“Bomberrrrr.”
As senior infielder Jordan Woolery stepped into the batter’s box in the bottom of the fifth, a fan made known the threat Woolery posed with her bat. Going down two strikes to start the at-bat, Woolery drilled the third pitch over the wall for the walk-off run-rule win.
No. 7 UCLA softball (19-3, 1-0 Big Ten) hosted the first game of a three-game weekend series against Wisconsin (14-8, 0-1) that lasted just five innings Friday night. The Bruins bested the Badgers 14-5 at Easton Stadium to start conference play.
Comeback wins have been a common theme for the Bruins, and this game proved no different.
Wisconsin leadoff and designated hitter Emily Bojan doubled to left center on a 2-1 count to start the game, which kickstarted the Badgers’ three-run top of the first inning.
Redshirt junior pitcher Sydney Somerndike started in the circle for the Bruins but was taken out in the top of the second inning for sophomore pitcher Brynne Nally. Somerndike allowed two earned runs and three hits. Nally went on to pitch until the fourth inning, allowing the same earned run and hit tallies as Somerndike. She was then exchanged for senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley, who stayed in the circle for the remainder of the game.
Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said Somerndike has struggled in the early slate of the season.
“She just has to build more confidence to be able to get comfortable to pitch her game,” Inouye-Perez said. “She’s very capable. She has great bullpens, but it’s getting game experience, and that’s not an easy thing to do in the Bruin uniform.”
Although she exited early against Wisconsin, Somerndike still boasts a perfect 4-0 record with a 5.36 ERA.
Just as comeback wins have defined the Bruins’ season thus far, so have the Bruin bats.
Senior utility Megan Grant and Woolery have particularly displayed dominance at the plate, leading the squad in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and batting average.
Grant began the action with a blast to right field in the bottom of the first, illuminating the light show at Easton Stadium, to deliver an immediate response to the Badgers’ runs.
“I try to have the same routine every single time,” Grant said. “I knew they were going to come out with a bang, so trying to set the tone on our end as well. That was pretty much our mindset.”
The Bruins’ bats went cold in the second frame, and the Badgers added two more runs in the top of the third via a double from infielder Alivia Bark and a sacrifice fly from infielder Makenzie Foster.
But the Bruins seemingly reclaimed their prolific plate approach in the bottom of the third. Sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp tripled to start the inning, earning her 100th career hit. Grant then singled to plate Slimp, and freshman infielder Bri Alejandre’s double put the team within just one run.
An inning later, a single from Slimp allowed freshman utility Jolyna Lamar to tie the game. The Badgers then decided to intentionally walk Grant. Although avoiding Grant, the next hitter in the lineup was her “Bruin Bomber” counterpart.
Woolery smoked the ball for a home run to bring in three runs.
“I love hitting after Meg. She makes my job really easy,” Woolery said. “She’s arguably the best hitter in the country, so when you’re hitting after her, you have a really easy job. They’re worried about her. I’m just doing my thing behind her.”
UCLA added three more runs in the fourth, including a two-run home run from redshirt freshman infielder Aleena Garcia.
With Tinsley continuing to hold the Badgers to five runs, the Bruins entered the bottom of the fifth inning with the chance to end the game early.
Woolery stood in the batter’s box one more time after Slimp walked and Grant was hit by a pitch. The senior launched the ball over the fence to center field, and the Bruins embraced one another in a group celebration at home plate after Woolery ended the contest.
The Bruins will play the Badgers again Saturday and Sunday. But even with another run-rule victory under UCLA’s belt – its 12th of the 2026 campaign – the squad is seemingly embracing ostensible failures.
“You learned there’s no failure,” Inouye-Perez said. “All it is is creating opportunities to learn from it. … What we need to do at the end of the season is we’ve got to come out strong from the start and be able to play your game.”
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