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Junior Claire Sua crosses home plate as her teammates mob her after her home run in Saturday̵

After squandering a series of opportunities against Arizona two weeks ago, the UCLA softball team appeared doomed to repeat its fate again.

Trailing No. 3 Washington by two runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Bruin third baseman Tairia Mims hit a routine fly ball to right field that seemed to end all hope of a comeback.

Then the impossible happened.

By sun, by wind or by a hole in her glove, Huskies right fielder Aimee Minor dropped the easy fly ball. Andrea Duran and Natasha Watley scored, tying the score at two.

“I thought it was a sure out,” Mims said. “I was a little upset with myself for not coming through with a runner at second base.”

With that lucky break the Bruins (36-5, 8-3 Pac-10), who had lost three of their last five, came alive offensively. On the very next pitch by the Huskies’ Ashley Boek, Claire Sua hit a two-run home run, giving the Bruins their first lead of the day at 4-2.

“I was trying to redeem myself from that bases-loaded situation earlier when I didn’t do anything,” said Sua, who flew out in the third inning to end a rally. “They cracked the door for us, it’s our job to kick it open.”

“I have to admit sometimes you’d rather be lucky than good,” UCLA head coach Sue Enquist added. “And we got a little bit of luck. I always tell the kids, if you stay positive the game will pay you back. We got a little bit of payback with that break and we busted it open.”

The Bruins added another run in the inning, and hung on for a 5-2 victory. The following day, the UCLA offense continued to build momentum. The Bruins scored at least one run in every inning, culminating in a game-ending three-run home run by Stephanie Ramos in the bottom of the sixth inning. The sweep was completed with a 10-0 rout.

The Bruins’ potent offense against Washington (36-7-1, 6-5) was in stark contrast to their struggles against Arizona. UCLA scored just one run in two games against the No. 1 Wildcats and left 12 runners on base as No. 1 Arizona swept a two-game series from the Bruins at Easton Stadium.

While the team was certainly dejected after the Arizona series, its attitude was certainly much more upbeat after dispatching of the Huskies.

“We saw that we can get it done, we can score runs,” Mims said. “Instead of having that little bit of fear, I think we saw ourselves come from behind, and it gave us a little bit more confidence.”