UCLA Softball Run-Rules Arkansas in WCWS Elimination Game

UCLA’s bats went cold in the Women’s College World Series opener against No. 1 seed Alabama on Thursday, (at least for the Bruins’ standard, who lead the NCAA with an average of more than 10 runs per game).

>But on Friday, in an elimination game against Arkansas, UCLA’s offensive dominance was back on display in Oklahoma City. Four different Bruins hit a home run to power UCLA’s 11-0 run-rule victory over Arkansas and keep the Bruins’ season alive.

>“We made a commitment to be able to come in and slow the game down, stick to our training of having discipline at the plate so you can get a good cut on a pitch,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said, per UCLA Athletics. “They have simplified it to that point, which is why the home runs have come, and I’ve reminded them of that. We’re not trying to hit home runs, we’re trying to have quality at-bats. And as Coach Lisa (Fernandez) always tells all of them, if you swing at strikes, you increase your chances of getting a good hit and squaring a ball up greatly.”

Megan Grant Sets New UCLA Career HR RecordThree of UCLA’s four home runs came in the second inning.

>The third home run of that trio was a three-run bomb from the NCAA home run record holder, Megan Grant. The senior utility’s home run marked her 42nd of the season, and the 91st of her career. With the home run, Grant added to the NCAA record and passed Stacey Nuveman’s UCLA career home run record.

May 29, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; UCLA Bruins utility Megan Grant (43) yells as she heads towards home plate after hitting a three run home run in the second inning against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the NCAA Women’s College World Series at Devon Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn ImagesBefore Grant’s home run, redshirt freshman shortstop Aleena Garcia got the Bruins going with a solo shot to mark her first home run of the WCWS and her sixth of the postseason. Then, junior utility and Iowa transfer Soo-Jin Berry added three more runs to the board when she hit her fourth postseason home run and first of the WCWS.

>Freshman center fielder Jolyna Lamar hit UCLA’s fourth and final home run of the night in the fifth inning. The home run was Lamar’s second of the postseason and 14th overall this season.

>The Bruins will move on to another elimination game on Sunday. UCLA will face the loser between the Texas Tech and Tennessee game that takes place on Saturday. Both teams defeated UCLA in the WCWS last year.

>Photo Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

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