This post was updated May 8 at 9:06 p.m.
Bases-loaded situations are dangerous for any defense.
But it’s especially threatening when facing the Bruins.
And Soo-Jin Berry took advantage with the bags juiced. Rocketing only her second home run of the season, she put the Bruins up 6-0 to end the first.
No. 3 seed UCLA softball (47-7, 20-4 Big Ten) took down No. 7 seed Wisconsin (32-19, 14-10) 19-5 in run-rule fashion at the Maryland Softball Stadium in the Big Ten tournament semifinal.
The Bruins – who swept the Badgers in a series March 6-8 – started the game off hot for the second game in a row, closing out the top of the first after senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley faced just five batters.
Tinsley has started both games in the Big Ten tournament and she recorded four strikeouts and six hits against the Badgers across 78 pitches thrown. Boasting a 2.79 ERA, she sits second in the country with 28 victories.
UCLA was up 2-0 when junior utility Berry stepped up to the plate. Berry, who has started just 12 games this season with five of those coming across past six games, has collected 12 hits this year.
But her limited Westwood experience did not matter today.
The Bruins exited the inning with a 6-0 lead off her grand slam, an advantage they never forfeited.
“I thought I was going to pop out, so I didn’t really know that it was going to go out (of the park), but once it did, it was so awesome knowing that everyone was so excited for me and that I could trust myself enough to go for that pitch,” Berry said.
The Bruins’ bats have been hot all season, evident by their .389 season batting average, and they showed off their heavy-hitting prowess against the Badgers. Senior utility Megan Grant and sophomore infielder Kaniya Bragg, who earned All-Big Ten First Team selections Friday morning, hammered home runs in the second and third innings, respectively.
Grant’s blast marked her 37th four-bagger of the year, tied for the most single-season home runs in NCAA softball history. She sits second on the squad and sixth in the country in batting average, boasting a .478 clip.
“I think it’s preparation, [which] goes way beyond the at-bat,” Grant told SportsCenter after the game. “From the dugout, getting my timing down and then when I step into the box, in my head, I think about being a competitor. It’s a one-on-one battle and as long as I bring up the ball, it’s a success in my eyes.”
The home run from Bragg was her 16th of the season and the 181st for UCLA, an all-time single-season home run record for a team. The Westwood squad was not done scoring in the third, though, mounting a 11-2 lead.
A home run from Badger Hannah Conger could have sparked a comeback, but the Bruins shut it down two batters later with a double play, ending the top of the fourth inning with a run-rule triumph within reach.
Redshirt junior designated player/infielder Ramsey Suarez stepped up to the plate with bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth after subbing in for Berry, and she appeared to hit another grand slam. The ball ricocheted off the wall, but the hit still plated two more runs for the Bruins.
UCLA leads the nation in runs per game, boasting 592 total runs on an average of 11 per game. The Bruins have scored double-digit runs in 31 games this season, and they have reached 15 runs in 14 contests. A large part of their scoring success has been due to their power.
Eight Bruins have recorded at least 12 home runs throughout this season, with sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp increasing her mark to 14 four-baggers this year, blasting a home run in the fourth inning.
“I know that I have eight batters behind me that will get the job done,” Slimp said. “That takes a lot of pressure off of me and allows me to go and be myself and do my own thing, and not feel all of this pressure on my shoulders. Just keeping it simple, like I said before, and we always say ‘Our goal is just to touch first base.’ I take that into my approach, and that’s all I’m trying to do at the end of the day.”
A pop-fly off the fourth Wisconsin pitcher concluded an eight-run, eight-hit fourth inning that ended with UCLA up 19-3.
The Badgers did not roll over, though, with utility Kendra Lewis knocking out a two-run home run off freshman pitcher Natalie Cable, who entered the game at the start of the fifth frame.
But the game was over just three batters later, with the Bruins advancing to their second conference title game in as many years.
UCLA is set to face No. 1 seed Nebraska (45-6, 23-1) in the Big Ten championship after losing the series against the Cornhuskers 2-1 earlier this season.
“We’re ready to hunt whoever is in the other dugout,” Berry said. “We’re definitely ready to see Nebraska again and win the championship. There’s nothing else to it.”
