LOS ANGELES – California appeared to run out of gas as it left a trio of early runs unanswered on Sunday in Easton Stadium to give up the sweep to No. 1 UCLA.
 
The Golden Bears (20-15, 1-7 Pac-12) could not find their offense as they went without a hit until the top of the sixth inning after allowing the Bruins (32-1, 6-0 Pac-12) to post three runs across the first two innings to take a decisive lead.
 
The defense struggled as well, with Zoe Conley (6-9) picking up the loss after allowing six runs and a career-high 12 hits in 6.0 innings. The redshirt senior recorded three strikeouts and five walks on the day.
 
After battling through the first two games of the series, determined by one-run margins, Cal unraveled starting with a failed rundown that led to a Bruins score on the steal home to move ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning.
 
The Bruins added a three-run shot straight through centerfield in the bottom of the sixth to widen the gap and provide the final 6-0 margin to sweep Cal for the fourth time since 2013 and the third in consecutive seasons.
  
Despite the outcome, Cal kept the top-ranked Bruins scoreless through 13 innings this series and hold them 44 points (.304) under their season average (.348) heading into the weekend.

"I thought overall series we played well. Those were some tough games for both sides. We needed more timely hits to win," said head coach Diane Ninemire. "Today things kind of got away from us and we need to take our resiliency into this week against UOP and Washington. We need to hold together."

The Bears batted a .158 over the three games, just ahead of the .151 opponent batting average. Cal also allowed just four runs in the first two games of the series, while UCLA averages 7.15 runs per outing through the season.
 
Cal opens an eight-game homestand on Wednesday against Pacific at 4 p.m. (PT). The longest home stint of the season for the Bears also includes a series with Pac-12 opponents Washington (April 5-7) and Oregon State (April 12-14). The Bears will also host Saint Mary's on April 10 at 4 p.m. (PT).
 
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