Not long after she had delivered an offensive performance for the ages, following one three-run homer with another, UCLA’s Aleena Garcia found herself in awe.
When a reporter mentioned that the Bruins softball team had smashed an NCAA-record 200 homers on the way to clinching its third consecutive Women’s College World Series berth, Garcia opened her mouth in astonishment before covering it with her hand.
Yeah, this offense is something.
After a second consecutive shellacking of Central Florida in an NCAA Tournament Super Regional on Saturday night at Easton Stadium in Los Angeles, one might as well take UCLA’s offensive record book and write “2026” next to everything.
Just a redshirt freshman, Garcia set a school postseason record with seven runs batted in during the Bruins’ 14-4 rout of the Knights that completed a two-game sweep of the best-of-three series by a 23-5 margin.
“What a dynamic lineup,” Central Florida coach Cindy Ball-Malone said in something of an understatement after UCLA hit .360 with a .535 on-base percentage in the series.
Even with the Knights pitching around UCLA slugger Megan Grant — walking her six times during her seven plate appearances in two games — they could not solve the rest of the Bruins’ lineup.
Bri Alejandre and Alexis Ramirez also homered for UCLA (52-8) on Saturday, giving the Bruins seven homers in two games — and extending their NCAA record for the season.
“I knew we had a lot of home runs, but I didn’t know it was 200,” Garcia said with a laugh. “This team, we do set a lot of records, but that’s not our main goal — we just focus on the process and what it takes to set those records and then the records just set themselves.”
UCLA’s 651 runs this season broke the NCAA record of 638 set by Oklahoma in 2021. The Bruins have posted a .385 batting average, .496 on-base percentage and .836 slugging percentage — all on pace to become school records.
“Hitters are individuals — it’s an individual opportunity — but this team plays as a unit,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said, “and it starts from the top — the coaches down to the players, they buy into team over self.”
What it means
UCLA will head to college softball’s biggest stage with a proven formula — prolific offense combined with the tireless pitching of Taylor Tinsley.
Tinsley (32-6) threw every pitch for the Bruins in the two games of the Super Regional, notching a career postseason-high 11 strikeouts on Saturday. She’s also picked up the victory in each of her team’s last four NCAA Tournament games.
Turning point
After Central Florida (41-19-1) pulled to within 6-4 in the fifth inning, Garcia belted her second three-run homer in the sixth to essentially secure the Bruins’ 34th trip to the WCWS.
MVP: Aleena Garcia
Garcia’s huge output further revealed the depth of a batting order with no weak spots.
Leadoff hitter Rylee Slimp’s 14 homers exceed the totals of some cleanup hitters on other teams and Jolyna Lamar, the No. 9 hitter, is batting .336.
Up next
The eighth-seeded Bruins will face top-seeded Alabama in their WCWS opener in Oklahoma City at a date and time to be announced later.
