UCLA Softball Wins Game 1 of the College World Series
See the Jaw-Dropping Homer That Helped UCLA Break a College World Series Record
What slump?! Brianna Tautalafua hits this ball a VERY LONG WAY 😱#WCWS | @UCLASoftball pic.twitter.com/tsSxfpgyJ7
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) June 4, 2019
UCLA's softball team didn't just win the first game of the Women's College World Series — they did it in dominant, record-setting fashion, crushing top-ranked Oklahoma with a final score of 16-3. That 13-point margin? The largest in the tournament's 37-year history. Their 16 runs also matched the record for most in any Women's College World Series game.
Oklahoma's usually stalwart defence made three critical errors, but the UCLA offence was simply unstoppable, smashing four home runs as they cruised to victory. Aaliyah Jordan's solo blast put UCLA on the board in the first inning, shortstop Briana Perez added a line-drive shot, and star pitcher and two-time player of the year Rachel Garcia topped it off with a final two-run blast in the sixth. Maybe the sweetest of the four, though, was the towering sixth inning homer by Brianna Tautalafua. The Bruins' third baseman had gone hitless in her past 26 at bats before turning on an inside pitch and sending it soaring over the left field fence, over 300 feet away. Her reaction (and that of of her teammates, waiting to mob her at home plate) says it all.
Check out the full clip above, then click through to watch the other three incredible home runs.
