As part of UCLA’s softball senior day festivities, the mothers of Megan Grant, Jordan Woolery and Taylor Tinsley threw out ceremonial first pitches to their respective daughters.
“I’ll say like a 6.5 out of 10,” Tinsley, the Bruins’ ace, quipped of her mother’s effort. “She just had to short-hop me.”
As far as a sendoff for one of the top departing classes in school history, UCLA notched a perfect score.
All three seniors made major contributions during the No. 5 Bruins’ 11-3 five-inning, run-rule victory over No. 11 Oregon on Sunday at Easton Stadium.
Tinsley (26-5) pitched 2 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief after struggling the previous two days, when the Ducks won the first two games in the series to snap UCLA’s 20-game home winning streak.
Grant tallied two hits, including a double down the right field line.
Woolery made perhaps the most fitting contribution, smashing a two-run homer for a team that’s going to go down as the best bunch of bashers in school history. Grant has walloped a school-record 35 homers, Woolery has 33 and freshman infielder Bri Alejandre has 20.
“There’s magical moments that happen on senior day,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “It’s kind of crazy; it always kind of happens.”
Grant’s homer total trails only Oklahoma’s Kendall Wells, who has 36. They’re both in pursuit of the NCAA record of 37 set by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza in 1995.
The Bruins (45-7 overall, 20-4 Big Ten) belted four homers against the Ducks (40-11, 20-4), extending their school- and Big Ten-record total to 173. UCLA is tied with Oklahoma for the most homers in the nation after Rylee Slimp, Aleena Garcia and Sofia Mujica also went deep.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
