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.
Taylor Tinsley has pitched 203 innings and accounted for 30 of UCLA’s 50 wins this season.
As one of three star veterans on a team featuring younger and less experienced talent, Tinsley has embraced a heavy workload and the inevitable miscues that can go along with it.
She opened NCAA tournament play surrendering 10 runs and relied on her teammates to rally for a walk-off win, but Tinsley rebounded with grace while earning back-to-back victories that propelled UCLA to a regional win.
Tinsley is quick to deflect praise to her teammates, especially record-setting hitters Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery.
UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez struggled to contain her emotions when asked about the influence Tinsley had on the program after Sunday’s win, so Grant filled in.
“Everything Taylor said about us as a team, we try to reciprocate it back to her,” Grant said. “We know what she is doing for us. She is sacrificing everything for this team, and especially on offense, we try to give back as much as possible.”
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Tinsley, who has led the Bruins in ERA for three consecutive seasons, earned back-to-back All-Big Ten honors and helped lead UCLA to the Women’s College World Series last season.
She has spent four years at UCLA competing alongside hyper-competitive, intense athletes such as Maya Brady, niece of NFL legend Tom Brady, and more light-hearted players, including Woolery and Grant, who bring joy and laughter to their work. All her teammates, of course, expect to win.
“This year, our team is fun and relaxed; we like to be goofy, ” Tinsley said.
Tinsley credits the team for her success on the mound. She said one of her proudest moments was watching Grant and Woolery break UCLA and NCAA hitting records. Taylor, Grant and Woolery were selected in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft.
Before they turn pro, the seniors are trying to win a national championship.
“I definitely think we’ve left our mark on this program in general,” Tinsley said. “We entered as freshmen with a legendary senior class. We had Megan Framo, Aaliyah Jordan, and I even got to play with Maya Brady for two years, so I learned a lot from them.”
The alumni, some of whom attended the Bruins’ NCAA regional-clinching win over South Carolina on Sunday, still have an influence on her today.
Inouye-Perez said Tinsley has put the program on her back since her sophomore year. She inspires her teammates, including freshman pitcher Natalie Cable.
The pitchers are still learning, but their coach is pleased with their commitment to improving and learning from Tinsley.
“I am very fortunate that they have a positive attitude and work hard every day and are ready to do whatever they can to help the team,” Inouye-Perez said of the pitching rotation.
After Friday’s walk-off win over California Baptist, Inouye-Perez trusted Tinsley to shake off one very bad inning to pitch on Saturday and Sunday against South Carolina and she delivered.
Now the Bruins will host Central Florida, which upset regional host Florida State, for a super regional series starting Friday with a ticket to the Women’s College World Series on the line.
Tinsley said her training prepared her to let go of Friday’s game and play her best the rest of the weekend.
“It comes with pitching. Just taking one pitch at a time,” Tinsley said. “We are focused on where our feet are and not worried about the past or future.”
Baseball wraps up record-setting regular season
The No. 1 UCLA baseball team earned a 6-1 win over Washington on Saturday during the Bruins’ regular-season finale at Husky Ballpark, sealing a 2-1 series victory.
UCLA (48-6, 28-2 Big Ten) set a school record for regular-season wins, surpassing the 2019 team’s 47 victories.
The Bruins won every regular-season series and were the only team in the country to win at least two of three games every weekend. UCLA also set a school record for most conference wins.
Top MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky led UCLA with 21 home runs, while Will Gasparino smashed 19 and Mulivai Levu added 16. Roman Martin, meanwhile, led the Bruins with a .340 batting average.
Logan Reddemann (8-0), Michael Barnett (6-0) and Wylan Moss (5-1) pitched the most innings and contributed heavily to UCLA’s success.
The Bruins clinched the Big Ten tournament No. 1 seed and will open play Friday in Omaha, Neb.
Rice and Jaquez are thriving in WNBA
The Tempo’s Kiki Rice drives past the Sparks’ Kelsey Plum at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
All six of UCLA’s WNBA draft picks made opening day rosters and they’ve all earned game minutes.
Chicago Sky’s Gabriela Jaquez and Toronto Tempo’s Kiki Rice are off to the hottest starts.
Jaquez, however, had the bigger game Sunday. She is the only former Bruin to start every contest for her WNBA team so far this season. She had 20 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal in 32 minutes during the Sky’s (3-1) 86-71 road win over the potent Minnesota Lynx (2-2).
“Her teammates love her, the coaching staff loves her,” Marsh said of Jaquez. “It’s very hard for me to take her off the court, even when she’s gasping for air. She just finds ways to be effective on both ends of the floor.”
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