Grant ties UCLA mark—Alabama rallies past Bruins 6-3

Megan Grant’s record-tying 90th career homer gave UCLA an early lift in the Women’s College World Series opener, but Alabama’s timing in the fifth and sixth innings flipped a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 win and pushed No. 8 UCLA to the brink of elimination.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Megan Grant’s swing landed at the exact moment UCLA needed it most. Three innings after she tied a UCLA record with her 90th career home run, the Bruins looked ready to climb back into the lead again.

Instead, Alabama ace Jocelyn Briski did what the top-seeded Crimson Tide have been doing all season: survive the damage, then turn pressure into outs.

With Grant one at-bat away from yet another chance to swing the momentum, Briski got Rylee Slimp to ground out to third base. That single play sealed a 6-3 Alabama win over No. 8 UCLA on Thursday and moved the Bruins to the edge of elimination.

UCLA built a 3-1 lead on back-to-back home runs from Slimp and Grant. but Alabama answered with five runs in the fifth and sixth innings to erase that margin. Alabama’s offense scored off UCLA starter Taylor Tinsley during those innings. changing the rhythm of the game in a way the Bruins couldn’t rewind.

“That was a tough game. They’re a tough opponent,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “You could see they hit two home runs, we hit two home runs, but the ability to come up with those timely hits with runners on obviously makes a difference.”

Grant, who said Alabama’s pitcher was exactly the kind of competitor they expected, kept her focus on the matchup. “Yeah, we all knew coming in [Briski] was a competitor,” Grant said. “Just the scouting plan, she throws everything, she’s very versatile. She just had really good stuff today. We tried to compete as much as we could against her.”.

Even in a loss, Grant’s presence mattered. She holds the NCAA single-season record for most home runs (41) and is tied with Stacey Nuveman (1998-2002) for the most in UCLA history. The home run she hit in the third inning also kept UCLA’s powerful profile in view: the Bruins entered the game with 207 home runs on the season.

The turning point came when Tinsley’s control slipped just enough. She took a 3-1 lead into the fifth inning, then walked leadoff batter Jena Young. Two batters later, Tinsley surrendered a 249-foot home run to Alexis Pupillo to tie the score at 3-3.

In the sixth, Alabama added another layer of pressure. Kristen White beat out a grounder to third. and Young dropped a bloop single to left. putting runners on and creating the setup for Brooke Wells. Wells drove a pitch from Tinsley 239 feet to center field, giving Briski the cushion she needed to finish the game.

UCLA pitcher Taylor Tinsley threw 104 pitches in six innings. She allowed 10 hits and two walks, and her outing ended with a contrast that felt sharp: Alabama struck at the moments that mattered while UCLA hit hard early but couldn’t make it hold.

“I like the way we competed. I could have called a better game for Taylor,” Inouye-Perez said. “She competed. She gave everything she had. But at the end of the day, they outscored us. With that being said, the good news is that they’re pitching to Megan Grant. That’s exciting. I look forward to getting to the next game.”.

Alabama’s pitching plan worked in more ways than one. Briski struck out nine and walked none. Alabama coach Patrick Murphy praised how she handled the game’s swings, saying she pitched through adversity and stopped it.

“I thought Briski did an incredible job of pitching through a little adversity, then stopping it,” Murphy said. “They scored one run with two hits. We knew they were going to get some hits. … They have over 200 home runs now.”

He pointed to the details that don’t show up on the highlight reel: Briski limited damage and avoided free passes. “She limited the damage. She did not walk anybody. Then the other key stat for me was no errors on our defense. I thought it was a really well-played game, gritty by our offense.”

Grant and Briski first met in a way that previewed what would come. Briski struck out Slimp and Woolery and got Grant to pop up the first time she faced the trio.

Alabama’s first run didn’t arrive until the second batter got on the right path. The first two Alabama hitters to face Tinsley—Young and Wells—singled. Tinsley responded by striking out Pupillo and getting Ana Roman to ground out to second. With runners on second and third and two out. Marlie Giles singled to left to bring home Young for the game’s first run.

UCLA pushed back in the top of the third. Slimp turned on a 3-2 pitch and drove it 246 feet over the wall in left-center field to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Then Grant stepped in and hit the second pitch she saw from Briski 224 feet to right field to extend UCLA’s lead to 3-1.

But the game had more twists. UCLA lost utility player Kaniya Bragg in the third inning after she singled and stumbled out of the batter’s box on her way to first base. Bragg aggravated a lower-leg injury sustained during the Bruins’ super regional win over Central Florida, according to UCLA.

Still, UCLA carried momentum until Alabama made its move in the fifth and sixth.

UCLA is making its NCAA record 34th appearance in the Women’s College World Series, a double-elimination tournament, and the Bruins are chasing a 13th championship. That pursuit now depends on survival.

UCLA (52-9) will have to beat Arkansas on Friday night at 6:30 to avoid elimination. Alabama (55-7) will play Nebraska in the winners’ bracket on Saturday at 4 p.m.

In a tournament where every pitch matters, this one ended with two competing stories stitched into the scoreline: Grant’s record-tying power and UCLA’s early lead, and then Alabama’s ability to turn a tied moment into a decisive one.

Megan Grant UCLA Alabama Briski Women’s College World Series Devon Park Taylor Tinsley Rylee Slimp Jena Young Alexis Pupillo Kristen White Brooke Wells