This post was updated May 19 at 7:24 p.m.

In the wild, there are predators and there are prey.

At the NCAA Los Angeles Regional, the Antelopes found themselves as the prey to the region’s top predator. 

No. 6 seed UCLA softball (40-10, 17-4 Pac-12) defeated Grand Canyon (50-13, 23-3 WAC) in a 9-1 run-rule victory to finish the LA Regional undefeated and earn its spot in next weekend’s super regional against No. 11 seed Georgia. After falling to the Antelopes in the first game of the 2023 LA Regional, the Bruins flipped last year’s script, run-ruling them twice over the weekend. 

“It was great to be able to face them again,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “The goal is to be our best at the end, and today was just absolute execution.” 

UCLA came out swinging. 

Batting first, the Bruins scored three runs with the first three batters on a home run launched by redshirt senior catcher Sharlize Palacios – her third homer of the tournament. 

“It was kind of like a killer mentality,” Palacios said. “We wanted to go out and make a statement.” 

Starting in the circle, sophomore pitcher Taylor Tinsley struck out two consecutive batters to end the inning. 

Grand Canyon held UCLA scoreless in the second inning, with left fielder Kayla Rodgers snagging two pop flies from redshirt seniors shortstop Maya Brady and outfielder Janelle Meoño to get out of the inning. 

The Bruins picked up three straight outs to finish the bottom of the second inning still leading by three runs.

To begin the third inning, graduate student outfielder Jadelyn Allchin hit a solo shot out of Easton Stadium – her first homer since April 6 against Oregon State. 

“Being able to really trust the process and really trust all the work we’ve been putting in, I was able to set myself up in the position to be able to make contact and get something on it,” Allchin said. 

With two outs on the board and sophomore infielder Jordan Woolery on first, an RBI double from junior utility Savannah Pola marked the Bruins’ fifth run of the game.

Off the first hit Tinsley allowed on the day, Grand Canyon catcher Tinley Lucas hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning. 

Directly following the Antelopes’ only run of the day, Allchin made a diving catch for a foul ball from left field to get the first of three straight outs – ending the third inning with the Bruins leading 5-1. 

“She’s (Tinsley is) doing so much for us, the only thing we can do is really have her back,” Allchin said. “Offensively, defensively, doing whatever we can to make sure our pitchers are in the best position to hold it down for us.”

At the top of the fourth inning, singles from Meoño and Allchin – and Brady being hit – loaded the bases for Palacios, running Grand Canyon pitcher Hailey Hudson out of the circle. 

The Antelopes brought in another reliever, but that did not stop the Bruins. Meoño scored first on a wild pitch, followed by two ground-out RBIs that brought Brady and Allchin home – putting UCLA up by seven runs.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tinsley struck out two batters, but Grand Canyon loaded the bases. To end the inning with three Antelopes left on base, senior utility Thessa Malau’ulu caught a line drive at third, tapping the base for the out. 

Malau’ulu would go on to score the Bruins’ ninth run at the top of the fifth inning on an RBI single from Brady – setting up the run-rule win and chasing out the third Antelope pitcher from the game.

With its third reliever of the game, Grand Canyon picked up the next three consecutive outs to get out of the fifth inning. The Antelopes had four pitchers on the day, with the longest pitching for two innings. 

“Trying to not let their lineup get too comfortable and see one pitcher over and over is what we attempted to do, and obviously it didn’t work out,” said Grand Canyon coach Shanon Hays. 

The Bruins ended the fifth inning quickly, going 1-2-3 for the second time on the day and marking the end of the LA Regional.