UCLA softball to play against Grand Canyon in Los Angeles Regional
Members of UCLA softball stand together during their final regular season game Saturday. The Bruins will host the Los Angeles Regional for the seventh consecutive postseason after being named the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. (Finn Chitwood/Daily Bruin)
By Gavin Carlson
May 16, 2022 5:16 p.m.
This post was updated May 18 at 10:30 p.m.
The Bruins’ postseason path is set.
During Sunday’s selection show, UCLA softball (43-8, 19-5 Pac-12) was awarded the No. 5 overall seed in the 64-team NCAA tournament, which will begin Friday. The blue and gold will host the Los Angeles Regional at Easton Stadium on Friday through Sunday for the seventh consecutive postseason and will begin play against Grand Canyon (39-14, 19-5 WAC).
While the Bruins will be playing in their 37th tournament, an NCAA record, their opponent – the Antelopes – will be making their first appearance in school history.
Grand Canyon earned its first-ever NCAA tournament bid after defeating Stephen F. Austin on Saturday to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament. Following a 1-1 split to open the tournament’s championship series, the Antelopes secured a 6-4 victory after overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the rubber match that granted them their inaugural ticket to the LA Regional.
In their first and only battle, UCLA defeated GCU 7-6 in 2018.
Loyola Marymount (36-15, 13-2 WCC) and Ole Miss (39-17, 12-12 SEC) round out the LA Regional field and will face off in Game 1 at Easton Stadium at 4:30 p.m. before UCLA makes its postseason debut in Game 2 at 7 p.m on Friday.
The Lions clinched their first West Coast Conference title in their final game of the season Saturday with a 4-2 victory against Santa Clara, while the Rebels earned an outright bid after going .500 in a Southeastern Conference in which 12 of the conference’s 13 teams were selected for this year’s NCAA tournament.
UCLA is 5-1 all-time against Ole Miss, most recently including a 4-0 win in 2019. The Bruins’ only loss to the Rebels came in 2005 in 14 innings.
The blue and gold also holds a 28-1 record against LMU after earning 11-1 and 6-1 victories in the teams’ most recent contests last season.
UCLA has the chance to win its 13th national championship after a 10-3 loss to Oklahoma in the 2021 Women’s College World Series ended its efforts to defend its 2019 national title. Eight Bruins on this season’s roster were members of the program when they claimed title No. 12 three years ago.
