{"id":317230,"date":"2026-06-01T06:01:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T06:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/317230\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T06:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T06:01:16","slug":"ucla-softball-eliminated-from-wcws-with-loss-to-texas-tech-in-extras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/317230\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA softball eliminated from WCWS with loss to Texas Tech in extras"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was updated May 31 at 9:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

Your past can come back to haunt you.<\/p>\n

For the Bruins, that past was former Bruin-turned-Red Raider, Kaitlyn Terry.<\/p>\n

And the Bruins\u2019 powerful bats could not overcome the Red Raiders\u2019 pitching.<\/p>\n

No. 8 seed UCLA softball (53-10, 20-4 Big Ten) was eliminated by No. 11 seed Texas Tech (59-8, 21-3 Big 12) in an 8-7, nine-inning contest Sunday evening in the Women\u2019s College World Series at Devon Park. UCLA overcame a 6-3 deficit in the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings but could not surmount an 8-6 margin in the ninth.<\/p>\n

The game was tied 3-3 when Terry first entered the circle in the bottom of the third. Terry \u2013 who had seven strikeouts and allowed two earned runs \u2013 stayed in the circle until the bottom of the seventh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And she helped Texas Tech take the lead at the plate in the top of the ninth, with an RBI double.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Texas Tech pitcher\/utility Kaitlyn Terry high-fives her teammates as she heads into the Red Raider dugout. The former Bruin threw five innings against the Bruin lineup, striking out seven opposing batters. She also recorded a crucial one-run double to give the Red Raiders the lead in the ninth inning, an advantage they did not forfeit in the bottom half of the ultimate frame. (Presley Liu\/Daily Bruin staff)<\/p>\n

In the bottom of the seventh, Terry gave up a homer to redshirt junior pinch hitter Ramsey Suarez, who hammered her first home run of the WCWS. Coach Gerry Glasco pulled Terry \u2013 swapping his pitchers back and forth as he did in the NCAA super regional.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s staying locked in, knowing that at any time either of us can go back in, and knowing that (we\u2019re) going to have (each other\u2019s) back no matter who\u2019s in,\u201d Terry said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NiJaree Canady, a 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 3 Finalist, entered the game and immediately allowed a single. While she limited senior utility Megan Grant to a flyout, she could not stop the second Bruin Bomber.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senior infielder Jordan Woolery strode to the plate smiling, with two outs and UCLA\u2019s season on the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Woolery blasted the second pitch she saw high into the Oklahoma City skies for her second two-run blast of the day to tie the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Terry returned to the game to close out the inning and keep the game tied.<\/p>\n

But in the bottom of the ninth, after Woolery recorded her fifth RBI of the game on a single against Terry, Canady reentered the game with runners on first and second and one out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore our last at-bat, I told Meg, \u2018We\u2019re made for this.\u2019 I knew it was going to come down to us, and I\u2019m grateful to be able to have the opportunity to play with her and be able to be together, especially in that last moment. It was very poetic,\u201d Woolery said. \u201cI knew that we were going to be able to end the way we wanted to end.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Bruins trailing 8-7, Canady induced a flyout and ended the game with a blistering fastball that struck out freshman infielder Bri Alejandre.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp (left) stands up after sliding to home plate as Terry (right) stands next to her. Slimp recorded two hits, including a double that slipped past Terry in left field, and she reached home twice in the elimination game. The Georgetown, Texas, local ended the season with 99 runs scored, a UCLA program record. (Presley Liu\/Daily Bruin staff)<\/p>\n

And without Terry \u2013 who spent her first two years in Westwood \u2013 on their side, the Bruins relied solely on their ace.<\/p>\n

Senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley threw 181 pitches, surpassing UCLA alumnus Rachel Garcia\u2019s 179 pitches in the 2019 WCWS. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, local notched seven strikeouts, six walks and 14 hits allowed. The Bruins recorded 10 hits of their own and were struck out a season-high 14 times.<\/p>\n

Tinsley allowed hits to the outfield on her first two pitches, allowing the Red Raiders to score their first run of the game.<\/p>\n

In the bottom half of the frame, Woolery \u2013 with just her second longball of the NCAA tournament \u2013 blasted a two-run home run to take the lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Texas Tech tied it up with a home run in the second. Back-to-back singles and two walks gave the Red Raiders a 3-2 lead.<\/p>\n

Terry was pulled out of the outfield to warm up in the bullpen after sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp reached second on a hit that got past the pitcher\/utility in left field in the bottom of the third.<\/p>\n

While Canady struck out Grant for just her 13th time this season, she later hit a second batter in a row to knot the score.<\/p>\n

Terry came in to shore things up with just one out and the bases loaded. She earned a strikeout and induced a flyout to get out of the third inning.<\/p>\n

Terry recorded three strikeouts and six straight outs to retire her former teammates across her next two innings in the circle.<\/p>\n

The Red Raiders built their lead to 5-3 as Tinsley gave up another homer. The Bruin ace subsequently loaded the bases with one out, and a sacrifice fly plated a sixth run in the sixth frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Woolery (right) yells as she approaches home plate where her teammates (left) wait to celebrate with her. Woolery notched her first two four-baggers of the 2026 WCWS in UCLA\u2019s extra-inning loss to Texas Tech, playing a team-high five runners, which was the most RBIs any Bruin recorded throughout the squad\u2019s Oklahoma City stint. Woolery finished her final UCLA campaign with 36 home runs and 117 RBIs. (Presley Liu\/Daily Bruin staff)<\/p>\n

Pinch hitting to kickstart the bottom of the seventh, Suarez hit a 270-foot home run far into the outfield stands, which ended Terry\u2019s first stint in the circle \u2013 prompting Canady to reenter.<\/p>\n

Another pinch hitter, freshman Jazmine Leyva, stepped into the box for her 13th at-bat of the season, and she blooped the ball over the first baseman and into right field to reach first base with just her fifth hit of the year.<\/p>\n

Slimp struck out, making way for Grant at the plate \u2013 representing the tying run. But Grant flew out, making way for Woolery\u2019s eventual bases-clearing blast with two outs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Terry reentered, and the pitcher\/utility ended the seventh inning to set up extra innings.<\/p>\n

In extra innings, the Bruins could not seal the deal \u2013 ending their record-setting season, along with the three Bruin seniors\u2019 Westwood careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I wanted was them to have a great senior year. Yes, we wanted to be national champions, 100%, but we didn\u2019t quit,\u201d Inouye-Perez said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This post was updated May 31 at 9:15 p.m. Your past can come back to haunt you. For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-317230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}