This post was updated June 5 at 11:00 p.m.
With fans back in the stands, UCLA Athletics had a year full of big moments. From a historic win for UCLA football to a record-setting performance in the circle, Daily Bruin Sports takes a look at the very best moments of the 2021-2022 year in UCLA sports.

No. 5 seed UCLA softball (48-8, 19-5 Pac-12) will begin its journey for its 13th national championship Thursday in Oklahoma City. Here is the scouting report of the teams standing in UCLA’s way of two titles in four years from softball staff writer Diego Farinha — who is exhausted from driving five hours from the Bay Area before finishing this.

The Bruins and Sooners – the sport’s most recent champions – are also the two highest remaining seeds in the tournament.
But it’s the former that holds the edge in Women’s College World Series appearances.

This post was updated May 30 at 11:34 p.m.
On Friday, the Bruins overcame a two-run deficit. 
On Saturday, a two-run lead of their own was erased. 
They scored the game’s next six runs to book their tickets to Oklahoma City.  
“It’s a dogfight,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez.

A line of young girls waits for the Bruins to emerge from the clubhouse after every home game.
Win or lose, members of the UCLA softball team file through the blue barricades in an orderly fashion, signing autographs and snapping pictures.

This post was updated May 21 at 5:12 p.m.
On an afternoon in which two respective conference pitchers of the year took turns in the circle, runs were hard to come by.

This post was updated May 20 at 10:28 p.m.
The Bruins opened the postseason in mercy-rule fashion. 
No. 5 seed UCLA softball (44-8, 19-5 Pac-12) defeated Grand Canyon (39-15, 19-5 WAC) by a score of 12-1 in five innings Friday night at Easton Stadium to open the NCAA regionals.

Over the past month, the Bruins have lost five of their last 11 Pac-12 outings.
Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said the past up-and-down month has provided the team with learning experiences as it enters the postseason.

UCLA players and coaches were not immediately available for interviews.
In a rubber match to decide the top of the Pac-12 standings, the Bruins lost in walk-off fashion.

The Bruins won the series, but in going for the series sweep, they took a mercy-rule defeat for the first time since 2017.
No. 3 UCLA softball (39-6, 15-3 Pac-12) shut out Utah (24-24, 6-12) by scores of 1-0 and 2-0 in the series’ first two matchups Friday and Saturday, respectively.