Thursday, February 20
Cathedral City, Calif.
5:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
10-1
4
vs
1
Missouri
7-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Missouri
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
4
1
UCLA
0
2
0
0
0
2
X
4
9
0
Shortstop Aleena Garcia went 4-for-6 with a homer, triple and double.
Photo by: Jesus Ramirez
Softball Notches Two Top-25 Wins over Missouri, Nebraska
February 21, 2025 | Softball
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The No. 4 UCLA softball team downed a pair of ranked opponents – No. 22 Missouri and No. 16 Nebraska – on day one of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Thursday. The Bruins (11-1) defeated the Tigers, 4-1, and mercy-ruled the Huskers, 9-1, in six innings.
Shortstop Aleena Garcia went a combined 4-for-6 with a home run, triple and double over the two contests. Sophomore Kaitlyn Terry pitched a complete-game shutout and recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts against Missouri, besting her previous mark of 13 set last season versus Weber State.
"I think (us freshmen) are all doing a really great job at knowing who we are and living in the moment and not making the game too big," Garcia said. "I think a big part of that is the upperclassmen making us feel comfortable out there. We're just out there playing free and not worrying about anything else."
UCLA totaled four doubles, two home runs, one triple and 16 total hits on Thursday.
Game One – UCLA 4, Missouri 1
Terry held Missouri's bats scoreless through the first 5.1 innings of the game en route to picking up her team-leading sixth win of the season. The left-hander sent down 10 batters swinging and four looking. Terry leads the team with a 6-1 record, 1.05 earned average and 33.1 innings pitched this season.
Three straight UCLA freshmen put the ball in play with two outs to score the game's first runs in the bottom of the second. Freshman catcher Maggie Daniel hit a shallow fly ball to right field that Missouri's Kayley Lenger charged too far in on, bouncing off her mitt and allowing Aleena Garcia to score from first base. Outfielder Rylee Slimp brought home Daniel on a single into left field.
Terry put forth three straight shutdown innings after UCLA scored. In the third, Garcia snagged a lineout and threw over to first base for an inning-ending double play. Terry needed just six pitches in a three-up-three-down fourth and recorded three strikeouts in the fifth.
Missouri tallied its first run of the ballgame in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to center field after a double by Julia Crenshaw to make the score 2-1. Tigers starting pitcher Marissa McCann was handed her first loss of the season.
UCLA padded its lead in the bottom half of the sixth with back-to-back home runs by Seneca Curo and Garcia. Curo has now homered four times through 12 games in 2025 after entering the year with just five homers over her previous five seasons. UCLA has now hit back-to-back jacks twice this season (last versus Lehigh on Feb. 8).
Terry struck out the side in the Tigers' final plate appearances in the seventh, including two looking.
Game Two – UCLA 9, Nebraska 1 (6 inn.)
The Bruins' bats exploded for a five-run sixth inning to secure their seventh mercy-rule win of the year and first versus a top-25 opponent. UCLA doubled three times, walked twice and totaled four hits in the decisive sixth inning.
Garcia, who put up UCLA's first run against the Huskers with an RBI triple in the second inning, doubled in the Bruins' first run of the sixth to stretch the lead to 5-1. One walk later, Slimp hit another two-bagger to drive home the next Bruin. Savannah Pola hit Nebraska reliever Emmerson Cope's very next pitch through the 5-6 hole to bring home two more runs and put the mercy-rule run on board. Jessica Clements reached base on a fielder's choice while Pola was out on the force play. Clements came around to score the game-winning run off a Jordan Woolery double to center field.
Junior Taylor Tinsley earned the second win of the season and pitched her first complete-game of 2025. Tinsley, who entered the week leading NCAA DI in walks allowed, gave up a career-high-tying four free passes. She totaled 116 pitches with 67 called strikes.
The Huskers scored their lone run of the night in the third inning on a sacrifice fly to left field after the three previous batters walked, bunted over a runner on a sacrifice and reached on a dropped third strike.
Prior to the Bruins' five-run onslaught in the sixth, UCLA regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Seneca Curo. The Bruins scratched across two more runs off two hits and a walk in the next half inning. A double by Pola put two in scoring position for Clements who cashed in on the RISP opportunity, improving the lead to 4-1.
Next Up
UCLA plays its third top-25 matchup of the week on Friday at 3:30 p.m. (PT) versus No. 5 Tennessee on day two of the Mary Nutter at Big League Dreams Sports Park. The game is available for viewing on FloCollege for a fee.
Shortstop Aleena Garcia went a combined 4-for-6 with a home run, triple and double over the two contests. Sophomore Kaitlyn Terry pitched a complete-game shutout and recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts against Missouri, besting her previous mark of 13 set last season versus Weber State.
"I think (us freshmen) are all doing a really great job at knowing who we are and living in the moment and not making the game too big," Garcia said. "I think a big part of that is the upperclassmen making us feel comfortable out there. We're just out there playing free and not worrying about anything else."
UCLA totaled four doubles, two home runs, one triple and 16 total hits on Thursday.
Game One – UCLA 4, Missouri 1
Terry held Missouri's bats scoreless through the first 5.1 innings of the game en route to picking up her team-leading sixth win of the season. The left-hander sent down 10 batters swinging and four looking. Terry leads the team with a 6-1 record, 1.05 earned average and 33.1 innings pitched this season.
Three straight UCLA freshmen put the ball in play with two outs to score the game's first runs in the bottom of the second. Freshman catcher Maggie Daniel hit a shallow fly ball to right field that Missouri's Kayley Lenger charged too far in on, bouncing off her mitt and allowing Aleena Garcia to score from first base. Outfielder Rylee Slimp brought home Daniel on a single into left field.
Terry put forth three straight shutdown innings after UCLA scored. In the third, Garcia snagged a lineout and threw over to first base for an inning-ending double play. Terry needed just six pitches in a three-up-three-down fourth and recorded three strikeouts in the fifth.
Missouri tallied its first run of the ballgame in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to center field after a double by Julia Crenshaw to make the score 2-1. Tigers starting pitcher Marissa McCann was handed her first loss of the season.
UCLA padded its lead in the bottom half of the sixth with back-to-back home runs by Seneca Curo and Garcia. Curo has now homered four times through 12 games in 2025 after entering the year with just five homers over her previous five seasons. UCLA has now hit back-to-back jacks twice this season (last versus Lehigh on Feb. 8).
Terry struck out the side in the Tigers' final plate appearances in the seventh, including two looking.
Game Two – UCLA 9, Nebraska 1 (6 inn.)
The Bruins' bats exploded for a five-run sixth inning to secure their seventh mercy-rule win of the year and first versus a top-25 opponent. UCLA doubled three times, walked twice and totaled four hits in the decisive sixth inning.
Garcia, who put up UCLA's first run against the Huskers with an RBI triple in the second inning, doubled in the Bruins' first run of the sixth to stretch the lead to 5-1. One walk later, Slimp hit another two-bagger to drive home the next Bruin. Savannah Pola hit Nebraska reliever Emmerson Cope's very next pitch through the 5-6 hole to bring home two more runs and put the mercy-rule run on board. Jessica Clements reached base on a fielder's choice while Pola was out on the force play. Clements came around to score the game-winning run off a Jordan Woolery double to center field.
Junior Taylor Tinsley earned the second win of the season and pitched her first complete-game of 2025. Tinsley, who entered the week leading NCAA DI in walks allowed, gave up a career-high-tying four free passes. She totaled 116 pitches with 67 called strikes.
The Huskers scored their lone run of the night in the third inning on a sacrifice fly to left field after the three previous batters walked, bunted over a runner on a sacrifice and reached on a dropped third strike.
Prior to the Bruins' five-run onslaught in the sixth, UCLA regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Seneca Curo. The Bruins scratched across two more runs off two hits and a walk in the next half inning. A double by Pola put two in scoring position for Clements who cashed in on the RISP opportunity, improving the lead to 4-1.
Next Up
UCLA plays its third top-25 matchup of the week on Friday at 3:30 p.m. (PT) versus No. 5 Tennessee on day two of the Mary Nutter at Big League Dreams Sports Park. The game is available for viewing on FloCollege for a fee.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Terry, Kaitlyn (6-1)
L: McCann, Marissa (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Crenshaw, Julia 1
RBI: Walker, Madison 1
SF: Walker, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Crenshaw, Julia 1
SB: Hill, Saniya 1
Batting:
HR: Curo, Seneca 1 ; Garcia, Aleena 1
RBI: Curo, Seneca 1 ; Garcia, Aleena 1 ; Slimp, Rylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Curo, Seneca 1 ; Garcia, Aleena 2 ; Daniel, Maggie 1
HBP: Slimp, Rylee 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
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