No. 8 seed UCLA softball (50-8, 20-4 Big Ten) will face UCF (41-17-1, 14-9-1 Big 12) in the Los Angeles Super Regional from Friday to Sunday. The Bruins are riding an undefeated Los Angeles regional slate, where the Westwood squad bested Cal Baptist and South Carolina last weekend to clinch its third straight super regional appearance. Meanwhile, UCF just upset No. 9 seed Florida State in the Tallahassee regional to earn its second super regional berth in school history. UCLA has yet to play UCF this season. The Daily Bruin softball beat predicts how the Bruins will perform against the Knights.

Grant Walters
Assistant sports editor
Prediction: UCLA loses to UCF

“Haters gonna hate.”

This phrase has defined Gen Z vocabulary.

But it has also driven a lot of my UCLA softball predictions.

I said that the Bruins would get eliminated in the Big Ten tournament semifinal and also predicted their season would end in the Los Angeles regional.

I was wrong on both counts.

But doubters never stop doubting.

Although Taylor Tinsley notched a standout weekend – one where she allowed a combined nine hits and three runs across UCLA’s back-to-back contests against South Carolina – the senior pitcher particularly struggled against the squad that UCF bested in the regional round.

The Bruin ace pitched just 1.1 innings against the Seminoles and forfeited seven runs across that span while posting zero strikeouts.

Therefore, the Knights are destined to have even better success against Tinsley, who just pitched 17.1 frames last weekend and has thrown 203 innings this season alone.

Despite the strong weekend performance in the circle, UCF is facing a vulnerable Tinsley, who is dealing with the fatigue of a particularly long and strenuous season.

UCLA may have history on its side, as the program boasts an NCAA-most 12 national championships, while UCF has yet to even reach the Women’s College World Series throughout its program’s history.

But legacy won’t matter this weekend.

It took a miracle for UCLA to squeak out of the regional after the Westwood squad nearly lost its first game to Cal Baptist, which would have required that the Bruins win four straight contests to reach the national championship tournament.

Miracles are typically a one-time thing.

And UCLA already had its miracle moment.

It’s UCF’s turn now.

Kate Bergfeld
Daily Bruin contributor
Prediction: UCLA advances

I will admit, I thought it was over.

When UCLA softball gave up 10 runs in the fifth inning against Cal Baptist on May 15, I did not think they would come back. And even then, I didn’t know if they could recover to face South Carolina.

But after they bounced back Saturday, I knew the Bruins would claim the Sunday victory as well. Now that they have gained momentum, I have no worries about their performance in the super regional.

UCLA advanced out of the regional by the largest margin of any team, taking down South Carolina 15-1. Senior utility Megan Grant hit her 40th home run of the season on her first grand slam of the season Sunday, and the momentum that the Bruins have accumulated makes them unstoppable, especially against UCF.

UCF upset Florida State after playing two games Sunday to advance. And while the squad may be the team going for a Cinderella run, its royal carriage is about to turn back into a pumpkin.

One of the best hitting teams in the country can take down a team without any pitchers listed in the top 50 for strikeouts. And the lineup with the second-most hits in the nation, with 605 base knocks, will deliver for the Bruins.

But I’m not so sure about the pitching staff.

Senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley has been the predominant pitcher for the Bruins all season, and I wonder if all the wear and tear will catch up. But for now, I have confidence that after her dominance in the last two games of the regional, she can help spearhead UCLA’s run to the Women’s College World Series.

The Bruins will make it to Oklahoma City.

Every team has an Achilles’ Heel.

And pitching is the Bruins’.

UCLA has lost only eight games this season, scoring an average of 3.75 runs a game across those defeats – well below its season mark of 10.8.

The correlation? Four of the five squads the Bruins have lost to have at least one pitcher with a sub-2.12 ERA.

The remaining team is Oregon, against which UCLA scored 13 total runs across its two losses.

But this will not be an issue for the Bruins this weekend.

UCF’s top pitchers boast 2.81 and 3.38 ERAs, respectively, higher than all of the top pitchers that have bested UCLA this year. The “Bruin Bombers” and the rest of the heavy-hitting squad can and will take advantage of the Knights’ pitching staff.

Eight Bruins have recorded double-digit home runs, and three have a plus-.435 batting average. The team also boasts the third-highest hitting clip in the nation with a .385 mark.

The only way teams have slowed UCLA at the plate is with proficient pitching, but UCF will not be able to stifle the Westwood squad’s red-hot bats.

That is not to say the series will be a piece of cake, though.

Five Knights hit at a plus-.300 clip, and with the pitching inconsistencies as of late, the Bruins will have to work hard to limit the opposing lineup.

But with a trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line, the Westwood squad should be able to claim another series win.