Pack Powers UCLA To WCWS

LOS ANGELES-- UCLA’s Taylor Pack made herself a household name in softball during the Women’s College World Series last year.

She wasn’t an everyday start but was rotated into the lineup behind the plate and as the designated player.

This season has been a much different season for Pack. She has started 53 games in different roles but what remains consistent is her bat and that was on full display in the Bruins 7-2, series-clinching win over James Madison on Saturday.

In her final game at Easton Stadium, the senior went 2-for-3 with two homers and three RBIs.

“I wasn’t really looking for that coming into this game. … I was thinking about just doing whatever I could to help the team,” Pack said. “We want to be at the top at the end, and I just want to do whatever I can to help the team get there.”

Freshman Megan Faraimo got the nod in the circle and finished with eight strikeout in 5.1 innings before making way for Rachel Garcia to shut the door and earn her fourth save of the season.

“It helped a lot to have my teammates, a lot of them just came up to me and just lectured me on how confident they were in me,” Faraimo said. “It also helped just hearing the crowd, hearing the Bruin bubble meant a lot of good vibes coming my way.”

The win advances UCLA to its 29th WCWS where the Bruins will face Minnesota, who is making its WCWS debut.

“I literally feel like we’ve played some of our best softball in these last two days,” said UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We set out with a goal from the very beginning of the year to be our best when our best is needed, and I told them at some point today that our best is yet to come.”

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