Friday, May 24
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
42-10
6
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1
Georgia
43-19
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6
7
R
H
E
UCLA
1
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0
2
1
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6
11
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Georgia
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4
2
Palacios Powers UCLA to Women's College World Series
May 24, 2024 | Softball
LOS ANGELES โ The No. 6 seed UCLA softball team punched its Women's College World Series ticket Friday, beating 11th-seeded Georgia 6-1 to complete a Los Angeles Super Regional sweep in front of a sold-out crowd at Easton Stadium.
The Bruins (42-10) previously picked up a run-rule win in Thursday's opener, blanking the Bulldogs (43-19) 8-0 in six innings. No program has advanced to the Women's College World Series more times than UCLA, which extended its record to 32. The Bruins will next meet No. 3 seed Tennessee or 14th-seeded Alabama at Devon Stadium in Oklahoma City.
"I'm just going to say I'm proud. It's been a long journey," said the Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. "It's been a challenging journey. We have trusted the process. We flipped a corner, and our goal was to be the best at the end, and here we are. I'm just proud of every single Bruin being able to get the win, not only here in Supers, but to do it in two is saying a statement. We're ready to play and I can't wait to get back on the stage with this team."
Sharlize Palacios starred once again for UCLA, homering twice and driving in four runs. She went 3-for-3 on the night. Thessa Malau'ulu had three hits of her own and Maya Brady added a pair. Each drove in a run. Brady moved up to seventh place on UCLA's career hits list with five in super-regional play, passing Katie Schroeder, Stephanie LaRosa and Tairia Mims over the two games.
Palacios now has two multi-homer performances this postseason and extends her total through Super Regionals to five. She has six multi-homer games in her career.
"A lot of gratitude," said Palacios when asked about the emotions she's feeling after sending her team to the WCWSย in her senior season.ย "I'm happy to be here with my girls. This is the team I want to take to OKC. This is the army I want to go toe-to-toe with anyone with. I can't wait to finish out my career with these girls."
In the circle, Taylor Tinsley (17-8) gave up a first-inning run before retiring the next 13 Georgia batters en route to her 12th complete game of the campaign. She capped the night with her sixth strikeout. Madison Kerpics (13-4) took the loss for Georgia. She was backed up by Lilli Backes and Riley Orcutt.
Brady drew a leadoff walk and stole second base before coming around to score on a single off the wall by Palacios. Another single and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with one out, but Madison Kerpics was able to get out of the jam without any more damage done.
Georgia answered in the bottom half, cashing in a one-out walk to Sydney Chambley. A Jayda Daniel single moved her to second and, with two outs, Lyndi Rae Davis bounced one up the middle to get the run across. Tinsley stranded two Bulldogs in scoring position.
Malau'ulu started a second-inning rally with an opposite-field single off the wall. A sacrifice bunt was followed by a wild pitch, putting Malau'ulu on third and bringing Brady back to the dish. Brady would sneak one past Kerpics, who would exit two batters later, and into the outfield for a run.
UCLA put up its first crooked number in the fourth, when the combination of Brady and Palacios struck again. Brady singled to left field and stole second. One pitch later, Palacios deposited her first homer of the night to the opposite field for a 4-1 lead.
Savannah Pola singled to start the fifth and advanced to third when Seneca Curo's sacrifice bunt was thrown away. Malau'ulu then flew out to left, but the throw home missed the mark and allowed Pola to score.
Scoring was completed in the sixth when Palacios muscled another home run to right. In five home NCAA tournament contests, the redshirt senior from Chula Vista, Calif. has hit five home runs and registered 13 runs batted in.
ย
The Bruins (42-10) previously picked up a run-rule win in Thursday's opener, blanking the Bulldogs (43-19) 8-0 in six innings. No program has advanced to the Women's College World Series more times than UCLA, which extended its record to 32. The Bruins will next meet No. 3 seed Tennessee or 14th-seeded Alabama at Devon Stadium in Oklahoma City.
"I'm just going to say I'm proud. It's been a long journey," said the Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. "It's been a challenging journey. We have trusted the process. We flipped a corner, and our goal was to be the best at the end, and here we are. I'm just proud of every single Bruin being able to get the win, not only here in Supers, but to do it in two is saying a statement. We're ready to play and I can't wait to get back on the stage with this team."
Sharlize Palacios starred once again for UCLA, homering twice and driving in four runs. She went 3-for-3 on the night. Thessa Malau'ulu had three hits of her own and Maya Brady added a pair. Each drove in a run. Brady moved up to seventh place on UCLA's career hits list with five in super-regional play, passing Katie Schroeder, Stephanie LaRosa and Tairia Mims over the two games.
Palacios now has two multi-homer performances this postseason and extends her total through Super Regionals to five. She has six multi-homer games in her career.
"A lot of gratitude," said Palacios when asked about the emotions she's feeling after sending her team to the WCWSย in her senior season.ย "I'm happy to be here with my girls. This is the team I want to take to OKC. This is the army I want to go toe-to-toe with anyone with. I can't wait to finish out my career with these girls."
Start your morning with all the feels from this @sharpalacios postgame interview ??#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ilD3mxwdq8
โ UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) May 25, 2024
In the circle, Taylor Tinsley (17-8) gave up a first-inning run before retiring the next 13 Georgia batters en route to her 12th complete game of the campaign. She capped the night with her sixth strikeout. Madison Kerpics (13-4) took the loss for Georgia. She was backed up by Lilli Backes and Riley Orcutt.
Brady drew a leadoff walk and stole second base before coming around to score on a single off the wall by Palacios. Another single and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with one out, but Madison Kerpics was able to get out of the jam without any more damage done.
Georgia answered in the bottom half, cashing in a one-out walk to Sydney Chambley. A Jayda Daniel single moved her to second and, with two outs, Lyndi Rae Davis bounced one up the middle to get the run across. Tinsley stranded two Bulldogs in scoring position.
Malau'ulu started a second-inning rally with an opposite-field single off the wall. A sacrifice bunt was followed by a wild pitch, putting Malau'ulu on third and bringing Brady back to the dish. Brady would sneak one past Kerpics, who would exit two batters later, and into the outfield for a run.
UCLA put up its first crooked number in the fourth, when the combination of Brady and Palacios struck again. Brady singled to left field and stole second. One pitch later, Palacios deposited her first homer of the night to the opposite field for a 4-1 lead.
Savannah Pola singled to start the fifth and advanced to third when Seneca Curo's sacrifice bunt was thrown away. Malau'ulu then flew out to left, but the throw home missed the mark and allowed Pola to score.
Scoring was completed in the sixth when Palacios muscled another home run to right. In five home NCAA tournament contests, the redshirt senior from Chula Vista, Calif. has hit five home runs and registered 13 runs batted in.
ย
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tinsley, Taylor (17-8)
L: Kerpics, Madison (13-4)
Batting:
HR: Palacios, Sharlize 2
RBI: Brady, Maya 1 ; Palacios, Sharlize 4 ; Malau'ulu, Thessa 1
SH: Curo, Seneca 1 ; Meoño, Janelle 1
SF: Malau'ulu, Thessa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brady, Maya 2 ; Palacios, Sharlize 2 ; Pola, Savannah 1 ; Malau'ulu, Thessa 1
SB: Brady, Maya 2
HBP: Woolery, Jordan 1
Batting:
RBI: Davis, Lyndi Rae 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Chambley, Sydney 1
SB: Goodnight, Dallis 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
SS
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballUTIL
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P
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