UCLA Softball Dominates Through Two College World Series Games

The Bruins survived a scare against Cal Baptist and dominated South Carolina to advance to the super regionals.

UCLA head softball coach Kelly Inouye-Perez speaks to the media during media day for the Women's College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May, 29, 2024. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2026 College Softball World Series is underway, and UCLA is looking to capture its 14th national championship and its first since 2019. The Bruins entered the tournament as a two seed after one of the program's strongest regular seasons in recent memory, finishing with a 45-7 overall record and a 20-4 mark in conference play.

Heading into the Big Ten Tournament as the three seed, UCLA made a deep run all the way to the championship game. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead through three innings against Nebraska, the Bruins' bats went quiet, and the Cornhuskers rallied for seven unanswered runs to win 7-2 and claim the Big Ten title.

Jun 5, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez heads back to the dugout during the sixth inning of the NCAA Women's College World Series game against the Florida Gators at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. UCLA won 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Despite that result, UCLA's body of work throughout the season was strong enough to earn a two seed in the College Softball World Series, where the Bruins are widely considered one of the favorites to cut down the nets. So far, UCLA has played two games in the Los Angeles Regional and won both, putting itself one victory away from advancing to the Super Regionals.

UCLA vs. California Baptist

UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez talks with an official during a Women's College World Series softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the UCLA Bruins at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Saturday, June 1, 2024. Oklahoma won 1-0. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

What looked like a comfortable evening for the Bruins turned into one of the more dramatic games of the regional. UCLA jumped out to a 7-1 lead through three innings and appeared to be in complete control. That changed quickly when Cal Baptist erupted for 10 runs in the fifth inning to take an 11-7 lead and send a stunned home crowd into silence.

The Bruins refused to fold. UCLA tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run home run by freshman Jolyna Lamar, then walked it off on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by redshirt freshman Aleena Garcia, which scored sophomore Rylee Slimp and sent the Bruins on to the next round.

UCLA vs. South Carolina

May 30, 2024; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez walks to the pitcher’s mound in the fifth inning against the Alabama Crimson Tide during a Women's College World Series softball game at Devon Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

In their second game of the regional, the Bruins faced seventh-seeded South Carolina, which was coming off a 7-4 victory against Cal State Fullerton and carried momentum into the matchup. The Gamecocks struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the early innings and showing they were not intimidated by the moment.

UCLA answered emphatically. The Bruins sent six runs across the plate in the bottom of the second inning, highlighted by a pair of two-run home runs that pushed their NCAA-record team home run total to 189 on the season. One of those home runs came from senior Megan Grant, who hit her 39th of the year to set a new NCAA single-season record and the 88th of her career, another record-setting milestone.

UCLA's Kelly Inouye-Perez speaks during a press conference at media and practice day for the Women's College World Series at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May, 28, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

From there, senior Taylor Tinsley took over. Coming back on short rest after carrying a heavy workload the night before, Tinsley delivered her 21st complete game of the season. She struck out six batters and shut out the Gamecocks over the final four innings to secure the victory and punch UCLA's ticket to the next round.