Friday, May 23
Columbia, SC
10:00 AM (PT)
UCLA
52-11
2
at
9
South Carolina
44-15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
UCLA
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
2
8
1
South Carolina
3
2
0
0
2
2
X
9
11
0
Freshman RHP Addisen Fisher
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Softball Drops Super Regional Opener to South Carolina, 9-2
May 23, 2025 | Softball
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 9-seeded UCLA softball team fell to No. 8 seed South Carolina, 9-2, in the NCAA Super Regionals series opener at Carolina Softball Stadium Friday afternoon.
The Bruins (52-11) will play for their season in game two of the best-of-three series tomorrow at 10 a.m. (PT) on ESPN.
"We have a saying that you can only live in one time zone, so the past is as old as dirt you have no control over," said The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach. "Tomorrow, we (have) to be where our feet are. The plan is to come out here and win two ball games and that plan doesn't change."
UCLA totaled eight hits while leaving eight runners on base against the Gamecocks' (44-15) dual arms of Jori Heard and Sam Gress. Senior Savannah Pola (2-for-4) and freshman Sofia Mujica (2-for-3) both logged multiple hits.
Bruins' left-hander Kaitlyn Terry surrendered five earned runs over 1.2 innings pitched for her shortest start of the season. Freshman Addisen Fisher entered for relief in the second inning and turned in 2.1 scoreless innings before South Carolina got on the board again in the fifth. Fisher finished with 4.1 innings pitched four runs allowed in her first-ever postseason outing.
Pola notched the game's first base hit with a triple off the left-center field wall with one out in the first inning. However, a strikeout to Jordan Woolery and pop out by Megan Grant eliminated the scoring threat.
South Carolina scored its first three runs in the first inning after a walk to leadoff hitter Quincee Lilio, setting the stage for Lexi Winters's two-run homer to center field off Terry. The next batter, Ella Chancey, was hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count and stole second. Brooke Blankenship capitalized by smashing a double down the right field line to bring Chancey home.
The Gamecocks continued to pile on in the second. Two singles put two on board for Arianna Rodi who plated a pair on a single to left center to increase the Gamecocks' lead to 5-0.
Gamecocks' starting pitcher Jori Heard delivered three shutout innings before allowing two runs in the fourth. Heard finished with four total hits and three strikeouts.
The Bruins scored their first two runs in the top of the fourth. A base hit by Grant down the left field line and a single to right center by Rylee Slimp ignited the spark. Alexis Ramirez pushed the first run across the plate after hammering a double to right-center field, bringing Grant home. Ramirez is now hitting 15-for-35 (.429 avg.) with runners in scoring position this season. Mujica, who entered the contest hitting 1-for-21 in her last 10 games, exploited a South Carolina pitching with a single to center field off Gress to score Slimp.
Fisher retired the Gamecocks in order on just six pitches in the bottom half of the fourth to keep the momentum going in UCLA's favor. The Bruins had a golden scoring opportunity in the fifth when their first two batters – Jessica Clements and Pola – led off with singles into the outfield. Strikeouts to Woolery and Grant and foul out by Slimp squandered the hopes of a big inning.
After three hitless frames, Fisher faced trouble in the fifth when South Carolina advanced runners onto second and third. Abigail Knight delivered a double to right-center field that brought two runners home and increased its lead to 7-2.
The Gamecocks scored more on three hits and a Bruins' fielding error in the bottom of the sixth to bring the game to its final tally of 9-2.
The Bruins (52-11) will play for their season in game two of the best-of-three series tomorrow at 10 a.m. (PT) on ESPN.
"We have a saying that you can only live in one time zone, so the past is as old as dirt you have no control over," said The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach. "Tomorrow, we (have) to be where our feet are. The plan is to come out here and win two ball games and that plan doesn't change."
UCLA totaled eight hits while leaving eight runners on base against the Gamecocks' (44-15) dual arms of Jori Heard and Sam Gress. Senior Savannah Pola (2-for-4) and freshman Sofia Mujica (2-for-3) both logged multiple hits.
Bruins' left-hander Kaitlyn Terry surrendered five earned runs over 1.2 innings pitched for her shortest start of the season. Freshman Addisen Fisher entered for relief in the second inning and turned in 2.1 scoreless innings before South Carolina got on the board again in the fifth. Fisher finished with 4.1 innings pitched four runs allowed in her first-ever postseason outing.
Pola notched the game's first base hit with a triple off the left-center field wall with one out in the first inning. However, a strikeout to Jordan Woolery and pop out by Megan Grant eliminated the scoring threat.
South Carolina scored its first three runs in the first inning after a walk to leadoff hitter Quincee Lilio, setting the stage for Lexi Winters's two-run homer to center field off Terry. The next batter, Ella Chancey, was hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count and stole second. Brooke Blankenship capitalized by smashing a double down the right field line to bring Chancey home.
The Gamecocks continued to pile on in the second. Two singles put two on board for Arianna Rodi who plated a pair on a single to left center to increase the Gamecocks' lead to 5-0.
Gamecocks' starting pitcher Jori Heard delivered three shutout innings before allowing two runs in the fourth. Heard finished with four total hits and three strikeouts.
The Bruins scored their first two runs in the top of the fourth. A base hit by Grant down the left field line and a single to right center by Rylee Slimp ignited the spark. Alexis Ramirez pushed the first run across the plate after hammering a double to right-center field, bringing Grant home. Ramirez is now hitting 15-for-35 (.429 avg.) with runners in scoring position this season. Mujica, who entered the contest hitting 1-for-21 in her last 10 games, exploited a South Carolina pitching with a single to center field off Gress to score Slimp.
Fisher retired the Gamecocks in order on just six pitches in the bottom half of the fourth to keep the momentum going in UCLA's favor. The Bruins had a golden scoring opportunity in the fifth when their first two batters – Jessica Clements and Pola – led off with singles into the outfield. Strikeouts to Woolery and Grant and foul out by Slimp squandered the hopes of a big inning.
After three hitless frames, Fisher faced trouble in the fifth when South Carolina advanced runners onto second and third. Abigail Knight delivered a double to right-center field that brought two runners home and increased its lead to 7-2.
The Gamecocks scored more on three hits and a Bruins' fielding error in the bottom of the sixth to bring the game to its final tally of 9-2.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: S. Gress (14-9)
L: Terry, Kaitlyn (18-5)
Batting:
2B: Ramirez, Alexis 1
3B: Pola, Savannah 1
RBI: Ramirez, Alexis 1 ; Mujica, Sofia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grant, Megan 1 ; Slimp, Rylee 1
Batting:
2B: Blankenship 1 ; A. Knight 1
HR: L. Winters 1
RBI: A. Rodi 2 ; L. Winters 3 ; E. Chancey 1 ; Blankenship 1 ; A. Knight 2
SF: E. Chancey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Q. Lilio 3 ; K. Shelton 1 ; L. Winters 1 ; E. Chancey 2 ; Blankenship 1 ; E. Vinson 1
SB: E. Chancey 1 ; Blankenship 1
HBP: L. Winters 1 ; E. Chancey 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P/UTIL
/ Softball
UTIL
/ SoftballC/DP
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C/UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
INF
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