LOS ANGELES - Utah Softball fought valiantly but fell in its opener at No. 2 UCLA this evening, 3-0
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Hailey Hilburn struck out a season-high five batters and held the Bruin offense in check until the sixth inning when a pair of homers did her in.Â
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UCLA entered this game ranked No. 3 in the nation in both batting average (.350) and scoring (7.48 runs per game). They also sat in the top 10 nationally in both on-base percentage (.425) and slugging (.555)
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Utah mustered just two hits this evening against UCLA ace Rachel Garcia. She improved her record to 19-0 on the season and entered second in the nation in ERA (0.68) and fourth in strikeouts at an average of 11 per seven innings.
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The Utes had the game's first base-runner and hit but it's best chance came in the fifth. With Hilburn matching Garcia,
Makayla Hurst singled and was lifted for pinch-runner
Ryley Ball. She moved to second on a passed ball with two outs before a strikeout ended the inning.
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Hilburn got out of her first real jam in the bottom half getting the two-time reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week Bubba Nickles to pop to
Julia Noskin at second
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A tough final frame for Hilburn proved to be the difference as she allowed a leadoff homer to Briana Perez and Colleen Sullivan followed with a two-run tater later in the inning.
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The teams are back in action tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. PT from Easton Stadium
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