This post was updated May 16 at 12:09 a.m.

Entering the fifth inning, the Bruins were just two runs away from a run-rule victory.

But a 10-run top of the fifth from the Lancers suddenly put the Bruins down four and on the verge of having to win four straight to escape the regional.

However, with two outs to spare, the Bruins clawed their way to the top.

Propelled by a two-run homer and a walk-off sacrifice fly, No. 8 seed UCLA softball (48-8, 20-4 Big Ten) came from behind to beat Cal Baptist (43-18, 15-3 WAC) 12-11 in its first game of the NCAA Los Angeles regional at Easton Stadium on Friday night. With a double-elimination format, UCLA will head to the winners’ bracket Saturday to face South Carolina.

As the final score illustrated, it was far from a clear affair.

Senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley – who entered the contest with 84 starts, 528 innings pitched and a career 2.33 ERA – allowed nine runs in the fifth inning alone, marking the most she has allowed in a game. 

And in the final three innings, it looked like the Bruins’ regional would be marked by her performance in the circle.

But trailing 11-9 in the bottom of the seventh, UCLA loaded one runner on with a single from junior utility Soo-Jin Berry, bringing up freshman utility Jolyna Lamar, who had struck out twice on the night. 

“My teammates really had my back after those two at-bats, and it wasn’t even just one person. So many people came up to you and were like, ‘We got you. We got your back. Keep working. We trust you,’” Lamar said. “Their belief in me really allowed me to keep fighting and trusting in my training.”

And with the winning run on deck, a full count and the Bruins’ postseason direction resting on her shoulders, Lamar stepped up and fired a pitch up and into the trees surrounding the outfield wall of Easton Stadium to tie the game.

After the next three batters reached – via a single and two walks – redshirt freshman infielder Aleena Garcia played the hero, sending sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp home with a sacrifice fly, sealing the game for the Bruins. 

Prior to the fanfare of the final three innings, Tinsley got the start in the circle, inducing outs on the first five batters she faced, including a 13-pitch at-bat to infielder Ashlee Annett that featured five straight foul balls and ended with a groundout.

Offensively, the Bruins kicked things off right where they have all season – with seniors utility Megan Grant and infielder Jordan Woolery heading home. 

After Cal Baptist pitcher Miranda De Nava walked Grant, Woolery stepped up to the plate and blasted off a two-strike homer to give UCLA a 2-0 lead.

But the Lancers countered quickly.

Tinsley’s first hit allowed flew out of the park in the second inning for a home run that brought Cal Baptist within one. 

And on the Bruins’ second time through their order, Grant drew another walk, this time after an 11-pitch at-bat with five consecutive foul balls, where the shortstop shifted to the right of second base. Then Woolery reached on a single to left field.

But this time it was Garcia – who logged four RBIs on the day – who brought everyone home with a long ball, making it 5-1 UCLA.. 

Later in the third inning, the baton passed to Berry, who hammered a two-run homer that marked just her third fence-clearing hit of the season – a rarity in the Bruins’ home-run hitter-filled lineup.

But after a Bruin-dominant day up until then, the Lancers stepped up to hit in the fifth inning. 

And they stayed there for a long time.

Tinsley allowed a runner on with a walk before a bunt caused confusion among the Bruin infield, allowing another runner to reach base. Tinsley – who had only allowed two runners on the base paths prior to the fifth inning – walked another to load the bases with one out for the Lancers’ leadoff hitter.

A third walk of the inning pushed a run home, and then two more runs scored off Tinsley with two more singles. And yet another run scored off Tinsley after she fielded the ball and redshirt junior catcher Alexis Ramirez couldn’t get a handle on Tinsley’s close-range toss to her at home.

As two Bruin outfielders scrambled to get control of a ball hit to the wall, the Lancers took their first lead of the game at 8-7. 

“For us, it was about making the adjustments. She (Tinsley), from the first time (UCLA and Cal Baptist played each other) to this time, changed the plan of attack against us. She threw a lot more drop balls, and so it took us a minute to adjust to that,” Cal Baptist coach Brandon Telesco said. “We had more of an east-west plan against her, and so once we adjusted, we got a pitch up in the zone, we put a big swing on it.”

And finally – for Tinsley – a home run gave the Lancers two more runs, and coach Kelly Inouye-Perez took Tinsley out of the circle.

“I’m going to credit them for being able to be just very tough outs, or not outs. They rallied up and put up a pretty big number on the scoreboard,” Inouye-Perez said. “With that being said, though, it got to that point where things got a little out of hand.”

Sophomore pitcher Brynne Nally could not stop the onslaught from the Lancers immediately, either, allowing a home run.

Twelve batters and nearly 30 minutes after the Bruins recorded the first out of the inning, they got the last two as freshman infielder Bri Alejandre caught a lineout, and the final out came on a strikeout from Nally.

And yet, the Bruins did not give up in the batter’s box. 

This time, it was the Bruins who loaded the bases in the fifth inning. 

But pinch hitter redshirt junior Ramsey Suarez struck out swinging on the ninth pitch she saw for the final out of the inning. 

Nally induced three straight outs at the top of the sixth, and the top of the Bruins’ order stepped up to start the bottom of the inning.

“Our most proud moment, separate from the offense, was Brynne Nally coming in and being able to stop the bleeding,” Inouye-Perez said. “That was a really big pick-me-up for all of us, knowing that we work both sides: defense, offense.”

Again, the Bruins loaded the bases in the sixth and this time scored two to inch closer to the Lancers.

In the seventh, Nally allowed two on base but locked down three outs for a second scoreless inning in a row, setting up UCLA for the seventh-inning comeback.

UCLA will face South Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the winners’ bracket, while Cal Baptist will face Cal State Fullerton in the losers’ bracket.