With UCLA’s bats quiet early, Kaitlyn Terry stepped into the batter’s box looking to ignite a two-out rally — and with one swing she brought the Bruins to life.
Terry, a right fielder and left-handed pitcher, hit a three-run home run in the second inning to jump-start UCLA’s 9-1 win over UC Santa Barbara in six innings in the opening round of the Los Angeles Regional on Friday.
“My mindset was just having Taylor’s back at that time,” said Terry, referring to starting pitcher Taylor Tinsley. “They threw a punch at her, and just knowing we’re family — no matter if they throw a punch at us, we’re going to punch back.”
The Bruins’ one-two punch of ace Tinsley and two-way standout Terry have had each other’s backs all season, and the regional opener was no different.
Tinsley, an All-Big Ten First Team selection, gave up three hits and one walk while striking out one. Her only blemish came in the second inning, when she gave up a run on an RBI single by UCSB catcher Delaina Ma’ae.
The No. 9 Bruins (50–10) advanced to Game 3 of the regional, where they’ll face the winner of Arizona State and San Diego State at 2 p.m. PDT Saturday.
Before the season, coach Kelly Inouye-Perez stressed that a UCLA championship push had to start with securing a regional at Easton Stadium — and taking care of business once there.
UCLA is chasing its ninth Women’s College World Series berth in the past decade, but early on Friday, the path looked shaky. Instead of a confident march into the postseason opener, it felt like déjà vu for a moment — a flashback to the haunting 2023 regional, when the Bruins dropped their first game and ultimately fell short of a trip to Oklahoma City.
“This is Game 1 of the first weekend, but that has been our goal from the fall,” Inouye-Perez said of her team’s resilience and tone after the win. “We want to be the last team standing, but you’ve got to take care of business today. … We’re going to put ourselves in position to play the game not only one day at a time, but one inning at a time, one pitch at a time.”
But early in the game, the Bruins squandered scoring opportunities uncharacteristic of the nation’s No. 2 run-scoring lineup.
Trailing in the second inning, Alexis Ramirez reached base on a hit up the middle, then stole second. After advancing on a groundout, she was caught in a rundown between third and home. Still, UCLA had a chance to even the score with runners on first and second, but Terry flied out to end the inning.
Terry found herself in a similar situation two innings later, and she delivered.
The rally began with two outs in the fourth, when Kaniya Bragg reached first on a hit-by-pitch. In the batting order for the first time after missing most of the season because of an upper-body injury, Taylor Stephens followed with a slow roller into right field — just soft enough for Bragg to beat the tag at third while Stephens stepped into second.
“It was her ability to come back and do whatever she can,” Inouye-Perez said of Stephens. “She’s had two serious season-ending injuries, and she’s rehabbed. … She’s put herself in a position to do whatever it takes — if I need to run, if I need to hit, if I play defense … they came up with opportunities for her to get a big knock.”
On the next pitch, Terry crushed a home run to center field — a moment that embodied Inouye-Perez’s season-long mantra of “get to the next pitch.”
With Tinsley turning in an average outing, it was clear the Bruins would need to call on the second half of the Taylor-Terry combo. Riding the momentum of her home run, Terry took the circle and shut down the Gauchos with two scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit.
“[It meant] more than anything, just knowing I just put us ahead, and then now I’m about to go in there, it’s just a great feeling,” Terry said.
A pair of home runs in the sixth inning ended the game via the mercy rule. Jessica Clements hit a three-run home run. That was followed by a walk and steal from Savannah Pola, who was driven in by Jordan Woolery’s RBI single. Megan Grant ended the game with a two-run blast to left-center field.
UCLA, which finished its first season in the Big Ten tied for second with Nebraska, has won 26 games by mercy rule this season.
“They definitely showed that they’re here to play,” Inouye-Perez said. “You get the nerves out. I believe with all of that, there’ll be a little different focus coming into tomorrow, but I like that we’re getting that experience.”