OKLAHOMA CITY — Kelly Inouye-Perez doesn’t smile much at press conferences.
Laughing?
Giggling?
No way.
But Thursday after UCLA won its opener at the Women’s College World Series, the Bruins’ usually stoic softball coach did all of the above. Maybe it was because she was sitting next to WCWS newbies, pitcher Taylor Tinsley and slugger Jordan Woolery, sophomores who had an infectious giddiness. Or maybe it was because the Bruins, absent from the WCWS a year ago, had gotten some of those newbies some much-needed experience on the college sport’s biggest stage but had also gotten a win.
Why couldn’t it be both?
“I’m proud,” Inouye-Perez admitted. “We had a feel. We got experience. We got to settle in.”
The Bruins’ comfort will be tested Saturday. UCLA, the No. 6 seed, will face Oklahoma, the No. 2 seed and three-time defending national champ, in a WCWS winner’s bracket game at noon PT at Devon Park.
But in UCLA’s opener, a 4-1 victory against Alabama, the Bruins got invaluable experience for several important underclassmen who had never played in the WCWS.
That started with Tinsley and freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Terry.
Terry, the lefty, got the start against the Crimson Tide and went four innings, scattering four hits, striking out three and walking one.
Tinsley, the righty, replaced Terry in the fifth inning after Alabama got a lead-off single. That runner would eventually score and be an earned run on Terry’s stat line, but other than allowing that run to be driven in, Tinsley had three strong innings, too.
She allowed only two hits, struck out two and walked one.
“The plan the entire time was,” Inouye-Perez said, “I wanted KT and Taylor to get out there so they could get a feel for the game.”
While Terry and Tinsley have been stellar for the Bruins this season – both were first-team All-Pac-12 selections – neither came into the season with postseason experience. This was the first time since 1998 that UCLA didn’t have a pitcher on the roster who entered the season having pitched in the postseason.
Terry and Tinsley have earned that postseason experience these past few weeks, combining to pitch every inning of the regionals and super regionals for the Bruins, though there was still some adjustment pitching at the WCWS.
“It definitely was … a lot,” Tinsley admitted. “Look around and see how many people are there.
“I ended up just settling in, finding my focal point, playing the game.”
UCLA’s sophomore standouts Megan Grant and Woolery did the same, but the difference was, Alabama put them in positions to get a WCWS baptism by fire.
With two outs and bases loaded in the fifth inning, Alabama sent a base hit to Grant in right field, scoring a runner, but when a second one headed for home, Grant threw a two-hop strike to UCLA catcher Sharlize Palacios. The ball got there so quickly that Palacios had to wait on the runner.
“The right fielder, clean, great throw, the whole thing,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “Everything was by the book.”
An inning and a half later, Alabama challenged Grant again, but this time, it was when she was at the plate. The Crimson Tide opted to walk Palacios with one out to get to Grant and Woolery.
“Smart move, right?” Inouye-Perez said. “Shar is a hot hitter. But I love what we have behind her.”
Grant ended up striking out, but Woolery crushed a three-run home run to left field. Those ended up being the game-deciding runs.
Even though the results were mixed, Inouye-Perez believes Grant and Woolery are better for having experienced that pressure in the WCWS.
“Megan has come through some really big at-bats for us, and Jordan has come through some really big at-bats for us,” Inouye-Perez said. “It gives us more confidence knowing the pressure doesn’t have to be on Shar. … Today it was Jordan, and it was exciting.”
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Inouye-Perez and the Bruins have no way of knowing how the experiences from Thursday’s opener might benefit their WCWS newbies moving forward. But by her smiles and laughter in the press conference, Inouye-Perez seems quite happy to have had them.
“Game 1 of every postseason tournament is the biggest,” she said. “The nerves, all those things are just a factor. I remember being a player, and I remember what it feels like to feel like, ‘Whoa.’ … We say this all the time: The team that settles in and plays their game is going to give themselves the best chance.
“Those are the little things that add up to the big things in those moments.”
