University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Thursday, May 7
College Park, MD
4:00 PM (PT)
UCLA
46-7
6
vs
1
Penn State
33-21
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| UCLA | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 10 | 1 |
Taylor Tinsley
Photo by: Jan Kim Lim
Tinsley, UCLA Power Past Penn State Into Big Ten Semifinals
May 07, 2026 | Softball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. โ The No. 3 seed UCLA softball team homered four times in a 6-1 victory over No. 11 seed Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals at Maryland Softball Stadium on Thursday evening.
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The Bruins (46-7) will face No. 7 seed Wisconsin in the semifinals Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT, looking for a berth in the Big Ten Tournament title game for a second straight year.
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Senior Taylor Tinsley (27-5) pitched her 19th complete game of the season and struck out a season-high nine batters en route to her conference-leading 27th victory. Tinsley allowed just one unearned run, which came in the top of the sixth inning.
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UCLA homered three times in the first inning to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. Senior Megan Grant and freshman Bri Alejandre each hit solo home runs, while redshirt freshman Aleena Garcia added a two-run shot. Grant smacked the first pitch in her first at-bat to straightaway center field for her 36th homer of the season, tying her for the national lead and putting her one shy of tying the NCAA single-season record.
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Alejandre's towering blast to left field marked the 21st home run of her debut campaign, setting a new UCLA freshman record. The previous mark of 20 was set by Stacey Nuveman in 1997.
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The Bruins scored their final two runs on a string of three straight extra-base hits from the No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters to open the bottom of the third inning. Catcher Alexis Ramirez notched her 13th home run of the season with a solo shot over the center-field wall. Designated player Soo-Jin Berry followed with a double into the left-center gap, and freshman Jolyna Lamar drove in Berry with her first career triple off the top of the left-field wall.
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UCLA failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities, leaving 10 runners on base. In the bottom of the second, the Bruins opened the inning with a double by Rylee Slimp and a walk by Grant before later loading the bases with one out. However, a strikeout by Alejandre and a flyout to center field by Kaniya Bragg ended the threat.
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UCLA threatened again with the bases loaded and fewer than two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning while on the verge of ending the game in run-rule fashion. An inning-ending 5-3 ground-ball double play off the bat of Garcia erased the opportunity.
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Tinsley also worked around multiple jams as the Nittany Lions (33-21) stranded 10 runners.
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A one-out double by Brooke Klosowicz put two runners in scoring position in the first inning for Penn State. Tinsley responded with a strikeout before inducing a weak groundout to first base to escape the inning unscathed.
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Tinsley stranded two more runners in the top of the fifth after striking out the side despite allowing a double and a two-out walk.
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Penn State scored its lone run in the sixth inning on an errant throw by Alejandre to first base on a sacrifice bunt. Michela Barbanente scored from second on the play.
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Next Up
UCLA and Wisconsin will meet Friday evening at 4:30 p.m. (PT). Every game of the Big Ten Tournament will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
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The Bruins (46-7) will face No. 7 seed Wisconsin in the semifinals Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT, looking for a berth in the Big Ten Tournament title game for a second straight year.
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Senior Taylor Tinsley (27-5) pitched her 19th complete game of the season and struck out a season-high nine batters en route to her conference-leading 27th victory. Tinsley allowed just one unearned run, which came in the top of the sixth inning.
ย
UCLA homered three times in the first inning to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. Senior Megan Grant and freshman Bri Alejandre each hit solo home runs, while redshirt freshman Aleena Garcia added a two-run shot. Grant smacked the first pitch in her first at-bat to straightaway center field for her 36th homer of the season, tying her for the national lead and putting her one shy of tying the NCAA single-season record.
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Alejandre's towering blast to left field marked the 21st home run of her debut campaign, setting a new UCLA freshman record. The previous mark of 20 was set by Stacey Nuveman in 1997.
UCLA is now the sole national leader in home runs with 177, surpassing Oklahoma's 174. The Bruins' 177 home runs are the most in NCAA single-season history.These bats traveled??????
โ UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) May 8, 2026
Newly-minted Freshman of the Year Top 10 Finalist @BriAlejandre22 hits our 3rd homer of the inning.
??: @BigTenNetwork
??: https://t.co/QDTluCWDsZ#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/9k5dJw3KYP
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The Bruins scored their final two runs on a string of three straight extra-base hits from the No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters to open the bottom of the third inning. Catcher Alexis Ramirez notched her 13th home run of the season with a solo shot over the center-field wall. Designated player Soo-Jin Berry followed with a double into the left-center gap, and freshman Jolyna Lamar drove in Berry with her first career triple off the top of the left-field wall.
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UCLA failed to capitalize on several scoring opportunities, leaving 10 runners on base. In the bottom of the second, the Bruins opened the inning with a double by Rylee Slimp and a walk by Grant before later loading the bases with one out. However, a strikeout by Alejandre and a flyout to center field by Kaniya Bragg ended the threat.
ย
UCLA threatened again with the bases loaded and fewer than two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning while on the verge of ending the game in run-rule fashion. An inning-ending 5-3 ground-ball double play off the bat of Garcia erased the opportunity.
ย
Tinsley also worked around multiple jams as the Nittany Lions (33-21) stranded 10 runners.
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A one-out double by Brooke Klosowicz put two runners in scoring position in the first inning for Penn State. Tinsley responded with a strikeout before inducing a weak groundout to first base to escape the inning unscathed.
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Tinsley stranded two more runners in the top of the fifth after striking out the side despite allowing a double and a two-out walk.
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Penn State scored its lone run in the sixth inning on an errant throw by Alejandre to first base on a sacrifice bunt. Michela Barbanente scored from second on the play.
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Next Up
UCLA and Wisconsin will meet Friday evening at 4:30 p.m. (PT). Every game of the Big Ten Tournament will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tinsley, Taylor (27-5)
L: McKenna Young (12-5)
Batting:
2B: Allison Oneacre 1 ; Brooke Klosowicz 1
SH: Kaylie Walters 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Michela Barbanente 1
HBP: Natalie Lieto 1
Batting:
2B: Slimp, Rylee 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 1 ; Berry, Soo-Jin 1 ; Lamar, Jolyna 1
3B: Lamar, Jolyna 1
HR: Grant, Megan 1 ; Garcia, Aleena 1 ; Alejandre, Bri 1 ; Ramirez, Alexis 1
RBI: Grant, Megan 1 ; Garcia, Aleena 2 ; Alejandre, Bri 1 ; Ramirez, Alexis 1 ; Lamar, Jolyna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grant, Megan 1 ; Woolery, Jordan 1 ; Garcia, Aleena 1 ; Alejandre, Bri 1 ; Ramirez, Alexis 1 ; Berry, Soo-Jin 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballUTIL
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C
/ SoftballOF
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