This post was updated Feb. 28 at 6:48 p.m.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez had a goal for her pitchers heading into the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic after conceding 42 runs in four games: return to form.

Taylor Tinsley answered the call.

“She was just so gutsy,” Inouye-Perez said. “She put her team in a position to win ball games. … Taylor did a phenomenal job this weekend getting ahead, stretching the zone and getting those strikeouts.”

The sophomore pitcher entered the tournament with 22 strikeouts, but exited with more than double that total.

After defeating Nebraska and Northwestern on Friday, No. 19 UCLA softball (7-5) defeated Illinois (3-6) by a score of 10-2 and fell to No. 22 Baylor (8-3) in a 5-3 nail-biter. But the trip to Cathedral City was not over just yet, as UCLA bounced back Sunday afternoon behind nine Tinsley strikeouts to knock off No. 5 Tennessee (8-4) in a 6-2 victory.

Among pitchers who tossed a minimum of four innings in the 31-team tournament, the Bruins’ ace co-led the field with 30 punch-outs and three wins while leading her hurler brethren in strikeouts looking with 10.

She also finished second in earned run average, batting average allowed, hits allowed and earned runs allowed, behind only Northwestern’s Ashley Miller – whom she dueled against for a win Friday.

“The goal is to be your best at the end,” Inouye-Perez said. “I think she’s right on track.”

The action inside the circle was not the only highlight of UCLA’s trip to the desert – the long ball also reigned supreme.

In Sunday’s game against the Lady Volunteers, the Bruins homered three times, led by redshirt senior catcher Sharlize Palacios’ first multi-home run game at UCLA. Jordan Woolery also tallied her second home run of the tournament to score the eventual winning run.

After going hitless Friday, the sophomore infielder knocked in seven baserunners over the final two days of the tournament. Inouye-Perez said Woolery has the strength to break through her high second-year expectations and prove to the softball world that she is a higher-level hitter.

Woolery said the weekend was important to re-shift the season’s focus.

“It’s really cool to see all the hard work pay off as we get into week three of the season, just seeing more outcomes,” Woolery said. “Nothing’s guaranteed, but (we’re) still working hard and wanting to see success.”

On Saturday, the Bruins fell down early against the Illini after junior pitcher Jada Cecil conceded two runs in the first inning. Led by 4.2 scoreless frames from freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Terry, the Bruins lineup reawakened through Woolery and company’s barrage of hitting performances.

In the third inning, a sacrifice fly from junior utility Savannah Pola scored redshirt senior shortstop Maya Brady after her triple in the previous at-bat. The Bruins then went up by two in the fourth after Woolery’s first home run of the season.

With a walk-off run-rule victory after a Brady three-run blast, Palacios said the consistent nature of the team’s offensive approach helped set the tone for the final two games against the Bears and Lady Volunteers.

“This game just showed us that when we throw a punch, we can continue to just pound on teams,” Palacios said.

Despite Tinsley’s career-high 11 strikeouts, UCLA fell to Baylor in Saturday’s nightcap after the Bears maximized their offensive production following multiple errors in the sixth inning from Brady at shortstop.

Inouye-Perez said heading into next weekend’s tournament – the last before Pac-12 play – the results from her team were promising, and improvement on both sides of the ball was evident.

“We want to see how we continue to improve, weekend to weekend,” Inouye-Perez said. “That’s what the preseason is all about.”