UCLA softball stifles Central Florida in NCAA Super Regional opener

LOS ANGELES — A near sell-out crowd at Easton Stadium witnessed the UCLA softball team take its first step toward another trip to the Women’s College World Series on Friday night.

The Bruins, the No. 8 national seed, were powered by the arm of Taylor Tinsley in their 9-1, five-inning victory over unseeded Central Florida in Game 1 of the Los Angeles Super Regional.

Tinsley allowed held UCF to one run on three hits over five innings to help the Bruins take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Game 2 is Saturday at 7 p.m., with Game 3 (if necessary) on Sunday at a time to be determined.

After the Bruins (51-8) won their four-team regional, UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said Tinsley has been improving since the start of the postseason.

That held true again Friday night as the senior ace dazzled against the Knights.

“It’s absolutely critical at this time of the year,” Inouye-Perez said about having a pitcher who continues to develop during the postseason. “[Tinsley’s] learned a lot of lessons throughout her entire career and this is what she wanted – the opportunity to do whatever she can for her team. She’s just doing what she came here to do.”

UCF (41-18-1) battled but was never able to manufacture a game-tying run despite multiple opportunities through its first four innings. Junior Sierra Humphreys, a Corona Centennial High product, drove in UCF’s lone run of the night with a fifth-inning homer.

Offensively, the Bruins relied on the long ball as home runs from freshman Bri Alejandre, and sophomores Rylee Slimp and Kaniya Bragg accounted for seven of their nine runs scored.

UCLA leads the nation with 196 home runs this season.

“The patience of the offense, I credit the coaches [and] the players. I credit the ability to be able to adjust throughout our ballgame,” Inouye-Perez said. “We didn’t start the way we wanted, but it’s never about how we start, it’s how you finish. This team has the ability to do some pretty special things.”

Tinsley quickly blew through the Knights’ batting order in the first three innings, pounding the strike zone and trusting her defense to get to work while keeping UCF hitless.

Alejandre has been a reliable middle-of-the-order hitter all season, and her second-inning solo home run got the Bruins started.

Another scoring opportunity developed quickly for the Bruins in the third. An error and a walk put runners on first and second with one out, but UCF right-hander Ava Stuewe got out of the jam by inducing a pair of weak-contact outs from senior Jordan Woolery and redshirt freshman Aleena Garcia.

Leading off the top of the fourth inning, senior Aubrey Evans hit a ball off the right field wall to give the Knights a runner in scoring position with no outs. Evans advanced to third on a passed ball, but Tinsley got three consecutive outs to strand the runner.

UCLA quickly got runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. Designated player Soo-Jin Berry then drove in Alejandre with a sacrifice ground out for a 2-0 lead.

Coming off the bench in a pinch-hit opportunity, junior Ramsey Suarez snuck a ball down the left-field line to extend the lead to 3-0.

“Having the run support, it makes me feel loose on the mound,” Tinsley said. “It’s fun to watch everyone succeed and pass the bat. Then when I go out there, knowing they have my back no matter what. It makes the game more fun.”

Humphreys got UCF back within two runs in the fifth inning with her solo homer over the scoreboard in left field, but the Bruins erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fifth, getting home runs from Bragg and Slimp to secure the run-rule victory.