CIF SOCAL SOFTBALL REGIONALS TUESDAY’S RESULTS First Round
DIVISION I #1 Chula Vista Mater Dei, bye #5 Point Loma 10, #4 Whittier Christian 1 #6 St. Paul def. #3 Murrieta Mesa, forfeit #2 La Habra def. #7 Bonita, forfeit
DIVISION II #2 Riverside Prep 1, #8 Del Norte 0 #5 Redwood at #4 Birmingham, Wednesday at 3 p.m. #6 Garces Memorial 3, #3 Oxnard 0 #2 Great Oak 9, #7 El Capitan 4
DIVISION III #8 Mission College Prep 4, #1 Venice 2 #4 Hanford West 19, #5 Eagle Rock 1 #3 Grace 9, #6 Brawley 3 #2 Helix 14, #7 Covina 7
DIVISION IV #1 San Diego Madison 10, #9 Arleta 4 #5 Grossmont 7, #4 Arroyo 4 #3 Irvine 8, #6 Avenal 7 #2 Woodlake 8, #7 Edgewood 4
DIVISION V #1 Arroyo Valley, bye #5 La Jolla 16, #4 Franklin 3 #6 San Bernardino 9, #3 Monte Vista 6 #2 South East, bye
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (Games at 4 p.m. unless noted) Semifinals
DIVISION I #5 Point Loma at #1 Chula Vista Mater Dei #6 St. Paul at #2 La Habra
DIVISION II #5 Redwood / #4 Birmingham at #1 Riverside Prep #6 Garces Memorial at #2 Great Oak
DIVISION III #8 Mission College Prep at #4 Hanford West #3 Grace at #2 Helix
DIVISION IV #5 Grossmont at #1 San Diego Madison #3 Irvine at #2 Woodlake
DIVISION V #5 La Jolla vs. #1 Arroyo Valley, Wednesday at San Gorgonio #6 San Bernardino at #2 South East
Note: Finals in all divisions Saturday, June 6 at 4 p.m. at higher seeds.
Sure, it might not seem like it from the outside looking in. After all, how can someone who has hit 89 home runs across her college career — one short of the Bruins’ record — and helped one of softball’s most dynamic offensive teams check off a list of new NCAA and program records relate to the other sociology majors in her classes at UCLA?
Grant disappears into her head sometimes, something she readily acknowledges. But her solution might not be as accessible to all the other “Twilight”-binging, video-game-loving UCLA students. She has coach Kelly Inouye-Perez keep her, the Division I home run queen, from getting caught up in the moment.
“She does a really great job with just keeping me neutral,” Grant said. “Sometimes I may get in a little crazy headspace, but she does a really great job helping me get out of those feelings that I’m stuck in, and she pulls me out and makes me realize, ‘Hey, as long as I can be who I am, that’s enough.’”
UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, left, confers with associate head coach Lisa Fernandez next to infielder Jordan Woolery during NCAA reigonal game on May 15.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Inouye-Perez and assistant coach Lisa Fernandez are some of the Bruins’ biggest keys to success as the team prepares for the start of the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. The Bruins will face Texas Tech at 4 p.m. PDT Sunday in a game airing on ESPN.
UCLA closed its super regional with a single-season home run record (200) and a record for WCWS appearances (34).
Grant is no stranger to the work necessary to see that level of success. But even in her rare bad at-bats and struggles, Inouye-Perez and Fernandez allow her the space to fail. After all, there are nine places in the lineup. One person alone isn’t indicative of UCLA’s wins or losses, Inouye-Perez says.
“We really focus on succeeding and learning how to fail, so they can just get to the next pitch,” Inouye-Perez said. “We talk about the ability to slow the game down, to take deep breaths, to be able to enjoy the moment. It’s not on any one Bruin.”
That mentality doesn’t exist in a void. Inouye-Perez and Fernandez worked in tandem to create the powerhouse team, which is in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons in D1 softball history.
Inouye-Perez is in her 20th year coaching the Bruins and is the only NCAA softball player to win a championship as a player and a coach. She led the 2010 and 2019 teams to those titles. Meanwhile, Fernandez, in her 28th year coaching at UCLA and her fourth as associate coach, has taken primary responsibility for hitting — one of the Bruins’ biggest keys to success. The team leads the nation in batting average (.385), RBIs per game (10.38) and on-base percentage (.496).
“Me and her, we’re workhorses,” Grant said of Fernandez. “We work all day after practice hours together, and it just means the world. You can tell that she loves the game and her little nuggets that she teaches me.”
The Bruins’ success in the batter’s box also has helped raise the tide of a team that could’ve fallen into many pitfalls. The team has only one main pitcher, Taylor Tinsley, who’s spent the most time in the circle in the NCAA tournament with 29-1/3 innings pitched. The Bruins are also young. Of the 21 players on the roster, only eight are seniors, redshirt juniors or juniors.
Seniors Jordan Woolery and Grant are one pace to break NCAA records, but the underclassmen aren’t far behind. Redshirt freshman Aleena Garcia set a single-game RBI record (7) when she hit two three-run homers in UCLA’s 14-4 win over Central Florida in the Super Regional.
Much like Inouye-Perez, Fernandez’s best attribute is her ability to be a sounding board for Grant.
“You get her enthusiasm too,” Grant said. “If you mess up, she’s always there to have your back. She celebrates your wins as well, and she gets very ecstatic about it. It almost makes me laugh, because it makes things so much more fun. She just brings that out of people.”
Even when teams lose to UCLA and Fernandez, it’s still a positive experience for some.
UCLA associate head coach Lisa Fernandez huddles near the mound with starting pitcher Taylor Tinsley (23) during the fifth inning of a comeback win over California Baptist. The Lancers scored 10 runs in the fifth, but Tinsley bounced back from outing.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Central Florida coach Cindy Ball-Malone considered Fernandez one of the best softball players ever, calling her the Michael Jordan of the sport. But what makes her truly impressive, Ball-Malone said, is that Fernandez is an even better coach.
“She’s just a winner,” Ball-Malone said. “I kind of just want to rub up on her or something to get that mojo because she’s got it. Her attention to detail, her belief in the smallest things, that’s why she is so good at what she does.”
It’s no wonder then why so many people, regardless of team affiliation, want to see UCLA’s coaches in person.
If you’re a part of the Bruins, you get to learn from people who have brought the school championships. And, if you’re trying to beat UCLA, there’s no better accomplishment than saying you beat Inouye-Perez and Fernandez’s record-breaking team.
“[Fernandez is] going to push you, and it might be uncomfortable, but dang it, you have no choice but to get better,” Ball-Malone said. “If you can get through her, you can get through anybody, and I’m going to learn from that so I can bring that to this program.”
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jordan Woolery nearly saved UCLA’s season Sunday night at the Women’s College World Series. She lined a single up the middle in the ninth inning off former teammate Kaitlyn Terry to score Rylee Slimp from second base and pull the Bruins within a run of Texas Tech.
But Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady replaced Terry in the circle and retired the final two batters, stranding Megan Grant at second in UCLA’s 8-7 season-ending loss.
Woolery, the nation’s RBIs leader, homered twice and drove in five runs for UCLA (53-10), which got nine innings and 181 pitches from workhorse Taylor Tinsley.
The Bruins struggled to gain traction against Terry, who joined Texas Tech following last season’s exit from the WCWS. Terry replaced Canady in the third inning and retired 10 of the first 11 batters she faced.
But in the seventh, UCLA scored three runs to force extra innings. Pinch-hitter Ramsey Suarez ignited the rally with a 270-foot home run to left field off Terry. Facing Canady, pinch-hitter Jazmine Leyva singled down the right-field line. Two batters later, Woolery blasted a 267-foot homer over the center-field wall to tie the score.
Despite the late heroics, it wasn’t enough to keep UCLA’s season alive. Texas Tech (59-8) will play Alabama (56-7) Monday at 4 p.m. PT.
Pitcher Violet Ascencio struck out 13 to lead Venice High to a 7-2 win over Eagle Rock in the City Section Division I softball championship game on Saturday.
Abilgail Ascencio had two doubles and finished with three hits.
Players held up a photo of the late Angelo Gasca, Venice’s football coach who also helped coach softball.
Division II
Arleta 11, Marshall 0: Naomi Tachin struck out four, walked none and led Arleta to the Division II title. Adriana Vasquez went four for four and Brenda Aguilar hit two doubles and finished with three RBIs.
Division IV
Franklin 17, Huntington Park 5: The Panthers, seeded No. 14, used their bats to become Division IV champions. Kamila Sanchez had three hits and five RBIs, including two doubles and a triple.
Southern Section
Division 4
Oxnard 3, Mission Viejo 1: Rachel Godoy hit a dramatic three-run home run in the fifth inning to lead Oxnard. Destinee Herrera threw a complete game.
Division 5
Irvine Northwood 11, Grace Brethren 1: Freshman Olivia Chen threw a two-hitter for Northwood, which went from missing the playoffs last season to Division 5 champions.
Division 3
Riverside Prep 4, Great Oak 3: Lila Morris threw a complete game, and Riverside Prep took advantage of two errors in the fifth inning to win the Division 3 title. Graclyn Necochea struck out 10 for Great Oak.
Division 8
Arroyo Valley 8, San Bernardino 5: Jaylin Casillas contributed three hits and two RBIs for Arroyo Valley. Aylssa Arredondo had four RBIs for San Bernardino.
The Granada Hills and Carson softball programs know each other so well they might as well put on their MaxPreps schedule before the season a date for their annual game to decide the City Section Open Division championship.
It’s happening for a fourth consecutive season Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Legacy High in South Gate. Last season, Granada Hills ended a three-game losing streak to the Colts.
On Wednesday, both teams won their semifinal games. Granada Hills’ No. 1 and No. 2 batters in the lineup, Elysse Diaz and Zoe Justman, had big games in a 12-9 win over San Pedro. They combined to go five for eight with five RBIs. Justman had a home run. Gina Evangelista hit an inside-the-park grand slam.
San Pedro scored five runs in the seventh to give the Highlanders a little scare.
At Carson, the Colts came away with a 12-2 semifinal win over Birmingham. Sophomore Anaiyah Popoalii had a home run, double and three RBIs. Olivia Lomeli went three for four with three RBIs. Pitcher Isabella Campos threw a complete game.
“I have seen Rylee Slimp just play big from travel ball to big moments in high school, and she came here to play on this big stage,” Inouye-Perez said. “I think her biggest asset, besides the fact that she can hit a home run, is that she can hit to all areas of the field, and she has such a good eye.
“I think she wanted to be in this position this year. She wanted to be the leadoff and be an impact player.”
The Austin, Texas, native is hitting .428 with 16 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 94 runs. Slimp broke Natasha Watley’s UCLA single-season runs record of 75, set in 2001, with 94 runs so far this season.
The following interview with Slimp ahead of the Bruins’ WCWS opener against No. 1 seed Alabama on Thursday has been edited for length and clarity.
How do you feel about being recognized by national media, including ESPN, for your role in UCLA’s a lineup?
Slimp: It’s surreal. We’ve broken records and accomplished so much as an offense this year. I’m grateful to be the leadoff and for all of the publicity we’re receiving.
How did you get started playing softball?
Slimp: I played T-ball. My dad gave me lessons and stuff on hitting when I was four. My dad was the one who taught me everything from a young age and kind of grew with me through the sport, and as I got older.
What inspired you to continue to work at softball so that you can compete at UCLA?
Slimp: It was this dream I had when I was a little girl, just starting off playing. I always looked up to the girls playing in the College World Series, and I knew that was a dream of mine very early on.
What was your first contact with the UCLA coaching staff while you were in high school and how did that impact your decision to join the Bruins?
Slimp: Coach Lisa [Fernandez] saw me play at a tournament the summer of my sophomore year. It was right before Sept. 1st and all of that big recruiting stuff. So it happened pretty late in the process with UCLA for me. Coach Lisa saw me play a tournament, and then a few days later, I was out of camp and it kind of took off after that. … I canceled all the other [visits] that I had, and I was like, ‘Oh, I know that this is the place for me, like, I don’t want to be anywhere else.’
What has helped the younger players on this year’s team stay calm under pressure?
Slimp: We do have a new team. We have 10 returners and 10 new Bruins. So we are pretty young as a team. … I think the upperclassmen like Taylor [Tinsley] and Megan [Grant], the seniors, do a good job of sharing their wisdom and helping us grow.
What is something they have taught you?
Slimp: I think, honestly, that the game isn’t as deep as we make it. I think sometimes, as underclassmen, we can make it the end of the world if we go 0 for 3 in a game or we have a bad outing. … The game is meant to be fun, and you’re supposed to enjoy it.
What’s the story behind the Michael Jackson glove the team has been passing around the dugout and featuring on social media?
Slimp: We went and saw the [Michael Jackson] movie as a team. I think 12 of us went, something like that, and since then we’ve just been obsessed with all things Michael Jackson. … We got the gloves. We are doing the second base [celebrations.] We are all things Michael Jackson right now after that movie.
Who bought the glove?
Slimp: That’s a good question because I actually don’t know the answer. I think most of our props and stuff just pop up. I think the [stress ball in the shape of] butter started with [Tinsley] because she’s really into stress balls. … But the home run boxing gloves came from Coach Lisa [Fernandez] and her boxing analogy.
We have a team motto that we’re like boxers. … That’s been the vibe and motto of this team this year to symbolize that. … One of the girl’s sisters bedazzled them, so they are wearing bedazzled boxing gloves that we put around our necks, whoever hits a home run.
Being from Texas, do you have an opinion on what’s better — Whataburger or In-n-Out?
Slimp: I need to be careful how I answer this question because I need to know my audience here, but y’all take your In-N-Out very seriously. I do have to say, I do like In-N-Out more.
What about Texas tacos versus Los Angeles tacos?
Slimp: Oh, yeah, I can talk tacos. The tacos in Texas are definitely better because we have flour tortillas, and apparently, flour tortillas aren’t a thing in California.
What is your go-to taco?
Slimp: I love steak fajita with flour tortilla, of course, cheese, and guac. And honestly, that’s it. I’m pretty simple.
The number of high school baseball and softball teams in Southern California not wanting to participate in the regional playoffs next week continues to grow. The question is: Next season, when there are state championships held in the two sports, will there be fewer opt outs?
“I would think so,” said Brian Seymour, associate executive director of the CIF.
The City Section Open Division baseball champion, Birmingham, and runner-up, El Camino Real, both passed on the regional playoffs. Three of the four Division 1 semifinalists — Norco, Harvard-Westlake and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame — also opted out. In Southern Section softball, the two Division 1 finalists, JSerra and La Mirada, are ending their seasons on Friday.
These are softball opt outs for state playoffs so far:
JSerra Catholic Cathedral City Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks Lutheran/Orange Northwood La Mirada Pacifica/Garden Grove San Clemente Warren Elsinore Kennedy ML King
Travel ball begins in June, and that’s the big roadblock for softball, with many coaches and players participating. Next season, the state championships would be held the first weekend of June, the same dates as this year’s regional finals, so solving the softball dilemma remains uncertain.
The following Southern Section baseball teams have opted out for next week’s state playoffs. Trinity Classical Academy, Harvard-Westlake, Norco, Crossroads Christian, Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks, Agoura.
“We’ve heard the comment from a number of different coaches [that] once we go to a state tournament, they were more inclined to make it work,” Seymour said. “Softball may take a little longer to come around. The power of representing your community and school is a little bit more than playing for your fifth travel team.”
But players invest thousands of dollars in club softball and coaches make good summer money in travel ball.
Seymour said multiple sites are under consideration in Southern California and Northern California to host the state championships.
He’s hopeful both will catch on like swimming did when the CIF first had state championships.
“We have everybody in swimming now, where the first year was hit and miss,” he said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The Southern Section finalized its championship schedule for softball this week, and the Division 1 final between La Mirada and JSerra will take place Friday at 7 p.m. at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.
La Mirada is 26-4 and will be facing JSerra pitcher Liliana Escobar, the best in the Southland. La Mirada lost to JSerra 5-2 on March 7. The Matadores have been led by Riley Hilliard, who’s hitting .577 with 10 home runs.
JSerra (24-8), which began the school year winning the Southern Section flag football championship, is trying to end the year on top behind the arm of Escobar, who has 252 strikeouts in 146 innings. The top hitter has been sophomore catcher Annabel Raftery.
The Division 2 final will match Mater Dei against Whittier Christian on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Southern Section is waiting for the baseball semifinals to be played on Tuesday before announcing dates and times. The only certainty is the Division 1 final will be played on Friday at 7 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton unless either of the finalists has a scheduling issue on that date.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
If there’s one thing in American sports that’s going to get people to sit up, lean forward and engage, it’s the home run. We all dig the long ball.
If anything can get someone to run home and turn on a softball game, it’s a big-time slugger from a big-time school mashing homers like nobody before.
Heard about Grant? She’s the UCLA softball player who’s hit an NCAA-record 40 home runs (so far) this season.
UCLA senior Megan Grant leans over and holds her helmet between pitches during a super regional game against UCF on Friday at Easton Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Forty! In 147 at-bats! That’s a home run every 3.68 at-bats!
If you’re wondering, Mark McGwire hit a home run every 7.3 at-bats in 1998, the year he finished with 70. And Barry Bonds went deep every 6.52 at-bats in 2001, when he hit his MLB-record 73 home runs.
Whenever she gets asked about her historic home runs, the red-hot, red-haired hitter is like, shucks: “I mean, it’s incredible,” she said. “I’m just honestly blessed to be able to say the number 40. But, yeah, that’s all I can say.”
She just wants to be thought of as a hard worker and a good teammate. But what Grant is going to be remembered for most is as the founding member of softball’s 40-home run club.
Her 40th home run came in her 58th game this season and on her seventh career grand slam — Grant Slam? — in the Bruins’ NCAA regional final victory over South Carolina last weekend.
Forty, a round number of round-trippers with a ring to it. And a sweet echo coming so soon after the Bruins women’s basketball team won its first NCAA championship, history to which Grant also contributed as a reserve before softball beckoned.
Side quest completed, the left-handed-hitting senior stepped back into the box to help the Bruins chase a 13th championship on the softball field.
Grant is soaking up the experience, and encouraging her younger teammates to, too: “‘Enjoy this, it’s so rare to be here’ … and, ‘Hey, we can do this, we can do it together.’”
A .469 hitter, she leads the nation in slugging percentage (1.333), on-base percentage (.650) and OPS (1.983). She bats second in UCLA’s NCAA record-breaking lineup that shattered Oklahoma’s 25-year-old previous record of 160 home runs. UCLA hit seven home runs during two super regional wins against Central Florida this weekend to push that record to 200.
With a 9-1 win Friday and a 14-4 victory Saturday, the Bruins advanced to the Women’s College World Series for the 34th time and for the third time in Grant’s astounding tenure.
UCLA senior Megan Grant (43) high-fives teammates during a win over UCF Friday at Easton Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Tip your helmet and toss Grant her bouquets — flower power — because there she is popping up on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and on the MLB Network. One of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, she’s got guys discussing her exploits on a dad pod otherwise dedicated to NBA takes. Fans dressed up as chefs as a tribute to her nickname, “Chef Megan.”
Star power, power broker. Grant is a lift-all-boats attraction for a sport that’s been steadily carving out space in the public consciousness.
All over the country, college softball teams have been breaking attendance records. And ratings are up, up, up; ESPN said this has been its most-watched college softball regular season since 2009, with games averaging 292,000 viewers. The MLB-backed Athletes Unlimited Softball League is entering Season 2; Grant was drafted No. 4 overall by the Portland Cascade.
“People will pay to see her play,” said Lisa Fernandez, UCLA softball legend and associate head coach.
Fernandez also is the general manager of the AUSL’s Utah Talons, for whom UCLA’s other senior slugger Jordan Woolery will play this summer.
The Bruins imported the latest in a lineage of Bay Area dynamic duos. The Oakland Athletics had the Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire; the Golden State Warriors gave us the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. And now UCLA has Walnut Creek’s Woolery and Grant, of San Bruno — the Bruin Bombers.
They’re the first teammates in NCAA history to each hit 30-plus homers in the same season, with 74 between them.
And, yes, chefs! Like Curry before her, Grant is cookin’ the competition, breaking the 31-year-old NCAA single-season home run record with No. 38 on May 9 against Nebraska.
Included among the record wreckage she’s leaving in her wake: Stacey Nuveman’s UCLA single-season record of 31 homers. For her career, Grant needs only one more to tie Nuveman’s Bruins record of 90.
But Grant’s got to get a pitch to hit first. After UCF walked her six times in two games, she has 74 walks this season and 69 base hits. She also has 13 hit by pitches.
“It’s very similar to Barry Bonds, right?” Fernandez said. “It’s either a walk or a home run. Like, you pick.”
The tale of the tape measure behind Grant’s greatness is the down-to-the inch precision of her preparation. The Mamba-esque magic is in the embracing behind-the-scenes monotony, powering through it.
“She was the hardest worker, always working. Never enough,” said Ray McDonald, Grant’s coach at the San Mateo-based Warrior Softball Academy since she was that kid with an electric, bat-busting swing. “It was eating and sleeping, hitting, and you know, shower. The essentials.”
“When we recruited her, Ray, he was like, ‘Coach, you better be ready to work,’” said Fernandez. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, I know how to work.’ And [then] I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, now I understand how people must have felt when I played.’
“There is an aspect of this game that people don’t realize unless you are in it. To be great, there’s a — for lack of a better word — monotony to the process. Can you master the same move over and over again? And she’s committed to it. To her drills, to the process, to her routine, all of it. There’s a lot of people who are committed to it when they’re not doing well: ‘Oh, got to get back to my drills.’ She has been committed to that process from the day she stepped on campus.”
The process includes working on her mind. That deep, deep breath before every deep, deep home run is a way to stay centered. To stay in the moment — and it is a moment.
For softball. For UCLA. For Grant, who, with all this power and responsibility, is hitting it out of the park.
UCLA captured its ticket to the Women’s College World Series, winning a best-of-three super regional over Central Florida with a 14-4 victory Saturday night at Easton Stadium. The Bruins also set a new NCAA record for WCWS appearances, reaching the double-elimination tournament in Oklahoma City 34 times.
Facing elimination, UCF threw five total pitchers at the Bruins’ lineup. None could silence UCLA’s bats.
While Megan Grant had another quiet night, working three walks, her presence in the box was enough to drive in a run. The right fielder worked a full count in the third inning. With the bases loaded, she hit a sac-fly to far right field. Only feet separated her from setting a new program career home-run record. The accolade still belongs to Stacey Nuveman (90 home runs).
A batter later, shortstop Aleena Garcia hit an RBI-single that bounced off the top of Evan’s glove to give UCLA the lead. Catcher Alexis Ramirez added a run to the momentum an inning later when she homered over the left field wall.
Meanwhile UCF’s starter Tori Payne consistently worked from behind the count and walked five batters. The righty’s pitch count topped 92 by the fifth inning. UCF coach Cindy Ball-Malone pulled Payne when she loaded the bases and gave up a run by hitting a pitcher.
Reliever Lena Elkins couldn’t work out of the jam without run damage. Ramirez doubled down the left field line, scoring two. The Bruins left two on base.
While UCLA didn’t fall behind after tying the score in the third inning, UCF challenged the Bruins’ ace Taylor Tinsley and the defense more than on Friday.
In the first, Tinsley left one bad pitch too far into the strike zone, and the Knights’ shortstop Aubrey Evans sent the ball flying over the center field wall. Tinsley then took a deep breath and continued. She struck out the next batter, and got a quick groundout to third base. When Tinsley ended the inning on a swinging strikeout, she ripped off her mask and screamed as her teammates poured out the dugout to give her high fives.
Tinsley held the Knights hitless until the fourth inning, where she gave up three singles. Kaniya Bragg saved the Bruins from any opposing runs when she trapped Sierra Humphreys’ single in the clay before it could reach the grass.
While Tinsley had struggled to find the zone that inning, she stranded the runners, striking out one batter and eliciting a groundout to short.
Her struggles to find the zone reappeared in the fifth, though she wasn’t the only one facing challenges. With two runners on the base, Ramirez tried to throw out a runner stealing second, but the ball slipped away from Bragg and trickled into the outfield grass. One runner scored and another advanced to third, later scoring on a foul out to left field.
Despite having two outs, Tinsley gave up two singles and an equal number of walks, loading the bases and giving up another run. Central Florida’s Coco Jaimes flew out to left to end the inning, but the Knights had scored three to close UCLA’s lead to 6-4.
UCF couldn’t enjoy the beginnings of a comeback for long. Garcia smashed a three-run homer over the right field wall in the sixth inning. Woolery tacked on an extra run on an RBI-double in the seventh and Garcia put the final nail in the coffin when she hit another three-run homer to nearly the same spot. Garcia’s seven RBIs are the most in a single game in program history. Bre Alejandre hit the final home run of the night, extending the Bruins’ single-season NCAA-record setting home run total to 200. With no one left to pitch, Ball-Malone put Payne back on the mound and she finished the game for the Knights.
Tinsley finished the game with 11 strikeouts, four earned runs, three walks and nine hits, marking her 24th complete game of the season and 32nd victory.
UCLA will play Alabama in the first game of the WCWS on Thursday.
It will be JSerra taking on La Mirada for the Southern Section Division 1 softball championship next weekend in Irvine after both teams won their semifinal games on Saturday.
JSerra, behind 14 strikeouts from Liliana Escobar, defeated No. 2-seed Norco 2-0 to advance to its first championship game. Annabel Raftery hit a solo home run and Magenta De Arte added an RBI single.
Alison Ortega threw a complete game with seven strikeouts in La Mirada’s 5-1 win over La Habra. Freshman Rylee Thurmond had three hits.
Whittier Christian 11, St. Paul 8: A grand slam by Danni Lopez in the seventh powered the Heralds to victory in a Division 2 semifinal game. Whittier Christian will face Mater Dei in the final.
Mater Dei 4, San Clemente 2: Tulutululelei Salue hit a two-run home run and Aly Carrillo added a solo home run for the Monarchs in a Division 2 semifinal.
Great Oak 4, North Torrance 3: Regan Spillers delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning in a Division 3 semifinal. Isabella Paun finished with three hits. Great Oak will face Riverside Prep, a 4-2 winner over Dos Pueblos.
Oxnard 1, Monrovia 0: Sophomore Destinee Herrera threw the shutout, striking out eight with no walks, in a Division 4 semifinal. Oxnard will face Mission Viejo, a 5-3 winner over Burbank Burroughs.
UCLA claimed the first of a best-of-three super regional over Central Florida with a 9-1 run-rule win Friday at Easton Stadium, putting the Bruins one win away from reaching the Women’s College World Series.
Freshman infielder Bri Alejandre squared up and smashed a home run over the center-field wall to give UCLA the lead in the second inning. She tied the Big Ten freshman home-run record with her 23rd of the season.
“You don’t want this heat,” one fan yelled from behind home plate. The Bruins, though, were just getting started.
UCF struggled to find answers to match UCLA’s offensive firepower. Three Knights pitchers tried in vain as the Bruins diced up the diamond even though UCF walked UCLA and NCAA home-run leader Megan Grant three times.
Ava Stuewe ended her night in the fourth inning after she walked one Bruin and hit another. But her replacement, sophomore Isabella Vega, couldn’t find her footing, either.
UCLA strung together a sacrifice bunt and an RBI-ground out to score one run. Ramsey Suarez sliced a double down the left-field line as the ball landed less than a foot into fair territory.
Second baseman Kaniya Bragg’s three-run home run put UCLA up by five in the fifth inning. And Rylee Slimp ended the game with a three-run homer.
Yet, UCLA wasn’t perfect. The Bruins left the bases loaded when UCF’s Sierra Humphreys made a diving catch to end the fourth.
The Knights clawed back a run when Humphrey, the first batter of the fifth inning, homered to left. The hit was a small smudge on Bruins ace Taylor Tinsley’s line, finishing with two strikeouts and three hits across the five innings.
She looked shaky earlier in the game when she worked herself into a 3-2 count during the Knights’ first at-bat of the super regionals. As she took a moment to breathe, staring out at the blue wall, center fielder Jolyna Lamar nodded her head three times.
Tinsley then pitched three hitless innings before UCF’s Aubrey Evans doubled off to right in the fourth. Evans ran to third on a wild pitch, but Tinsley worked out of the jam with a groundout that she fielded herself and a lineout to Garcia at shortstop.
UCLA and UCF will play Game 2 Saturday at 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN. If the Bruins win, they advance to the WCWS. If they lose, the teams play again Sunday for the WCWS bid.
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS THURSDAY’S RESULTS Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION #4 San Pedro 13, #5 El Camino Real 2 #3 Birmingham 6, #6 Wilmington Banning 5 #2 Carson at #7 Legacy
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE (Games at 3 p.m. unless noted) Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION #8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
DIVISION I #9 San Fernando at #1 Venice #5 Chavez at #4 Chatsworth #6 Eagle Rock at #3 Port of LA #10 Verdugo Hills at #2 Marquez
DIVISION II #9 Northridge Academy at #1 LA Marshall #20 Cleveland at #5 Sylmar #19 North Hollywood at #6 Arleta #18 Taft at #10 Sun Valley Poly
DIVISION III #16 Van Nuys at #9 Palisades #5 South East at #4 Maywood Academy #14 VAAS at #11 Westchester #15 Reseda at #7 LACES
DIVISION IV #16 Vaughn at #9 Smidt Tech #12 Downtown Magnets at #4 Huntington Park #14 Franklin at #11 Bernstein #18 Diego Rivera at #7 CALS Early College
Note: Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
DIVISION 1 La Habra 11, Orange Lutheran 8 Etiwanda at La Mirada, Thursday JSerra 1, Garden Grove Pacifica 0 Norco 8, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0
DIVISION 2 Whittier Christian 13, Bonita 1 St. Paul 8, Lakewood St. Joseph 7 San Clemente 9, Huntington Beach 7 Mater Dei 11, Vista Murrieta 8
DIVISION 3 Great Oak 10, Edison 5 North Torrance 4, San Juan Hills 3 Riverside Prep 7, La Serna 2 Dos Pueblos 7, Villa Park 6
DIVISION 4 Oxnard 5, St. Bonaventure 4 Monrovia 4, Mira Costa 0 Mission Viejo 14, Oak Hills 6 Burbank Burroughs 7, Ramona 2
DIVISION 5 Patriot 10, Santa Clara 3 Grace 6, Shadow Hills 5 Covina 8, Irvine University 1 Northwood 5, Santa Monica 4
DIVISION 6 Irvine 18, Heritage 7 Granite Hills 15, St. Genevieve 4 Sierra Vista at Hesperia Christian, Thursday Arroyo 8, San Jacinto 3
DIVISION 7 Ramona Convent 10, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 7 Faith Baptist 10, Riverside Notre Dame 8 Cathedral City 2, Victor Valley 0 Edgewood 8, Culver City 6
DIVISION 8 San Bernardino 13, Avalon 0 Workman 19, Cobalt 6 Capistrano Valley Christian 13, Bell Gardens 6 Arroyo Valley vs. Banning, Thursday
Note: Semifinals May 23; Finals May 28-30 at Bill Barber Memorial Park, Irvine.
DIVISION II #16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6 #20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2 #10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0 #18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III #16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2 #20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3 #14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0 #15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV #16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33 #20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7 #14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7 #18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE (Games at 3 p.m. unless noted) First Round
DIVISION I #16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice #9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo #12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez #13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth #14 LA University at #3 Port of LA #11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock #10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield #15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II #16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall #9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez #12 Fremont at #5 Symar #20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne #19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt #11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta #10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate #18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III #16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell #9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood #12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East #20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy #14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES #11 Westchester at #6 Torres #10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES #15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV #16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson #9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine #12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value #20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park #14 Franklin at #3 Santee #11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo #10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College #18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (Games at 3 p.m. unless noted) Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION #8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills #5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro #6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham #7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds;Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
