UCLA softball cruises into NCAA Super Regional with win over UC Santa Barbara

LOS ANGELES — The quest for championship No. 13 continues.

Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning to highlight the UCLA softball team’s 12-1 rout of UC Santa Barbara in a game that ended via a five-inning mercy rule on Sunday at Easton Stadium in the Los Angeles Regional Final.

The No. 9-seeded Bruins, who improved to 52-10 overall, advance to the Super Regional round starting May 22 for a best-of-three series at No. 8 South Carolina. The winner will punch its proverbial ticket to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, May 29 through June 6. UCLA won its last NCAA title in 2019.

“They’re clearly on a mission,” Bruins head coach Kelly Inuye-Perez said of her players. Grant had a unique word for UCLA’s spirit.

“We just keep on being relentless. We talk about a word: ‘Indomitable,’” the junior first baseman said.

Grant is one of the most fearsome sluggers in the country. Her 25th home run of the season on Sunday catapulted her into a tie with Ohio State’s Jasmyn Burns for the most homers by a Big Ten Conference player in a single season all-time. The Buckeyes were eliminated from the Knoxville regional this weekend, which means Grant will be chasing history in Columbia, South Carolina, later this week.

“For our last (home) game, we wanted to make it the best one,” Grant said.

The Bruins, the most successful softball program in the sport’s history, made more history during these regionals.

UCLA opened the NCAA tournament with three straight mercy victories, a first in team history. The Bruins also outscored all three foes during this regional by 29 runs, the best figure in the Super Regional era. The Bruins’ previous best three-game postseason stretch was a plus-25 in 2022, and the best of any era is a plus-33 in 1999.

Grant and Woolery, a junior who patrols third base, share another UCLA record: The dynamic duo’s 61 RBIs in one season are the most by any two UCLA teammates in school history.“We’re the ‘Smash Bros!’ We’re the ‘Smash Brothers!’” Grant said with a laugh.

Well, just dub them the Smash Sisters.

Alexis Ramirez, a sophomore catcher, led the Bruins’ offense by going 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBIs. UCLA was technically the visiting team for this postseason outing.

Ramirez opened the floodgates with a two-run single to center field; Rylee Slimp scored the third run on Ramirez’s hit when UCSB catcher Delaina Ma’ae was unable to cleanly field a throw from the outfield. Kaniya Bragg added an RBI single to give the Bruins a commanding 4-0 lead through a half inning of action.

Jessica Clements, a grad student center fielder, hammered a towering solo home run beyond the right field fence to put the exclamation point and a 12-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Clements went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored as UCLA battered four Gaucho pitchers.

UCLA junior pitcher Taylor Tinsley was indomitable in the circle, registering six strikeouts with only three hits allowed and one run in four innings for her 14th win. Bruin senior Jada Cecil closed the door in the fifth inning.

Jo Evans, UCSB’s skipper, could only salute the mighty Bruins.

“This is a very good UCLA team. Offensively, they’re a powerhouse,” Evans said. “Today, our arms ran out of gas.”

Inuye-Perez took a moment to reflect minutes after the final out.

“Every year is different,” the Bruin coach said. “This leadership group is leading by example on and off the field. There’s great pride in the program.”

Santa Barbara, which earned its first two NCAA postseason wins during the regional this season, said goodbye to seven seniors. One of those seniors, Daryn Siegel of Westlake High, logged a pinch hit at bat in her final game in a Gaucho uniform.

“They certainly left the program better than they found it,” Evans said. “I’m so grateful I got to coach them.”

After the game, the UCSB players participated in a chant with their fans.

“This program is legit. What you see is real,” Evans said of the Gauchos. “You can see the enthusiasm and passion and love. All great programs have the foundation of love and respect. … We love to play the game. We love to play the sport.”