Attention All
NCAA Softball and UCLA Bruins Fans! Spring is nearly here and with that, baseball and softball automatically come with it. So, we lead off with expanded coverage of our first presentation of women’s NCAA softball and the UCLA Bruins. Please take some time to read our written account, look at our photo gallery, and watch the post-game video interviews of our Special coverage of former Lincoln High School “Tiger” and All-City/CIF Softball player, Angelica “Jelly” Felix, as she enters her second year of playing for the 2015 season’s #6 nationally ranked UCLA Bruins.
On February 8th, the Bruins faced the San Diego State “Aztecs” in the final game of the Southern Calif. Collegiate Classic held at the Bruins Home Field, Easton Stadium. It was our first chance to watch Jelly play as well as meet her in our post-game interview. In addition, we were able to speak with her Head Coach, Kelly Inouye-Perez, and her very proud parents, Arturo and Frances. We promise that you’ll really enjoy the photo gallery that was shot by our Lead photographer, Erik Sarni. It will basically show action shots of the six inning game.
Here is a brief game recap as provided by UCLABRUINS.COM/Softball: The sixth-ranked Bruins had three pitchers combine on a four-hitter and a three-run error by San Diego State broke a fifth-inning 1-1 tie, as UCLA defeated the Aztecs 4-1 in the close-out game of the tournament.
From our East L.A. Sports Scene recap of this Tournament, it was noteworthy to highlight Jelly’s solid contributions to the Bruins as they posted a (4-2) tournament record. In Game 1 vs. the Idaho State”Bengals” she had one of the biggest hits of the young season and the Classic, when she came to bat as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the 6th inning. And with her patented power swing, blasted a “Grand Slam” home run to left-center, giving the Bruins a huge 13-3 lead. With this insurmountable lead, the Bruins closed out the game in 6 innings due to the NCAA’s 10 run “mercy” rule. The final score read Bruins 13, Idaho State 3. For the rest of the Classic, Coach Inouye-Perez played Jelly consistently in her utility role on both offense and defense. Other teams that participated in the tournament were: Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Purdue. For a look at the Bruins official website and schedule, click here.
And for more background on why she was heavily recruited by the Bruins, here are some of Jelly’s prominent high school accomplishments: All-CIF First Team as a Senior, Second Team as a Junior and Honorable Mention as a Freshman and Sophomore … two-time All-State nominee … 2012 Northern League “Player Of The Year” … hit .596 with seven homers, 19 RBI and 19 steals as a Junior … Team Captain as a Senior and helped the“Tigers” to Northern League Titles all four seasons … was also an All-CIF, All-City and All-League Scholar-Athlete Award winner every year.
We encourage you to take a close look at the final picture in our gallery. It shows three Bruin athletes, Jelly Felix, (softball), Kenny Young (football), and Ally Courtnall (soccer) all proudly wearing Jackie Robinson’s commemorative jersey #42 for the last season of NCAA competition. One of the most famous jersey numbers of “All-Time,” it will be retired by the Athletic Department in a ceremony to be scheduled next year. Rico Cabrera, Sr./EastLASportsScene.Com
Credits: Erik Sarni, EastLASportsScene.Com, Photo Gallery; UCLABRUINS.COM/Softball Roster, Media Guide/Player Profile Photo (at end), Career Stats & Game Highs;
Photo Gallery; Click once on each photo to enlarge.