surrenders

The Bruin Bombers struck again Friday night, capping an epic rally during the opening round of the Los Angeles NCAA Regional.

The No. 7 UCLA softball team has been dubbed the Bruin Bombers because of the record-setting home runs they’ve been hitting this season. That clutch hitting helped the Bruins avoid a painful loss to open postseason play.

Shortstop Aleena Garcia became the hero on Friday night at Easton Stadium, hitting a sacrifice fly to right field with one out to in the seventh inning bring in Rylee Slimp and seal a 12-11 win over California Baptist (43-18). The Lancers held an 11-7 lead going into the sixth inning before UCLA mounted a comeback.

“It’s a credit to [associate head] coach Lisa [Fernandez,]” first baseman Jordan Woolery said when asked about the team’s nickname. “Her offensive coaching style has changed how we’ve all played this year, and you can see it [batters] one through nine.”

The fifth inning was a disaster for UCLA, nearly costing the Bruins the win.

UCLA gave up 10 runs, with a combination of defensive errors and starting pitcher Taylor Tinsley miscues allowing California Baptist to score eight runs. Brynne Nally replaced Tinsley on the mound and gave up a two-run home run before the Bruins finally stopped the Lancers’ onslaught.

“That was not a typical Taylor Tinsley game, and I know she will bounce back,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said.

The Bruins scored two runs in the sixth before Joylna Lamar hit a two-run home run in the seventh.

Slimp hit a single and California Baptist walked UCLA batting stars Megan Grant and Woolery to set up the game-winning fly ball Garcia hit to right field.

Inouye-Perez said she doesn’t like talking about Woolery and Grant much because she gets emotional, but she noted they bring calm to the Bruins’ lineup and help every player contribute to game-changing rallies.

“We already had our senior banquet and had a lot of tears,” Inouye-Perez said. “But taking the responsibility to be the ones to carry the team and come through in big moments, these two have done it together.”

The Bruins (48-8) will play South Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Easton Stadium. UCLA played the Gamecocks in February and won 5-4 on a walk-off. California Baptist will play Cal State Fullerton at 4:30 p.m.

Inouye-Perez said Friday night she had not yet decided who would pitch against the Gamecocks.

UCLA’s Rylee Slimp, right, and Bri Alejandre react after scoring the winning run against California Baptist on Friday at Easton Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Fullerton falls in opener

Cal State Fullerton held a one-run lead during the top of the the fifth inning, but South Carolina surged ahead and earned a 7-4 win on Friday to open NCAA regional play at UCLA’s Easton Stadium.

Left fielder Quincee Lilio hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Gamecocks a lead they didn’t surrender.

The Titans pulled ahead a 2-0 at the top of the second before the Gamecocks splashed a two-run home run in the bottom of the second to tie 2-2. Both teams scored on fielding errors and Cal State Fullerton scored off a single before South Carolina’s game-sealing home run.

May 9 (UPI) — A man accused of shooting and injuring three Syracuse, N.Y., police officers surrendered without incident Saturday after an hours-long standoff in the city, authorities said.

The suspect surrendered to police at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, nine hours after barricading himself in an apartment complex on the city’s south side, Syracuse Police Chief Chief Mark Rusin told reporters.

The man’s arrest came after he allegedly fired shots at officers who had formed a perimeter around the building, hitting two of them in the arm and another in the hand, the chief said.

“They’re in stable condition,” he said. “Most of the injuries are to their arms, to their hands, but they are in stable condition and they’re with their families right now, so the officers are okay.”

The incident began at 6:30 a.m. with a call to police about a man with a machete menacing people and a dog and escalated from there.

It drew a large cadre of responding units, including the Syracuse Police Department’s SWAT team, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police and the FBI.

Residents from the surrounding area were evacuated from their homes during the standoff.

Rusin said the suspect, who is expected to be arraigned on Sunday, could face attempted murder charges for shooting at the officers, as well as possible charges of assault and criminal weapons possession.

Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens praised the responders for their “outstanding coordination.

“This community should be very proud of the coordinated efforts of all of our law enforcement and emergency services teams to bring this situation to a close, which what is obviously — aside from our officers being harmed — the best scenario we can get with what we have.”