OKLAHOMA CITY — The UCLA softball team flexed its prodigious power again, but Alabama used a long ball of its own to top the Bruins in a Women’s College World Series opener on Thursday.
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Brooke Wells hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning and top-seeded Alabama rallied to beat eighth-seeded UCLA, 6-3, on Thursday night, putting the Bruins’ record-setting season in peril.
Alabama (55-7) will play Saturday against the winner of the Thursday nightcap between No. 4 seed Nebraska and fifth-seeded Arkansas. UCLA (52-9) will play an elimination game against the loser on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PT.
Kristen White and Jena Young had one-out singles off UCLA starter Taylor Tinsley before Wells homered for the 24th time to break a 3-3 tie.
“That was a tough game. They’re a tough opponent,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “You could see they hit two home runs, we hit two home runs, but the ability to come up with those timely hits with runners on obviously makes a difference.”
Young and Wells, who broke out of a 3-for-18 postseason slump, had singles leading off the first and Marlie Giles’ two-out base hit gave Alabama a 1-0 lead.
Megan Grant clubbed her NCAA-record 41st home run this season following a two-run shot by Rylee Slimp off Jocelyn Briski and UCLA grabbed a 3-1 lead in the third.
Grant tied Stacey Nuveman’s program record with the 90th homer of her career. She extended UCLA’s NCAA record to 202 homers this season. It was the Bruins’ 47th multi-homer inning.
“Amazing, right? Everyone expects it from her when you’re watching her play,” Inouye-Perez said of Grant. “There’s a lot of pressure on those athletes because people expect for them to do it all the time. For Megan to get another home run here at the World Series and do what she does, she’s in Disneyland when it comes to the memories of what she’s done here on this big stage.”
Young, who went 3 for 3, also drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and scored on Alexis Pupillo’s 20th homer to tie it at 3-3. Pupillo and Wells gave the Crimson Tide two 20-plus home run hitters for the first time in school history.
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Briski (24-3) entered with a 17-inning scoreless run in the postseason. She retired the first seven UCLA hitters, which hadn’t happened in any game this season. Briski allowed three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts.
“Yeah, we all knew coming in [Briski] was a competitor,” Grant said. “Just the scouting plan, she throws everything, she’s very versatile. She just had really good stuff today. We tried to compete as much as we could against her.”
Tinsley (32-7) surrendered six runs on 10 hits and became the first Bruin to make 16 straight starts on the mound since Rachel Garcia in 2018.
“I like the way we competed. I could have called a better game for Taylor,” Inouye-Perez said. “She competed. She gave everything she had. But at the end of the day, they outscored us. With that being said, the good news is that they’re pitching to Megan Grant. That’s exciting. I look forward to getting to the next game.”
UCLA lost for first time in 42 games this season when leading after four innings. The Bruins averaged 10.9 runs per game, nearly 1½ more than any of the other seven remaining teams.
“I mean, literally two pitches,” Inouye-Perez said. “That’s why I say we knew Taylor has been at her strength to be able to have both sides. We know she’s an up-ball pitcher. The last time we played them, they clearly had a plan of attack.”
“The energy was there. The attention to detail was there. We just weren’t able to execute on some of those pitches we were looking for.”
Now, it’s a quick turnaround before a must-win game.
“Anytime you get another opportunity to play another game, it’s a great day. If anything, it gives us an opportunity to settle in,” Inouye-Perez said. “We’re gaining experience as we go with some of these younger Bruins. Again, they want to play together as long as they can. We’ll reset, recover, and get back out there and compete, do what we love to do.”
UCLA is making its record 34th appearance in the WCWS, having won a record 12 national championships.
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