The bottom of the seventh inning had the dream scenario for every softball player – tied game, bases loaded and two outs.
Sophomore utility Megan Grant stepped up to the plate with the chance to win the game.
She delivered.
Rifling a walk-off single through the left side of the infield, Grant and No. 18 UCLA softball (13-6, 2-0 Pac-12) secured a series victory over Utah (14-8, 0-2) with a 6-5 win Saturday night at Easton Stadium. Despite entering the bottom of the seventh inning in a one-run deficit, the Bruins rallied for a walk-off win in the presence of alumni from the 1984 championship-winning squad.
The Bruins had been hitless since the third frame and scoreless since the first. With one out in the game’s final inning, redshirt senior infielder Seneca Curo worked a nine-pitch walk to get on base.
“That’s a big part of the success of our lineup,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “When the bottom half could do things like that and extend it, because Seneca had that quality walk which was huge to get us back to the top (of the order).”
A groundout by redshirt senior outfielder Janelle Meoño advanced freshman outfielder Liesl Osteen – who entered as a pinch runner for Curo – into scoring position with two outs and leadoff hitter Jadelyn Allchin due up.
In the ensuing at-bat, the graduate student outfielder slashed a single over the outstretched arm of the Utes’ shortstop, sending Osteen home and tying the game at five apiece.
“Jadelyn is clutch,” said redshirt senior catcher Sharlize Palacios. “She’s bringing all her experience to this team and she’s leading us in a really good way.”
A pair of walks drawn by redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady and sophomore infielder Jordan Woolery loaded the bases, giving Grant the opportunity to add to her RBI from earlier in the night, and sending the Bruins home with the win.
UCLA’s offense opened the night hot, tallying four runs in the first frame for a second consecutive game.
A sacrifice fly from Grant plated the first run for the Bruins. And on the next pitch, Palacios rocketed a three-run moonshot into the night sky – banging off the batting cages over the center field wall for her sixth home run of the year.
Freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Terry worked around trouble in the second inning, but a pair of doubles and a single drove in three runs for the Utes in the third, cutting the Bruin lead to one.
In response, UCLA brought in sophomore pitcher Taylor Tinsley – who pitched 6.2 scoreless innings the night before – to start the fourth inning.
Though Tinsley was able to retire the first five hitters she faced, an error on a comebacker and three consecutive two-out hits proved costly as the Utes would tack on two more runs, taking a 5-4 lead in the fifth.
Tinsley was able to hold the deficit at one through the sixth and seventh innings, with help from her batterymate. With two outs in the sixth, Palacios thwarted an attempted steal of second by utility Haley Denning.
“Shar’s incredible,” said Grant. “She’s our captain on defense, and I’ve just been loving just watching her shine on offense as well.”
With the series victory already claimed, the Bruins will have a chance to sweep Utah on Sunday in the finale of their first Pac-12 series of the season.
“We always call Sunday ‘guts day’ and we just have to play with a lot of guts,” Palacios said. “We have to leave it all on the field and make sure that when we leave the field, we know that we gave it everything we have.”
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