The UCLA softball team was expected to be a force when it left the highly competitive Pac-12 Conference and entered the Big Ten. And for the most part, it was.
Two losses to Northwestern in the final week of the conference season and a 2-0 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament championship game humbled the Bruins (49-10 overall, 17-5 Big Ten). And they’re embracing it.
“Our goal is to be able to keep our team right where they need to be, just playing our game,” head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “We call it effort and attitude – the basis of the Wooden Pyramid of Success, and it leads to competitive greatness. And that’s where we are. Working hard and loving what we do.”
UCLA can move on from its Big Ten Tournament championship game loss when it hosts its 11th straight NCAA Regional, which starts on Friday. Arizona State (35-19), San Diego State (37-17) and UC Santa Barbara (34-24) will also be playing at in the three-day, double-elimination event at Easton Stadium.
The Bruins, who are seeded ninth overall and first in the regional, will open against Big West Tournament champion UCSB on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Twenty-five mercy rule wins – a new program single-season record – made experience hard to come by for UCLA early in the season. It was gained quickly in the Big Ten championship game, especially for a pitching staff that lacks a true veteran.
Freshman Addisen Fisher got the start against Michigan due to how effective her drop ball was against the Wolverines earlier in the season. She gave up two runs and four hits in the first 5⅔ innings, but it was her dogged mentality that inspired her teammates.
“No matter what happens behind her, whether it’s on defense or what happens offensively, she doesn’t let any of that affect her,” junior pitcher Taylor Tinsley said. “She keeps throwing her game. As a freshman, that says a lot about her maturity level.”
Tinsley has become the de facto veteran pitcher on the team after logging 147⅓ total innings as a sophomore last season with 22 starts and 12 relief appearances. Freshman Kaitlyn Terry was talented enough to play, but she wasn’t fully healthy.
“Taylor threw everything to the point where she almost couldn’t throw towards the end (of the season),” Inouye-Perez said. “And now, she has a staff. That helps, but we’re a program that develops. We’re a program that likes to level people up. We’re a program that passes along leadership.”
Tinsley is also roommates with power hitter Jordan Woolery, who ranks fifth nationally in RBIs with 75 and is a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist.
They don’t see each other much at practice, but they will bounce scenarios off each other in their apartment. How would Tinsley throw to Woolery? How would Woolery attack a particular pitch from Tinsley?
“This year, I really worked on swinging at good pitches,” Woolery said. “I can get that pitcher perspective, or like what my plan would be off of hers and stuff like that. Sometimes we’re softball nerds in the apartment.”
Timely hitting will be important this weekend after the Bruins only manufactured three hits in the conference championship game. They’ll need to make the most of every opportunity as they journey towards a 33rd Women’s College World Series appearance.
“Opportunities have been lost, but experience has been gained,” Inouye-Perez said. “Talent alone is easy, but it’s your ability to be able to understand some of the little things that make a big difference in the end.”
UC Santa Barbara at UCLA
When: Friday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Easton Stadium
TV: ESPN+
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