Late game heroics help UCLA softball to defeat the Titans

The No. 10 UCLA softball team’s late game heroics helped the Bruins pull out an exciting 13-11 win against Cal State Fullerton at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif. on Tuesday.

The Bruins had wrapped up their Big Ten series sweep against Indiana over the weekend, but the Titans gave their ranked opponent no chance to rest. UCLA’s pitching staff was under constant fire over the course of the game with the four pitchers totaling for 13 hits, two balls and 13 runs, while getting only three strikeouts.

Explosive start

The Titans walked four Bruins batters in the first and UCLA punished them for it. Fresh off of a 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship win, senior utility Megan Grant knocked out a two-run homer in her first at bat. Redshirt junior center fielder Alexis Ramirez had her turn and hit a grand slam to put UCLA up six runs to end the top of the first.

No defense

Despite the exquisite start set up by UCLA’s batters, the Bruin pitching staff struggled to limit their mistakes in the bottom of the first. Cal State Fullerton would tie the game up with six runs that were set up by five hits, two walks and two hits by a pitch.

The bats are alive

After both teams scored another run in the second, UCLA would recapture the lead with a two-run homer in the top of the third by Jolyna Lamar. Cal State Fullerton wouldn’t let the Bruins lead last long with four runs coming off three hits and two errors in the bottom of the third putting them up 11-9.

Stop swinging

Between the two teams, there were 20-runs scored in the first three innings. That changed in the next two innings with three hits and two errors for no runs occurring between both teams.

Clutch time

UCLA played their best when they needed to the most with a homer in the sixth by Aleena Garcia and a two-run homer following a run in the seventh by Kaniya Bragg, which put the Bruins up by three. The Bruins pitching was superb in the seventh with no hits leading to a clean inning and a win.

The Bruins will head to Urbana-Champaign, Ill. to open their series against Illinois at Eichelberger Field on Friday with an anticipated start time of 3 p.m. PT.

This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA Bruins softball defeat Cal State Fullerton in explosive outing