This post was updated May 8 at 9:58 p.m.
Despite ranking third on the team in batting average, Rylee Slimp was hitless against the Hoosiers. \
That was until the freshman outfielder hit a walk-off RBI bouncing single to the pitcher to send the Bruins to their first Big Ten tournament semifinals in program history.
Powered by its first walk-off of the season, No. 2 seed UCLA softball (48-9, 17-5 Big Ten) earned a 5-4 victory over No. 10 seed Indiana (33-18, 10-12) in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals Thursday at Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“It doesn’t have to be a home run or a great line drive shot to the wall,” Slimp said. “Grateful that I was able to get something out of the pitch I was given, even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I think it was a great moment.”
Junior third baseman Jordan Woolery led the bottom of the seventh with a single to right center, and junior first baseman Megan Grant followed with a low liner to left. Following the two sluggers, redshirt sophomore catcher/utility Alexis Ramirez walked, loading the bases with no outs. And tied at 4-4 after a scoreless sixth inning, Slimp stepped up to the plate.
“It’s this time of the year where there’s players that need to step up and be able to lead,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “I think a big turning point for us is Lefty (Ramirez) being in the lineup. … She came up with two hits that were critical – getting the lineup turned back around, back up to the top – so she’s a big key.”
Only 12 players have hit 20 home runs in a single season in UCLA history. And this year, the Bruins have two of them.
Grant became the 11th Bruin to accomplish the feat April 12 against Washington. Now, less than a month later, Woolery joined Grant after launching a two-run bomb in the top of the first inning to break open the scoring.
“I feel so grateful to especially be in this club with Megan,” Woolery said. “This year, we both worked so hard. To see it come to fruition, especially towards the end of the year, I think it’s really special.”
Following Woolery’s two-run homer in the first inning, Grant went 1-for-3 at the plate. The nation’s fifth-ranked home run hitter sent a double to left center, putting another runner on base immediately after Woolery cleared them. And an error from Indiana shortstop Alex Cooper off a knock from Slimp sent Grant running home.
After the Bruins’ quick start in the first inning, Indiana replaced pitcher/designated player Brianna Copeland in the circle with Taylor Hess. Hess, who holds Indiana’s lowest ERA, allowed one run in the fourth before Copeland returned. Copeland shut out No. 7 seed Washington in an upset victory the day before but allowed UCLA to score three runs and the walk-off in the seventh.
“Their goal was to knock her (Copeland) out, and they did,” Inouye-Perez said. “For them to bring her back in, that was a smart move to be able to start her – and then we got her, pull her out and bring her back in when the game was close again. But credit to our coaches and the players for studying, preparing and going out and figuring out a way to beat her.”
Although junior pitcher Taylor Tinsley garnered just one strikeout and walked three batters in her ninth complete game of the season, the Hoosiers did not get a hit off the 2024 First Team All-Pac-12 selection until the third inning. But when they did, they made it count.
At the top of their lineup, Copeland singled to center field and started a two-out rally for the Hoosiers after opening the top of the third inning with back-to-back groundouts. Left fielder Taylor Minnick and catcher Avery Parker spearheaded the rally, each recording an RBI to narrow the Bruins’ lead to just one run heading into the bottom of the third.
Senior second baseman Savannah Pola, whose .433 batting average and 81 hits lead the Bruins this season, was reliable once again, and she recorded her second hit of the game to bring in a fourth insurance run for the Bruins.
“We were able to string all of our hits together,” Slimp said. “That just gives all of us the confidence that ‘If I’m not going to be the one to succeed, I have eight other girls behind me that that I put all my belief into, that will succeed.’”
But it would not be enough to keep the Hoosiers off their tracks.
Indiana’s Copeland and Minnick duo, who both went 2-for-3 against the Bruins, kickstarted a rally for the Hoosiers. Tinsley walked Copeland and Minnick followed with her second RBI double of the day. The 2024 Second Team All-Big Ten Selection scored her second run of the game after an RBI single brought her home, involving Minnick in all four of Indiana’s runs.
Ultimately, the Hoosiers’ efforts fell short as they watched Slimp drive in the Bruins’ fifth and final run.
UCLA will play in the Big Ten semifinals against No. 3 seed Nebraska on Friday at 2 p.m.
