UCLA’s Women’s College World Series ends with loss to Stanford

The UCLA Bruin Magic clock struck midnight.

After a season marked by miraculous victories, the Bruins fell just one inning short of elimination, losing 3-1 to No. 8 Stanford in the Women’s College World Series final on Sunday at Devon Park.

UCLA (43-12) managed just one point in its final two games, but coach Kelly Inouye-Perez called this season a successful comeback for the Bruins, who not only returned to Oklahoma City for the eighth time in nine seasons but also overcame their worst start in the past 40 years.

“When you put it all together, this has been the best year of coaching I’ve had,” Inouye-Perez said, fighting back tears. “Building belief, building trust, building a team that could compete. We were exactly where we needed to be, and we just didn’t have enough time.”

The Bruins went 3-4 in February before storming to win 30 of their final 35 regular-season games. UCLA entered Saturday’s game against Oklahoma on a nationally leading 14-game winning streak but then struggled against two of the nation’s best pitchers. After Oklahoma’s Kelly Maxwell held UCLA scoreless for the first time since April 7, Stanford ace Nijalee Canady held UCLA to four hits and one run with eight strikeouts on Sunday.

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year struck out second-straight Pac-12 Player of the Year Maya Brady three times. The UCLA star tied her career high in a game and also tied the number of strikeouts she had in UCLA’s shutout loss to Oklahoma. She was 11-for-16 at-bats in the NCAA Tournament entering the World Series, but the second-leading homer on the team went 0-for-7 in the final two games.

Before Brady and sophomores Megan Grant and Taylor Tinsley appeared in the postgame press conference, coach Inouye Perez encouraged them to stay calm. But even the coach, who hadn’t left the team meeting in tears, began to break down on stage. And then, in an elegant finale to his illustrious career, Brady was smiling.

“It was a dream come true,” Brady said of his five-year tenure at UCLA. “Growing up, I always looked at the program, the coaching staff and the players. I thought they were invincible. To have the opportunity to put on this jersey, get my degree and be close to my family. … It was beyond my expectations. I didn’t win a championship, but believe me, I keep winning in life.”

Brady will hand over to a talented sophomore under Tinsley, who pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief on Sunday, allowing three hits and one run with one strikeout to lead the Bruins into their matchup against Canady.

Stanford (50-16) got UCLA starter Kaitlyn Terry to score in the third inning with a run-tying double by Taryn Kahn, but then Tinsley gave up the go-ahead run on an RBI single by Ava Gall. Stanford extended its lead in the fifth inning with consecutive bunts and then scored on a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Allie Clements, sending Emily Jones home.

A two-run lead was never insurmountable for a team that averaged 7.8 points per game in the NCAA Tournament and led the postseason going into the World Series. The Bruins nearly started to fight back when Savannah Paula was hit by pitch with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Tessa Malauulu smashed a liner-drive single past the Stanford shortstop to give the Bruins a second base hit. A raucous UCLA fan sitting behind the first base line waved his blue-and-gold pom-poms as Ramsey Suarez came up to bat.

The pinch hitter was out on a grounder.

Sophomore Megan Grant scored UCLA’s only run with a leadoff solo homer in the top of the third inning. Grant was one of the last players to leave the UCLA dugout after the game, standing at the top of the stairs to get one last glimpse of the most famous softball stadium in the nation.

Underclassmen making their debuts in Oklahoma City provided most of UCLA’s big moments under the bright lights. First baseman Jordan Woolley hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to win the season opener against Alabama. Tinsley and freshman Terry held the Sooners, who have won three straight games, to just one run in a pitching duel on Saturday.

These opportunities are exactly what Tinsley dreamed about as a child watching tournaments with her father.

“Just pitching and enjoying the environment and having a lot of people watching you, I really love it,” Tinsley said. “Having all the attention is why I wanted to be a pitcher in the first place.”

Brady and Inouye-Perez burst out laughing, bumped elbows with each other and nodded.

“That’s a pitcher-like answer,” Brady quipped.

Tinsley and Terry gave up three hits and two runs with three strikeouts in their third consecutive starts Sunday, but they were big question marks for a team loaded with experienced hitters throughout the lineup. They erased any concerns with strong performances and the Bruins are plotting a return to the big stage.

“I wasn’t emotional at the meeting because I’m just looking forward to the future,” Inouye-Perez said. “The experience they have on this stage is real. They have a fire burning in their hearts.”