South Carolina softball eliminated from NCAA Tournament in run-rule loss to UCLA

South Carolina softball has found itself in the same position two years in a row: facing UCLA with its season hanging in the balance.

In 2025, the Gamecocks had the upper hand, having won the first game of a Super Regional they hosted at Beckham Field. But a seventh-inning comeback by the Bruins the following day, culminating in a walk-off home run with the Gamecocks just one pitch away from reaching the Women’s College World Series, turned the tide in the opposite direction. UCLA went on to win the third game in dominant fashion, and South Carolina’s season ended.

South Carolina’s situation was different this time around. Drawn into the Regional hosted by the Bruins, it needed to win twice on Sunday — due to a winner’s bracket loss to UCLA on Saturday — to advance.

Despite the change in scenery, the result remained the same. A second game at Easton Stadium proved to be unnecessary, as a series of mistakes and a late offensive barrage by the Bruins led to the Gamecocks’ elimination from the NCAA Tournament in a 15-1 run-rule loss.

South Carolina (32-28), the designated home team in the contest, grabbed momentum early through its defense. With a runner on first and nobody out, UCLA’s Bri Alejandre launched a pop fly to center field. Tori Ensley tracked the ball down and, noticing Aleena Garcia had started running towards second, fired it to first base. Arianna Rodi applied a tag to Garcia before she attempted to slide in safely, and the Gamecocks completed the double play.

Glove work has been among the Gamecocks’ postseason calling cards after a three-error game against CSU Fullerton on Friday. Ensley’s strong play in the field helped the team extend its error-free streak to 22 innings.

The play that ended that streak in the subsequent frame proved to be costly.

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South Carolina had an opportunity to complete a perfect first run through the order until Jolyna Lamar stepped up to bat. Lamar rifled a grounder in the direction of Shae Anderson, who couldn’t corral the ball cleanly. Leadoff hitter Rylee Slimp proceeded to launch a two-out home run to left field, giving UCLA (50-8) a 2-0 lead.

Self-inflicted errors would rear their ugly heads on two more occasions later in the game. And it didn’t help that one of college softball’s top hitters delivered blows in both circumstances.

The top of the fifth couldn’t have started much better for the Bruins. After Soo-Jin Berry reached based via a single, the Bruins loaded the bases with a walk and a hit-by-pitchby Emma Friedel. With Megan Grant — the NCAA’s newly crowned single-season home run record holder — up to bat next, Ashley Chastain Woodard opted to bring starter Jori Heard back onto the mound.

There was little Heard could do, though. Grant turned Heard’s 1-1 offering into her 40th home run of the season, which she launched over the fence in left-center field to chalk another four runs to UCLA’s tally.

The Bruins’ bats truly came alive in the sixth in what would be the final nail in South Carolina’s coffin. The inning began with a double by Alexis Ramirez that glanced off the top of Anderson’s glove. Grant strode to the plate with the bases loaded once again four batters later, and she delivered a two-run single to add to her productive day at the plate. By the end of the frame, home runs by Kaniya Bragg and Berry capped off UCLA’s nine-spot that all but clinched their advancement.

The Gamecocks’ lone consolation came in the bottom of the fifth, when Quincee Lilio brought Nia McKnight home to score on a two-out single. The team mustered just two hits overall, as Taylor Tinsley delivered her second complete game against South Carolina in as many days.

Up next: South Carolina will begin its offseason preparations after seeing its season come to a close on Sunday. UCLA, meanwhile, will host UCF in a Super Regional series next weekend.

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