UCLA eliminated from WCWS by Kaitlyn Terry and Texas Tech in nine-inning thriller
Highlights from UCLA’s 8-7 loss in nine innings to Texas Tech in the Women’s College World Series on Sunday.
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- UCLA softball’s season ends in an 8-7 loss to Texas Tech in nine innings at the Women’s College World Series.
- Former UCLA pitcher Kaitlyn Terry played a leading role in the win for Texas Tech, holding the Bruins to four hits and striking out five in 4⅓ innings.
- Jordan Woolery hit two home runs and drove in five runs in her final game for UCLA.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jordan Woolery hit a pair of home runs as part of a three hit, five-RBI performance, but it wasn’t enough to save UCLA from an 8-7 loss in nine innings to Texas Tech in an elimination game at the Women’s College World Series on Sunday.
Former UCLA standout Kaitlyn Terry hit a run-scoring double in the ninth before scoring the Red Raiders’ final run on a fielding error by shortstop Aleena Garcia. An RBI single by Jordan Woolery in the bottom of the ninth made it a one-run game before Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady struck out Bri Alejandre to end the Bruins’ season.
“I told them I could not be more proud of a team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “The ability to get back to Oklahoma City, a year that nobody expected us to be here, is something I’m very proud of.
“We play together as a team, we win, we lose together as a team. Everybody got to see how competitive we are and we don’t quit.”
Texas Tech will play No. 1 Alabama at 4 p.m. PT on Monday.
UCLA baseball, the top-seeded team in the nation, loses to Saint Mary’s 6-5 in the NCAA regionals on a walk-off single by Makoa Sniffen in the 10th inning.
The Bruins were locked in a back-and-forth battle with Texas Tech and trailed by three runs in the bottom of the seventh when a pair of seldom-used pinch-hitters delivered.
First, Ramsey Suarez greeted Terry with a 270-foot home run to right field to make it 6-4 Texas Tech. Canady replaced Terry in the circle and surrendered a bloop single inside the right field foul line.
Up stepped Woolery, the nation’s leader in RBIs, who lined a 267-foot homer to straight-away center to tie the score 6-6.
Down 8-6 in the ninth, Rylee Slimp singled to right field with one out and Terry walked Megan Grant. Woolery’s single up the middle scored Slimp, but that was as close as the Bruins would get to victory.
“The environment here in Oklahoma City, unbelievable. The talent UCLA has, they’re hard to beat, as you could see,” Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco said. “I was so impressed by the way they just kept coming at us, coming at us.”
Texas Tech (59-8) wasted no time establishing its offense. Mia Williams drove Taylor Tinsley‘s first pitch off the padding in center field for a long single. Mihyia Davis stroked the next pitch off Slimp’s glove in left for a double and Williams moved to third.
Lauren Allred beat out a first-pitch dribbler to Tinsley; the throw home was late, and Williams scored to make it 1-0.
In the bottom of the inning, Canady hit Grant with a pitch before Woolery hit her 35th home run of the season to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
The advantage was short-lived.
Texas Tech’s Jasmyn Burns led off the second with a solo homer to left field off Tinsley to even the score. With two out, Williams lined a single to left, her second hit in two at-bats, and Davis sent an opposite-field single past a drawn-in Alejandre at third. Tinsley walked Allred and Jackie Lis to bring home a run and give Texas Tech a 3-2 lead
Canady, the only active Division 1 player with 1,000 strikeouts and 100 wins, ran into trouble in the third. After giving up a double to Slimp, she walked Woolery and hit Garcia with a pitch to load the bases. She then hit Alejandre with a pitch to force in a run and even the score 3-3.
Megan Grant hits her 91st career home run to set a UCLA record in an 11-0 victory over Arkansas in the Women’s College World Series.
Terry, who played two seasons and won 41 games for UCLA (53-10) before joining Texas Tech after the 2025 WCWS, replaced Canady in the circle and struck out Kaniya Bragg and got Alexis Ramirez to fly out to end the inning.
The Red Raiders responded with a run in the fourth inning to take a 4-3 lead, and the Bruins struggled to gain traction against Terry, who retired 10 of the first 11 batters she faced.
Tinsley’s performance also was key to helping the Bruins stay in the game. She threw 181 pitches, gave up 14 hits, struck out seven and walked six.
“She’s just awesome. No one understands what she’s given to this team and this program,” Woolery said. “I just wish that everyone was able to see Tins how we see Tins because she’s just perfect.
“We’re roommates, she’s one of my closest friends in the world. I would honestly die for Tins.”
