This post was updated May 26 at 9:54 p.m.

The Gamecocks held a 4-2 lead Saturday, needing just one more out for their first trip to Oklahoma City since 1997.

But after a walk-off home run chased that opportunity away, the Bruins would not let them sniff another chance at a trip to the Women’s College World Series. 

For an NCAA record 33rd time, No. 9 seed UCLA softball (54-11, 17-5 Big Ten) advanced to the WCWS with a 5-0 win over No. 8 seed South Carolina (44-17, 13-11 SEC) on Sunday afternoon in game three of the Columbia Super Regional at the Carolina Softball Stadium. 

Facing the arms of sophomore pitcher/outfielder Kaitlyn Terry and junior pitcher Taylor Tinsley, the Gamecocks were held scoreless and mustered just four singles.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “The ability to overcome day one (Friday’s loss) is because they were so committed to the process, and it allowed them to be able to take a trip back to OKC.”

Coming into Sunday’s winner-take-all contest, the Bruins were 43-1 when scoring first but just 10-10 when playing from behind. And for the first time in the series, UCLA’s bats finally managed to land an early blow.

Following Saturday’s game-winning home run, junior infielder Jordan Woolery attacked the first pitch she saw from Gamecock starting pitcher and SEC All-Defensive Team selection Sam Gress, punching a single up the middle for her 85th RBI of the season. The Bruins looked poised for a big inning – loading the bases with nobody out after a four-pitch walk to junior utility Megan Grant.

However, Gress escaped further damage, inducing a shallow flyout and a double play to keep the deficit at one.  

Terry once again earned the start in the circle after lasting just 1.2 innings Friday. But coming off the shortest start of her career, the left-hander quickly surpassed that mark, breezing through the first two innings while striking out three. 

“We had a completely different game plan for today,” Inouye-Perez said. “The ability to do that as a pitching staff – that everyone was accountable and figured out how they needed to be better, and we set game plans and they were able to execute – is a big part of the success.”

South Carolina threatened UCLA in the bottom of the third – putting a runner into scoring position. However, the all-left-handed battery of Terry and redshirt sophomore catcher/utility Alexis Ramirez worked their way out of trouble with a fourth strikeout. 

After a quiet stretch for the Bruins’ bats, Jessica Clements rifled a double – her first extra-base hit of the series – off the base of the right field wall. The graduate student outfielder advanced to third on a fly ball from senior utility Savannah Pola and stayed at third base following a collision with Gamecock third baseman Ella Chancey between third and home plate when the ball trickled away on an errant throw.

But after an unsuccessful UCLA challenge and South Carolina pitching change, the lead doubled, spearheaded by Woolery, who notched her second RBI of the game with an infield single off Gamecock pitcher Jori Heard’s first pitch of the afternoon.

Terry continued on cruise control until the bottom of the sixth inning when utility Quincee Lilio was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, bringing the tying run to the plate. Infielders Karley Shelton and Arianna Rodi each nearly knotted the game at two with a pair of deep fly balls but were both put away by sophomore outfielder Liesl Osteen on the warning track. 

“They got on the pitch, but I knew Liesl was going to be there,” Terry said. “At the end of the day, she was there.”

The hard contact, however, was enough to drive Terry out of the circle after 5.2 shutout innings, as Inouye-Perez dipped into her bullpen and brought Tinsley in to finish the sixth. 

Tinsley – who tossed a complete game against then-No. 11 seed Georgia last year to secure a trip to the Women’s College World Series – trotted back out for the bottom of the seventh inning, but not before UCLA added additional insurance runs.

“It’s never enough. We have to keep going,” Pola said. “You can never relax.”

First-year head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard elected to intentionally walk Grant and load the bases to face Rylee Slimp – who struggled earlier in the game, leaving seven on base in three hitless at-bats. 

But this time, the freshman outfielder came through.

Slimp slapped a single through the infield to double the lead to four. Ramirez promptly added one more with a hit that dropped into center field – pushing the advantage to five.

Tinsley slammed the door shut on South Carolina’s season, extending UCLA’s own and punching a ticket back to Oklahoma City for a second consecutive season. 

“Everybody that’s there has earned it,” Inouye-Perez said. “We’ve got to show up and the biggest focus that you’ll hear us constantly say is ‘playing our game,’ so I look forward to that opportunity.”