Saturday, March 22
Iowa City, IA
12:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
28-4, 4-0
8
at
0
Iowa
18-9, 2-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
R
H
E
UCLA
2
3
0
0
2
1
8
10
0
Iowa
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
1
Junior INF Jordan Woolery
Photo by: Iowa Athletics
No. 6 Softball Blanks Iowa, 8-0, in Mercy-Rule Win
March 22, 2025 | Softball
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The No. 6-ranked UCLA softball team recorded its 10th shutout of the season with an 8-0 mercy-rule victory in six innings over Iowa at Bob Pearl Softball Field Saturday afternoon.
The Bruins (28-4, 4-0 Big Ten) improve their winning streak to 10 games and record their 16th mercy-rule victory of the season with today's result. UCLA, playing its first-ever softball game in the Hawkeye State, secured the win in front of a near-capacity crowd of 1,375 Iowans.
"It's really cool to see the fanbase that the Bruins bring even out outside of California," said junior utility Megan Grant. "I'm just glad that we got to show some love to them today. As much as it is new for us being able to play in the Midwest, it's also new for them too, so it was really refreshing to see we have support from all over the country."
Grant powered UCLA's offense behind a 3-for-3 performance with two home runs and four runs batted in. Junior Jordan Woolery logged a pair of doubles and scored two runs in her 2-for-3 day.
"I think we showed great ability to adapt to the environment with our mindset," said Grant when asked about playing in Iowa. "It's just like every other travel trip in terms of our preparation, but it was just nice being able to go somewhere different and I think we used it to our advantage."
The Bruins recorded all 10 of their base hits off Hawkeyes (18-9, 2-1 Big Ten) starting pitcher Jalen Adams. Senior utility Savannah Pola logged her team-best 16th multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Adams, who narrowly lost to UCLA as a freshman in a 2-1 contest in February 2023, dropped her record to 13-3 on the season.
Junior right-hander Taylor Tinsley dazzled in her start in the circle for UCLA with 5.0 scoreless innings and seven strikeouts. Tinsley allowed just one base hit and three total baserunners (one BB, one HBP) through her first four innings. She retired eight straight batters from the second through fourth innings with four of those outs coming via strikeout.
Tinsley is now riding an 18 scoreless-inning streak dating back to her no-hitter at San Diego State on March 8. The Lawrenceville, Ga. native earned her fifth win of the season (5-1) and ranks second on UCLA's staff with a 2.05 earned run average and 84 strikeouts.
The Bruins struck first in today's game with a two-out rally in the first inning. Woolery, the Bruins' No. 3 hitter, doubled into the left-center gap to bring up Grant who recorded the first of her three RBI hits of the day with a single into left field to bring home Woolery. A hit-by-pitch to freshman Kaniya Bragg and single by freshman Rylee Slimp loaded the bases for redshirt sophomore Alexis Ramirez. In her first plate appearance since suffering a season-ending injury over a year ago, Ramirez worked a walk to plate UCLA's second run of the inning.
UCLA strung together another fruitful two-out rally in the top of the second that reaped three runs. Pola's sparked the offense with her sixth career triple. Woolery followed with her second double of the game on a shot into right field to score Pola. Grant put an exclamation point on the inning with the first of her two homers in the game – a two-run blast out to right field.
Grant now trails Woolery by one for the team lead in home runs with 13 through 32 games this season. She also ranks second with a .933 slugging percentage and 38 runs batted in.
Grant led off the top of the fifth with her second homer of the afternoon on a blast off the center field scoreboard to extend the Bruins' lead to 6-0. UCLA loaded the bases after the homer on a hit-by-pitch (Bragg), fielding error (Slimp) and infield single (Ramirez). Freshman catcher Sofia Mujica pushed across the Bruins' only other run in the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Bragg, who entered the game ranking second in the NCAA in hit-by-pitches, now has 13 this season. The Garden Grove, Calif. product has three games with multiple HBP in her debut campaign.
Bragg brought home UCLA's eighth and final run of the ballgame in the top of the sixth by working her third free pass of the game on a base-loaded walk.
Iowa filled the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth and threatened to continue the game into the full seven innings. However, Bruins' reliever Addisen Fisher shut the door with a pair of strikeouts.
Next Up
UCLA closes its two-game set against the Hawkeyes tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. (PT) at Bob Pearl Softball Field. The game is available for viewing on BigTenPlus.com (B1G+).
The Bruins (28-4, 4-0 Big Ten) improve their winning streak to 10 games and record their 16th mercy-rule victory of the season with today's result. UCLA, playing its first-ever softball game in the Hawkeye State, secured the win in front of a near-capacity crowd of 1,375 Iowans.
"It's really cool to see the fanbase that the Bruins bring even out outside of California," said junior utility Megan Grant. "I'm just glad that we got to show some love to them today. As much as it is new for us being able to play in the Midwest, it's also new for them too, so it was really refreshing to see we have support from all over the country."
Grant powered UCLA's offense behind a 3-for-3 performance with two home runs and four runs batted in. Junior Jordan Woolery logged a pair of doubles and scored two runs in her 2-for-3 day.
"I think we showed great ability to adapt to the environment with our mindset," said Grant when asked about playing in Iowa. "It's just like every other travel trip in terms of our preparation, but it was just nice being able to go somewhere different and I think we used it to our advantage."
The Bruins recorded all 10 of their base hits off Hawkeyes (18-9, 2-1 Big Ten) starting pitcher Jalen Adams. Senior utility Savannah Pola logged her team-best 16th multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Adams, who narrowly lost to UCLA as a freshman in a 2-1 contest in February 2023, dropped her record to 13-3 on the season.
Junior right-hander Taylor Tinsley dazzled in her start in the circle for UCLA with 5.0 scoreless innings and seven strikeouts. Tinsley allowed just one base hit and three total baserunners (one BB, one HBP) through her first four innings. She retired eight straight batters from the second through fourth innings with four of those outs coming via strikeout.
Tinsley is now riding an 18 scoreless-inning streak dating back to her no-hitter at San Diego State on March 8. The Lawrenceville, Ga. native earned her fifth win of the season (5-1) and ranks second on UCLA's staff with a 2.05 earned run average and 84 strikeouts.
The Bruins struck first in today's game with a two-out rally in the first inning. Woolery, the Bruins' No. 3 hitter, doubled into the left-center gap to bring up Grant who recorded the first of her three RBI hits of the day with a single into left field to bring home Woolery. A hit-by-pitch to freshman Kaniya Bragg and single by freshman Rylee Slimp loaded the bases for redshirt sophomore Alexis Ramirez. In her first plate appearance since suffering a season-ending injury over a year ago, Ramirez worked a walk to plate UCLA's second run of the inning.
UCLA strung together another fruitful two-out rally in the top of the second that reaped three runs. Pola's sparked the offense with her sixth career triple. Woolery followed with her second double of the game on a shot into right field to score Pola. Grant put an exclamation point on the inning with the first of her two homers in the game – a two-run blast out to right field.
Grant now trails Woolery by one for the team lead in home runs with 13 through 32 games this season. She also ranks second with a .933 slugging percentage and 38 runs batted in.
Grant led off the top of the fifth with her second homer of the afternoon on a blast off the center field scoreboard to extend the Bruins' lead to 6-0. UCLA loaded the bases after the homer on a hit-by-pitch (Bragg), fielding error (Slimp) and infield single (Ramirez). Freshman catcher Sofia Mujica pushed across the Bruins' only other run in the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Bragg, who entered the game ranking second in the NCAA in hit-by-pitches, now has 13 this season. The Garden Grove, Calif. product has three games with multiple HBP in her debut campaign.
Bragg brought home UCLA's eighth and final run of the ballgame in the top of the sixth by working her third free pass of the game on a base-loaded walk.
Iowa filled the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth and threatened to continue the game into the full seven innings. However, Bruins' reliever Addisen Fisher shut the door with a pair of strikeouts.
Next Up
UCLA closes its two-game set against the Hawkeyes tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. (PT) at Bob Pearl Softball Field. The game is available for viewing on BigTenPlus.com (B1G+).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tinsley, Taylor (6-1)
L: Adams (13-3)
Batting:
2B: Woolery, Jordan 2
3B: Pola, Savannah 1
HR: Grant, Megan 2
RBI: Woolery, Jordan 1 ; Grant, Megan 4 ; Bragg, Kaniya 1 ; Ramirez, Alexis 1 ; Mujica, Sofia 1
SF: Mujica, Sofia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pola, Savannah 2 ; Woolery, Jordan 2 ; Grant, Megan 3 ; Hatch, Lauren 1
HBP: Bragg, Kaniya 2
Batting:
2B: Simon 1
Base Running:
HBP: Ramos 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
4
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/UTIL
/ Softball
P/UTIL
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C/DP
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballUCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Tennessee (June 1, 2025)
Sunday, June 01
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Texas Tech (May 31, 2025)
Saturday, May 31
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29
UCLA Softball Postgame - Coach Inouye-Perez & Players, vs. Oregon (May 29, 2025)
Thursday, May 29