This post was updated May 28 at 7:20 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY – The home run giveth, and the home run taketh away.
The Bruins took the lead with back-to-back home runs and then lost the lead on Crimson Tide home runs in their OKC debut.
“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,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez.
No. 8 seed UCLA softball (52-9, 20-4 Big Ten) fell 6-3 to No. 1 seed Alabama (55-7, 19-5 SEC) in its first game at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City on Thursday night. UCLA will play Friday in the losers’ bracket against the loser between No. 4 seed Nebraska and No. 5 seed Arkansas.
Senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley allowed 10 hits, despite putting up five strikeouts and stranding seven on base. Tinsley’s last five runs allowed were all off home runs.
Crimson Tide pitcher Jocelyn Briski recorded nine strikeouts against the Bruin batters, one away from tying a UCLA season high.
“Briski did an incredible job of pitching through a little adversity and then stopping it,” said Alabama coach Patrick Murphy. “We knew they were going to get some hits. They have over 200 home runs now – that’s like four a game – so she limited the damage. She did not walk anybody. The other key stat for me was no errors on our defense.”
Senior infielder Jordan Woolery – who hadn’t recorded a strikeout since April 15 – went down swinging for the third out of the first, following a strikeout and a popup from sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp and senior utility Megan Grant, respectively.
For Alabama, two outfield singles put two aboard. While the Bruins got the next two batters out, the Crimson Tide sent a runner home with another outfield single to score the first run of the game.
The top of the third featured multiple stoppages for injury timeouts. Sophomore infielder Kaniya Bragg pulled up on the run to first base following the first UCLA hit of the game and was pinch run for.
Inouye-Perez said Bragg has been recovering from an injury she sustained prior to the WCWS.
“There was a little tweak in that first at-bat, and I pulled her out, and she came right back and said, ‘I can play,’” Inouye Perez said. “We had just taken a lead, so I said, ‘I’d rather wait and look more for a situational at-bat.’ Then she was able to get back out there. She’s going to be ready to play tomorrow.”
And Alabama first baseman Brooke Wells ran into her catcher’s mask while attempting to grab a foul ball, which bloodied her mouth.
But after two three-up, three-down innings where they were struck out a combined four times, the Bruins brought their power to OKC.
On back-to-back at-bats, Slimp and Grant both hit long balls, giving UCLA a 3-1 lead with its NCAA Division I leading 47th multi-home run inning of the season.
Grant’s 41st of the season and 90th of her career tied her with Bruin alumnus Stacey Nuveman for the most home runs across a UCLA career.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Crimson Tide put one aboard with a single that was fired right at Tinsley. Although she advanced around the base paths to third, Tinsley picked up her fourth strikeout of the game to strand the runner while maintaining the Bruins’ lead.
Put in at second base to replace the injured Bragg, sophomore utility Mia Phillips stepped into the position for just the second time this season. While she fumbled the first hit to her – losing out on a double play opportunity – she still rifled the ball quickly to first base for the second out of the inning.
After Tinsley walked a batter in the fifth inning, she gave up her first home run of the WCWS when the Crimson Tide evened the game 3-3.
Then in the bottom of the sixth inning, back-to-back singles put two on. Tinsley fired off a pitch that floated over the center of the zone to Wells, who lifted the ball out of the park to secure a 6-3 Alabama lead.
Inouye-Perez – who called the pitches for the Bruins’ ace – took credit for the home runs hit off Tinsley.
“I could have called a better game for Taylor. She competed and she gave everything she had, but at the end of the day, they outscored us,” Inouye-Perez said.
The Bruins put one on base in the seventh with a hit-by-pitch but could not muster a rally.
UCLA will play for its life Friday at 6:30 p.m.
“Anytime you get another opportunity to play a game, it’s a great day,” Inouye-Perez said. “If anything, it gives us an opportunity to settle in. We’re gaining experience as we go with some of these younger Bruins. Again, they want to play together as long as they can, so we’ll reset, recover and get back out there and compete, do what we love to do.”
