Coleman will resume training for the Pan American Cup and then compete at the U.S. Nationals this summer. She hopes to make the national team for the World Championships in Limerick, Ireland.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Maurice’s homer kept UCLA alive – and on its way to World Series."