University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Sunday, March 22
Piscataway, NJ
2:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
27-3, 8-0
13
at
3
Rutgers
16-14, 3-5
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
UCLA
4
4
0
2
0
3
13
10
0
Rutgers
0
0
0
2
1
0
3
5
3
Bri Alejandre
Photo by: Kayla Holguin
No. 7 UCLA Powers Past Rutgers as Inouye-Perez Collects 900th Win
March 22, 2026 | Softball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. โ The No. 7 UCLA softball team recorded its 19th run-rule victory of the season with a 13-3 win over Rutgers in six innings at Rutgers Softball Complex Sunday evening.
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The victory marked the 900th career win for The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, making her the 55th coach in NCAA Division I softball history to reach that milestone.
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The Bruins (27-3, 8-0 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to 21 games and homered for the 22nd consecutive contest. UCLA has also won each of its first three Big Ten Conference series after opening conference play with sweeps of Wisconsin and Michigan State.
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UCLA jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind two-out rallies in each of the first two innings. The first seven of the Bruins' 10 hits of the game came with two outs.
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Freshman Bri Alejandre led the offensive effort, going 2 for 3 with four RBIs and her 12th home run of the season โ and third of the series.
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Senior Megan Grant reached base in all four plate appearances, finishing 2-for-2 with her conference-leading 23rd home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Her homer moved her into sole possession of second place on UCLA's career home run list with 72, passing Maya Brady. Grant now trails program record-holder Stacey Nuveman (90) by 18.
Grant has reached base in all 30 games this season and is riding a 15-game hitting streak.
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UCLA opened the game by loading the bases on three walks from Rylee Slimp, Grant and Kaniya Bragg. Alejandre drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Ramsey Suarez followed with an RBI single. Aleena Garcia added a two-run double to make it 4-0.
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After two quick outs in the second, Grant beat out an infield single to spark another rally. Jordan Woolery rewarded Grant's effort with a two-run home run to center, and Alejandre capped the inning with a two-run shot of her own to extend the lead to 8-0.
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Freshman southpaw Natalie Cable earned the win, allowing three earned runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over five innings. She improved to 6-1 on the season.
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Cable faced her first obstacle in the bottom of the second when she walked back-to-back batters with one out. A mound visit by catcher Sofia Mujica helped to calm the nerves of the freshman as she induced a groundout to Garcia who made a sliding stop to her right and threw over to third for the force play. Cable eliminated the scoring threat the next play with a weak popout to Garcia.
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UCLA added two runs in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Bragg and an RBI single by Alejandre.
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Rutgers (16-14, 3-5 Big Ten) broke through in the fourth with a two-run home run by Baileigh Burtis, ending Cable's no-hit and shutout bid.
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The Scarlet Knights added another run in the fifth on a leadoff home run by Sam Rohwer. Later in the inning, Garcia made a key defensive play deep in the hole, eventually throwing home to catcher Sofia Mujica to cut down a runner at the plate and limit the damage.
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UCLA responded with three runs in the sixth to secure the run-rule victory. Grant led off with a home run, and pinch-hitter Soo-Jin Berry delivered a two-run single to cap the scoring. Rutgers left fielder Makenna Coleman misjudged Berry's hit, backtracking to the wall before sprinting in. Hwang, playing shortstop, picked up the ball and made an errant throw to home that allowed the two runs to score.
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The Bruins sealed the win with more elite defensive play. Grant got on her horse and tracked down a ball in right field foul territory for the first out. Alejandre fielded a groundball on the next pitch and started the turn on a 5-4-3 game-ending double play.
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Next Up
UCLA closes the three-game series at Rutgers tomorrow night at 3 p.m. (PT) on the Big Ten Network. ย ย
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The victory marked the 900th career win for The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, making her the 55th coach in NCAA Division I softball history to reach that milestone.
ย
The Bruins (27-3, 8-0 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to 21 games and homered for the 22nd consecutive contest. UCLA has also won each of its first three Big Ten Conference series after opening conference play with sweeps of Wisconsin and Michigan State.
ย
UCLA jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind two-out rallies in each of the first two innings. The first seven of the Bruins' 10 hits of the game came with two outs.
ย
Freshman Bri Alejandre led the offensive effort, going 2 for 3 with four RBIs and her 12th home run of the season โ and third of the series.
ย
Senior Megan Grant reached base in all four plate appearances, finishing 2-for-2 with her conference-leading 23rd home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Her homer moved her into sole possession of second place on UCLA's career home run list with 72, passing Maya Brady. Grant now trails program record-holder Stacey Nuveman (90) by 18.
SHE IS INEVITABLE.@ChefMeganCookin hits her daily home run quota with her 23rd of the year!
โ UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) March 22, 2026
??: @BigTenNetwork
??: https://t.co/b1aUhqTLuD#GoBruins ????? pic.twitter.com/YZnO11SJg5
Grant has reached base in all 30 games this season and is riding a 15-game hitting streak.
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UCLA opened the game by loading the bases on three walks from Rylee Slimp, Grant and Kaniya Bragg. Alejandre drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Ramsey Suarez followed with an RBI single. Aleena Garcia added a two-run double to make it 4-0.
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After two quick outs in the second, Grant beat out an infield single to spark another rally. Jordan Woolery rewarded Grant's effort with a two-run home run to center, and Alejandre capped the inning with a two-run shot of her own to extend the lead to 8-0.
ย
Freshman southpaw Natalie Cable earned the win, allowing three earned runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over five innings. She improved to 6-1 on the season.
ย
Cable faced her first obstacle in the bottom of the second when she walked back-to-back batters with one out. A mound visit by catcher Sofia Mujica helped to calm the nerves of the freshman as she induced a groundout to Garcia who made a sliding stop to her right and threw over to third for the force play. Cable eliminated the scoring threat the next play with a weak popout to Garcia.
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UCLA added two runs in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Bragg and an RBI single by Alejandre.
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Rutgers (16-14, 3-5 Big Ten) broke through in the fourth with a two-run home run by Baileigh Burtis, ending Cable's no-hit and shutout bid.
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The Scarlet Knights added another run in the fifth on a leadoff home run by Sam Rohwer. Later in the inning, Garcia made a key defensive play deep in the hole, eventually throwing home to catcher Sofia Mujica to cut down a runner at the plate and limit the damage.
ย
UCLA responded with three runs in the sixth to secure the run-rule victory. Grant led off with a home run, and pinch-hitter Soo-Jin Berry delivered a two-run single to cap the scoring. Rutgers left fielder Makenna Coleman misjudged Berry's hit, backtracking to the wall before sprinting in. Hwang, playing shortstop, picked up the ball and made an errant throw to home that allowed the two runs to score.
ย
The Bruins sealed the win with more elite defensive play. Grant got on her horse and tracked down a ball in right field foul territory for the first out. Alejandre fielded a groundball on the next pitch and started the turn on a 5-4-3 game-ending double play.
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Next Up
UCLA closes the three-game series at Rutgers tomorrow night at 3 p.m. (PT) on the Big Ten Network. ย ย
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cable, Natalie (6-1)
L: Gewecke, K (5-6)
Batting:
2B: Garcia, Aleena 1
HR: Grant, Megan 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 1 ; Alejandre, Bri 1
RBI: Grant, Megan 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 2 ; Bragg, Kaniya 1 ; Alejandre, Bri 4 ; Suarez, Ramsey 1 ; Berry, Soo-Jin 1 ; Garcia, Aleena 2
SF: Alejandre, Bri 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Slimp, Rylee 1 ; Grant, Megan 3 ; Pinedo, Rylee 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 2 ; Mercado, Jaella Ann 1 ; Bragg, Kaniya 3 ; Alejandre, Bri 1 ; Suarez, Ramsey 1
SB: Pinedo, Rylee 1
CS: Garcia, Aleena 1
HBP: Grant, Megan 1
Batting:
HR: Rohwer, S 1 ; Burtis, B 1
RBI: Rohwer, S 1 ; Burtis, B 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rohwer, S 1 ; Burtis, B 1 ; Garofalo, Ev 1
HBP: Fuller, J 1 ; Garofalo, Ev 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
2
R
3
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P/UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
C/DP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
DP/INF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballHighlights - UCLA Softball at Rutgers (March 22, 2026)
Sunday, March 22
Highlights - UCLA Softball at Rutgers (March 21, 2026)
Saturday, March 21
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. Michigan State (March 15, 2026)
Sunday, March 15
Highlights - UCLA Softball vs. Michigan State (March 14, 2026)
Saturday, March 14