Inconsistency has marred Bruin bats in recent weeks.

And with the one-and-done format of the Big Ten tournament, a slow start can spell an early demise.

Coming off its second conference series loss of the 2024-2025 campaign, No. 2 seed UCLA softball (47-9, 17-5 Big Ten) will have a chance to bounce back against No. 10 seed Indiana (33-17, 10-12) on Thursday in its inaugural Big Ten tournament hosted by Purdue at Bittinger Stadium. The Bruins will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to compete for a second consecutive conference tournament crown.

“We got to continue to fight,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We got to find a way to play our game. It’s as simple as that.”

After a 12-1 opening to conference play, UCLA stumbled across the finish line with a 5-4 record over its final three Big Ten series. The peaks and valleys began against Oregon – the eventual regular-season conference champions and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

The Bruins dropped game 1 after posting just one run against the Ducks’ pitching staff, which ranks eighth in the nation in ERA. But UCLA’s lineup bounced back the next day, combining with freshman pitcher/utility Addisen Fisher to post an 8-0 shutout.

However, Oregon returned the favor in game 3, shutting out Inouye-Perez’s squad 9-0.

The Bruins responded with an away sweep of Michigan, but the ebbs and flows returned the following weekend.

Northwestern shut out UCLA in the series opener 8-0 – holding the Bruins to just three hits while committing four errors in the field. The Wildcats followed it up with another eight-run performance, only to be outdone by a 15-run outburst by the Bruins.

But on Senior Day, a late inning rally by Northwestern handed UCLA its second series loss in the last three weeks.

“We need to stick together and be strong. A lot of the things we talked about this year were being a family and being united,” said redshirt sophomore catcher/utility Alexis Ramirez. “As long as we have each other and have each other’s back, we’ll be okay.”

To win the Big Ten tournament, however, the Bruins will need to rattle off three consecutive victories. Last season – in just the second-ever Pac-12 conference softball tournament – UCLA toppled Arizona State, Arizona and Utah en route to the title and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

Big Ten teams, however, are no stranger to a win-or-go-home tournament. This season marks the 26th iteration of the tournament – with Michigan owning the most titles, as well as the 2024 crown.

The Hoosiers, however, took down No. 7 seed Washington behind the arm of pitcher Brianna Copeland.

The Huskies managed just a pair of hits across seven shutout innings from Copeland, as two runs from the Hoosiers was enough to advance them to the quarterfinals for a showdown with the Bruins.

While UCLA has a chance to claim a title in its first year in the Big Ten, the conference tournament provides an opportunity to return to form ahead of appearing on the NCAA stage.

UCLA has both a chance to claim a title in its first year in the Big Ten and an opportunity to return to form ahead of the NCAA tournament.

“It’s definitely, right now, all about picking up momentum,” said freshman outfielder Rylee Slimp. “We’re really trying to finish the season and pick up that momentum.”