Friday, March 1
Fullerton, CA
12:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Michigan
L-r: Jordan Woolery and Sharlize Palacios
Photo by: Marie Goldfarb
No. 18 UCLA Softball Plays Five Games in Fullerton
February 29, 2024 | Softball
LOS ANGELES โ After going 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week, the No. 18 UCLA softball team will play five games at the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif. None of the Bruins' (7-5) games will be live streamed. Fans can follow along with live stats (uclalivestats.com) and updates on X (@UCLASoftball).
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UCLA begins play Friday with two games versus Michigan at 12 p.m. (PT) and No. 13 Florida at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Bruins go to battle with Weber State at 12 p.m. and DePaul at 2:30 p.m. UCLA closes out the weekend versus San Jose State Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
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Quick Hits
ยท UCLA is 7-5 on the season after a 4-1 week at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Feb. 23-25) and going 1-1 at the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational (Feb. 16).
ยท The Judi Garman Classic marks the Bruins' final portion of their tournament season schedule. After this week, UCLA begins Pac-12 Conference play with a three-game home series versus Utah from March 8-10.
ยท UCLA has gone a perfect 5-0 at the Judi Garman Classic in each of the last two seasons. The Bruins recorded a pair of run-rule victories at last year's edition of the tournament versus Cal Poly (W, 16-0 in five inn.) and Michigan (W, 8-0 in five inn.).
ยท Redshirt senior Maya Brady enters the week as UCLA's leader in batting average (.395), runs batted in (14), home runs (4), slugging percentage (.816) and runs scored (11). She has bat leadoff in each of UCLA's last nine games.
ยท In the circle, sophomore Taylor Tinsley is UCLA's leader in wins (3), ERA (2.76), innings pitched (45.2) and strikeouts (52).
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Key Notes About the Bruins
ยท The Bruins have returned seven key pieces from last season's batting lineup: redshirt seniors Maya Brady, Sharlize Palacios, Janelle Meoño and Seneca Curo, junior Savannah Pola and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. They return one arm from last season's pitching staff: sophomore Taylor Tinsley. UCLA has added seven incoming student-athletes with three transfers and four freshmen.
ยท Kelly Inouye-Perez enters her 18th season as the Bruins' head coach (The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach). Including her five years as a catcher on UCLA's roster, 13 years as an assistant coach and 17 years as head coach, the 2024 season marks Inouye-Perez's 36th consecutive season in Westwood. Known as "Coach I," Inouye-Perez is the only person to have won an NCAA Division I Softball Championship as both a player and coach. She led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships as head coach in 2010 and 2019. Inouye-Perez owns a 782-202-1 (.794) career record. Her .797 winning percentage entering the season ranks second among active head coaches and seventh all-time. UCLA's first two Hall-of-Fame head coaches, Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist, rank top two all-time in winning percentage.
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In The Polls
ยท UCLA enters the week ranked in both major polls. The Bruins check in at No. 18 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Poll and No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll. UCLA entered the 2024 season ranked 10th in the NFCA Preseason Poll for its lowest preseason ranking since 2014 (ranked 16th). This marks the 10th straight season the Bruins have been ranked in the top 10 of the NFCA Preseason Poll dating back to 2015. UCLA has been ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA Preseason Poll for 26 straight seasons (unranked heading into the 1998 season).
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ยท In addition, the Bruins have been slotted in the No. 2 spot in the final Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Feb. 1. Stanford was selected as the league's preseason favorite, garnering seven of nine first-place votes. Washington and Utah each received one first-place vote.
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Series Histories Versus Judi Garman Classic Opponents
ยท Michigan: UCLA owns a 13-11-1 record all-time against Michigan, dating back to 1984. Kelly Inouye-Perez owns a 4-7 record against the Wolverines. UCLA has won the last two meetings against Michigan, both coming at the Judi Garman Classic. The Bruins' last loss to the Wolverines came at the 2019 Judi Garman Classic in a 3-1 decision. Then-freshman Megan Grant led the offensive charge in last season's run rule over the Wolverines, going 4-for-4 and a triple shy of completing the cycle. Grant's home run was a solo shot to opposite field (left field).
ยท Florida: UCLA owns a 10-6 record all-time against Florida, dating back to 2002. Inouye-Perez is 8-6 against the Gators in her time as head coach. The Bruins have won five straight meetings with the Gators, last losing to Florida at the 2017 Judi Garman Classic. The two programs have met at the WCWS seven times, with UCLA holding a 4-3 advantage in Oklahoma City. In last year's meeting with then-No. 3 Florida at the 2023 Mary Nutter, redshirt senior pitcher Megan Faraimo tossed the seventh no-hitter of her career in a 10-0 run-rule victory. The performance marked the first time a Bruin pitcher no-hit a top-3 opponent since March 28, 2003 when Keira Goerl kept No. 2 Stanford out of the hit column. In 2022, UCLA run-ruled Florida, 8-0, in six innings at the WCWS thanks to a walk-off RBI single by then-freshman Savannah Pola.
ยท Weber State: UCLA owns a 10-1 record all-time against Weber State, dating back to 1980. The Wildcats defeated the Bruins in the first-ever matchup, 4-3, on March 21, 1980. The two programs last met at the 2022 Judi Garman Classic where the Bruins picked up a 9-1 run-rule victory. Maya Brady went 3-for-4 with an RBI single and RBI double in that game.
ยท DePaul: UCLA owns a 7-1 all-time record versus DePaul, dating back to 1993. This Saturday marks the first meeting between the two programs since 2004 and the first-ever with Inouye-Perez as head coach.
ยท San Jose State: UCLA owns a 14-0 record all-time against San Jose State, dating back to 1990. The Bruins have won the last three meetings all by mercy-rule decisions.
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Bruins Take Home Pair of Pac-12 Weekly Honors
Taylor Tinsley earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors for the first time of her career on Monday, Feb. 26. Tinsley allowed just two earned runs across three complete-game performances and 22.0 total innings pitched at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week. Among all the pitchers competing at the Mary Nutter (30 teams), Tinsley ranked first in innings pitched (22.0), tied for first in strikeouts (30) and second in ERA (0.64). In a 1-0 win over then-No. 24 Northwestern, Tinsley struck out nine batters and allowed just three hits in the second seven-inning, complete-game shutout of her career. The next day against Baylor, she recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and did not allow an earned run in another complete game. She ended the week by taking down No. 5 Tennessee, 6-2, with nine strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Maya Brady was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the fifth time of her career, ranking third in program history with that total. Brady recorded a pair of walk-off hits and led the Bruins with eight total hits and 17 total bases at the Mary Nutter. Against Nebraska on Friday, Brady walked it off with an RBI single which capped a miraculous five-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning. She homered earlier in that game. Brady's walk-off single marked the second true walk-off hit of her career. The first was a three-run homer in the second game of a double-header versus San Diego on Feb. 12, 2023 at Easton Stadium. The next day against Illinois, Brady hit a mercy rule, three-run walk-off homer in the fifth inning of a 10-2 win.
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The Week In Review
UCLA went 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif. with a pair of top-25 wins:
ยท Friday: In the first game of the Mary Nutter, the Bruins mounted a five-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game and walk it off in a 9-8 win over Nebraska. Megan Grant and Sharlize Palacios ignited the rally with back-to-back singles. Jadelyn Alchin continued her hot start to the season with an RBI double to score UCLA's first run of the inning. A walk to Thessa Malau'ulu in the next at-bat loaded the bases for Ramsey Suarez who hit a routine ground ball to second base that skipped between the Nebraska fielder's legs into right field, scoring two more runs to cut the lead to just one run, 8-7. Taylor Stephens came up with her first hit of the season on a single through the right side to score the game-tying run. The next batter, Maya Brady, continued the parade of hits with a single up the middle to walk it off. Brady hit a leadoff homer in the bottom half of the first inning earlier in the game. In game two, Taylor Tinsley twirled the second seven-inning, complete-game shutout of her career in a 1-0 victory over Northwestern. Megan Grant hit a Texas Leaguer RBI single into shallow right field to score the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
ยท Saturday: Maya Brady recorded her second walk-off hit in as many days with a three-run home run to center field to secure a 10-2 mercy-rule victory over Illinois in five innings. Sophomore Jordan Woolery recorded four RBI in the game with her first homer of the year โ a three-run shot to center field โ and a sacrifice fly. Thessa Malau'ulu notched her team-high third double of the season which scored one of the Bruins' six runs in the fifth. Kaitlyn Terry entered the circle a third of an inning into the ballgame and put forth 4.2 innings of shutout ball for the remainder of the contest. Against Baylor, two costly throwing errors in the top of the sixth inning turned a 3-0 Bruins' lead into a 5-3 Bears' lead. Grant, who went 3-for-4 and reached base all four plate appearances, supplied all three of UCLA's RBI.
ยท Sunday: Besides a pair of solo home runs, there were nearly no blemishes on Tinsley's Sunday outing versus Tennessee. Tinsley K'd nine Lady Vols en route to earning the win. Sharlize Palacios recorded the fourth multi-homer game of her career and first in a Bruin uniform with a couple of solo bombs. Jordan Woolery also homered in the contest.
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UCLA begins play Friday with two games versus Michigan at 12 p.m. (PT) and No. 13 Florida at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Bruins go to battle with Weber State at 12 p.m. and DePaul at 2:30 p.m. UCLA closes out the weekend versus San Jose State Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
ย
Quick Hits
ยท UCLA is 7-5 on the season after a 4-1 week at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Feb. 23-25) and going 1-1 at the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational (Feb. 16).
ยท The Judi Garman Classic marks the Bruins' final portion of their tournament season schedule. After this week, UCLA begins Pac-12 Conference play with a three-game home series versus Utah from March 8-10.
ยท UCLA has gone a perfect 5-0 at the Judi Garman Classic in each of the last two seasons. The Bruins recorded a pair of run-rule victories at last year's edition of the tournament versus Cal Poly (W, 16-0 in five inn.) and Michigan (W, 8-0 in five inn.).
ยท Redshirt senior Maya Brady enters the week as UCLA's leader in batting average (.395), runs batted in (14), home runs (4), slugging percentage (.816) and runs scored (11). She has bat leadoff in each of UCLA's last nine games.
ยท In the circle, sophomore Taylor Tinsley is UCLA's leader in wins (3), ERA (2.76), innings pitched (45.2) and strikeouts (52).
ย
Key Notes About the Bruins
ยท The Bruins have returned seven key pieces from last season's batting lineup: redshirt seniors Maya Brady, Sharlize Palacios, Janelle Meoño and Seneca Curo, junior Savannah Pola and sophomores Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. They return one arm from last season's pitching staff: sophomore Taylor Tinsley. UCLA has added seven incoming student-athletes with three transfers and four freshmen.
ยท Kelly Inouye-Perez enters her 18th season as the Bruins' head coach (The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach). Including her five years as a catcher on UCLA's roster, 13 years as an assistant coach and 17 years as head coach, the 2024 season marks Inouye-Perez's 36th consecutive season in Westwood. Known as "Coach I," Inouye-Perez is the only person to have won an NCAA Division I Softball Championship as both a player and coach. She led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships as head coach in 2010 and 2019. Inouye-Perez owns a 782-202-1 (.794) career record. Her .797 winning percentage entering the season ranks second among active head coaches and seventh all-time. UCLA's first two Hall-of-Fame head coaches, Sharron Backus and Sue Enquist, rank top two all-time in winning percentage.
ย
In The Polls
ยท UCLA enters the week ranked in both major polls. The Bruins check in at No. 18 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Poll and No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll. UCLA entered the 2024 season ranked 10th in the NFCA Preseason Poll for its lowest preseason ranking since 2014 (ranked 16th). This marks the 10th straight season the Bruins have been ranked in the top 10 of the NFCA Preseason Poll dating back to 2015. UCLA has been ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA Preseason Poll for 26 straight seasons (unranked heading into the 1998 season).
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ยท In addition, the Bruins have been slotted in the No. 2 spot in the final Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office on Feb. 1. Stanford was selected as the league's preseason favorite, garnering seven of nine first-place votes. Washington and Utah each received one first-place vote.
ย
Series Histories Versus Judi Garman Classic Opponents
ยท Michigan: UCLA owns a 13-11-1 record all-time against Michigan, dating back to 1984. Kelly Inouye-Perez owns a 4-7 record against the Wolverines. UCLA has won the last two meetings against Michigan, both coming at the Judi Garman Classic. The Bruins' last loss to the Wolverines came at the 2019 Judi Garman Classic in a 3-1 decision. Then-freshman Megan Grant led the offensive charge in last season's run rule over the Wolverines, going 4-for-4 and a triple shy of completing the cycle. Grant's home run was a solo shot to opposite field (left field).
ยท Florida: UCLA owns a 10-6 record all-time against Florida, dating back to 2002. Inouye-Perez is 8-6 against the Gators in her time as head coach. The Bruins have won five straight meetings with the Gators, last losing to Florida at the 2017 Judi Garman Classic. The two programs have met at the WCWS seven times, with UCLA holding a 4-3 advantage in Oklahoma City. In last year's meeting with then-No. 3 Florida at the 2023 Mary Nutter, redshirt senior pitcher Megan Faraimo tossed the seventh no-hitter of her career in a 10-0 run-rule victory. The performance marked the first time a Bruin pitcher no-hit a top-3 opponent since March 28, 2003 when Keira Goerl kept No. 2 Stanford out of the hit column. In 2022, UCLA run-ruled Florida, 8-0, in six innings at the WCWS thanks to a walk-off RBI single by then-freshman Savannah Pola.
ยท Weber State: UCLA owns a 10-1 record all-time against Weber State, dating back to 1980. The Wildcats defeated the Bruins in the first-ever matchup, 4-3, on March 21, 1980. The two programs last met at the 2022 Judi Garman Classic where the Bruins picked up a 9-1 run-rule victory. Maya Brady went 3-for-4 with an RBI single and RBI double in that game.
ยท DePaul: UCLA owns a 7-1 all-time record versus DePaul, dating back to 1993. This Saturday marks the first meeting between the two programs since 2004 and the first-ever with Inouye-Perez as head coach.
ยท San Jose State: UCLA owns a 14-0 record all-time against San Jose State, dating back to 1990. The Bruins have won the last three meetings all by mercy-rule decisions.
ย
Bruins Take Home Pair of Pac-12 Weekly Honors
Taylor Tinsley earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors for the first time of her career on Monday, Feb. 26. Tinsley allowed just two earned runs across three complete-game performances and 22.0 total innings pitched at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week. Among all the pitchers competing at the Mary Nutter (30 teams), Tinsley ranked first in innings pitched (22.0), tied for first in strikeouts (30) and second in ERA (0.64). In a 1-0 win over then-No. 24 Northwestern, Tinsley struck out nine batters and allowed just three hits in the second seven-inning, complete-game shutout of her career. The next day against Baylor, she recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and did not allow an earned run in another complete game. She ended the week by taking down No. 5 Tennessee, 6-2, with nine strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Maya Brady was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the fifth time of her career, ranking third in program history with that total. Brady recorded a pair of walk-off hits and led the Bruins with eight total hits and 17 total bases at the Mary Nutter. Against Nebraska on Friday, Brady walked it off with an RBI single which capped a miraculous five-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning. She homered earlier in that game. Brady's walk-off single marked the second true walk-off hit of her career. The first was a three-run homer in the second game of a double-header versus San Diego on Feb. 12, 2023 at Easton Stadium. The next day against Illinois, Brady hit a mercy rule, three-run walk-off homer in the fifth inning of a 10-2 win.
ย
The Week In Review
UCLA went 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif. with a pair of top-25 wins:
ยท Friday: In the first game of the Mary Nutter, the Bruins mounted a five-run comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game and walk it off in a 9-8 win over Nebraska. Megan Grant and Sharlize Palacios ignited the rally with back-to-back singles. Jadelyn Alchin continued her hot start to the season with an RBI double to score UCLA's first run of the inning. A walk to Thessa Malau'ulu in the next at-bat loaded the bases for Ramsey Suarez who hit a routine ground ball to second base that skipped between the Nebraska fielder's legs into right field, scoring two more runs to cut the lead to just one run, 8-7. Taylor Stephens came up with her first hit of the season on a single through the right side to score the game-tying run. The next batter, Maya Brady, continued the parade of hits with a single up the middle to walk it off. Brady hit a leadoff homer in the bottom half of the first inning earlier in the game. In game two, Taylor Tinsley twirled the second seven-inning, complete-game shutout of her career in a 1-0 victory over Northwestern. Megan Grant hit a Texas Leaguer RBI single into shallow right field to score the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
ยท Saturday: Maya Brady recorded her second walk-off hit in as many days with a three-run home run to center field to secure a 10-2 mercy-rule victory over Illinois in five innings. Sophomore Jordan Woolery recorded four RBI in the game with her first homer of the year โ a three-run shot to center field โ and a sacrifice fly. Thessa Malau'ulu notched her team-high third double of the season which scored one of the Bruins' six runs in the fifth. Kaitlyn Terry entered the circle a third of an inning into the ballgame and put forth 4.2 innings of shutout ball for the remainder of the contest. Against Baylor, two costly throwing errors in the top of the sixth inning turned a 3-0 Bruins' lead into a 5-3 Bears' lead. Grant, who went 3-for-4 and reached base all four plate appearances, supplied all three of UCLA's RBI.
ยท Sunday: Besides a pair of solo home runs, there were nearly no blemishes on Tinsley's Sunday outing versus Tennessee. Tinsley K'd nine Lady Vols en route to earning the win. Sharlize Palacios recorded the fourth multi-homer game of her career and first in a Bruin uniform with a couple of solo bombs. Jordan Woolery also homered in the contest.
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Players Mentioned
SS
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
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