The New England Patriots reached Super Bowl LX despite eventually falling to the Seattle Seahawks 29-13.
But the Patriots boasted the third-lowest strength of schedule during the 2025 campaign and also defeated a hobbled Denver Broncos squad to claim the AFC championship trophy.
Adversity often determines whether a team is championship caliber or not.
And No. 7 UCLA softball (6-1) faced its first true test of the 2026 campaign against No. 23 Oklahoma State (6-3) and Missouri (2-6), losing to the former 4-3 in walk-off fashion and defeating the latter 6-5 at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational in Florida on Friday. UCLA outscored opponents 68-6 across its opening weekend from Feb. 6 to Feb. 8, only falling into a deficit when Oregon State plated a run in the top of the first in the teams’ Feb. 7 matchup.
The Bruins fell behind early in each Friday affair, trailing 3-0 against the Cowgirls before the end of the first inning and falling into a 5-1 deficit to the Tigers heading into the fifth inning.
The Westwood pitching staff forfeited eight collective runs ahead of the fourth inning of each game across their dual-contest outing.
But UCLA clawed back in both contests despite its initial shortcomings.
Senior utility Megan Grant homered three times, twice in the Missouri contest and once in the Oklahoma State game, to spearhead both comebacks. Grant’s out-of-the-park drive against the Tigers, which gave the Bruins a one-run lead in the top of the seventh, was her eighth in seven games.
Yet despite the heightened pressure, the dual-sport athlete said that facing formidable competition is imperative in molding the Bruins’ championship standard.
“Coach I (coach Kelly Inouye-Perez) was talking about this is a really good way to build our Bruin armor and get that experience under our belt, especially with these caliber teams,” Grant said. “It’s really important for us to know that if we get punched, we can get right back up and punch back.”
Senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley persevered through a first-game start where she allowed three earned runs in the inaugural inning and forfeited the walk-off fielder’s choice that sealed Oklahoma State’s victory.
And Inouye-Perez turned to Tinsley again in the second game, even after the Lawrenceville, Georgia, local had pitched 7.1 innings against the Cowgirls.
“(It’s) me having my teammates back, being there for my friends at the end of the day and getting the job done for them,” Tinsley said. “You have to treat every inning 0-0 and get … to the next line.”
Missouri hammered sophomore pitchers Brynne Nally and Sydney Somerndike – transfers from Long Beach State and Arizona, respectively – for five runs before Tinsley’s second appearance of the day.
Tinsley pitched 4.2 scoreless innings and allowed three hits, which provided the foundation for the Bruins’ comeback while sparking the offense.
“She’s a spark plug for this whole team,” Grant said. “She’s on the mound, and she’s dealing. We always know that we have her back, and she has ours – and that’s what makes the game greater.”
Tinsley was placed into an ace role after former Bruin pitchers Kaitlyn Terry, Addisen Fisher and Jada Cecil all departed Westwood following the end of last season, which ushered in circle turnover.
Although the staff experienced its first growing pains of the 2026 campaign, Tinsley said that UCLA’s pitchers have embraced the challenge of growing together despite unfamiliarity.
Adversity can help strengthen team bonds and establish mutual trust, especially when a new-look bunch overcomes it.
The Bruins failed to best adversity in the first game, but seemingly learned from their first-game efforts to triumph, which the team could apply to its upcoming matchups against No. 3 Tennessee and No. 6 Florida State on Saturday, along with its Sunday bout against No. 10 LSU.
And a team-centered focus, as opposed to individual accolades, has helped solidify UCLA’s adversity approach while anchoring Inouye-Perez’s envisioned culture.
“A lot of people in this sport, they feel, they identify through their successes,” Inouye-Perez said. “Only when they do well, do people care about them or have their backs or praise them. We’re trying to build a culture that is not about success or failure. It’s about your ability to play and have each other’s backs.”
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