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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UCLA vows to brush off Game 1 Super Regional loss to South Carolina
The streak is over, but not the season. UCLA softball's run of six consecutive victories in Super Regional games dating back to 2021 ended emphatically with a 9-2 loss to South Carolina in Game 1 of the Columbia Super Regional at Beckham Field. Advertisement 'The opponent did a better job of executing the game plan today,' UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. 'The best part about postseason is it's a best two out of three. We look forward to getting back out there tomorrow.' South Carolina (44-15) tagged UCLA (52-11) starting pitcher Kaitlyn Terry with five runs in the first two innings and added two apiece in the fifth and sixth off reliever Addisen Fisher. Read more: UCLA softball defeats UC Santa Barbara to advance to NCAA Super Regionals Catcher Lexi Winters opened the scoring by the thinnest of margins, hitting a two-run home run off the top of the wall. After Brooke Blankenship's RBI single tacked on one more run in the first, South Carolina star slugger Arianna Rodi delivered a two-run single in the second inning to knock Terry from the circle. South Carolina scored seven of its nine runs in the game with two outs, following on a streak of 11 consecutive two-out runs to end last week's regional. Advertisement 'Patience and short, compact swings,' Inouye-Perez said when asked about the key to South Carolina's offense. 'At the end of the day, I think it's more about they did a great job of executing vs. us not being able to do what we do.' UCLA put two runs back in the fourth off RBI hits by Alexis Ramirez and Sofia Mujica, knocking South Carolina starter Jori Heard from the game. Heard retired 26 of 27 batters she faced in the regional, but the Bruins finally created some pressure and forced South Carolina head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard to go to her bullpen. 'Credit to them making good pitches,' Ramirez said. 'But I do believe that we were having good at-bats, quality at-bats, putting good swings on pitches that we were prepared to hit, so it's just staying within ourselves and sticking to our plan.' Reliever Sam Gress escaped the fourth inning, but allowed back-to-back singles leading off the fifth. Those hits brought UCLA's slugging duo of Jordan Woolery to the plate one swing away from tying the game, but Gress shut down the rally. She struck out both power hitters and induced a foul pop-up from Rylee Slimp, stranding both runners and ending UCLA's last big chance to get back in the game. Advertisement 'I know for them it was big to be able to get past that,' Inouye-Perez said. 'But for us, we have great faith in the hitters that are behind them, and I think that's what we're going to need for postseason is we're not relying on just any one [hitter].' Abigail Knight delivered the big blow off Fisher with a two-run double in the fifth, and the Gamecocks nearly ended the afternoon early on the run rule with the winning run reaching scoring position in the sixth. South Carolina has only allowed four total runs through four NCAA Tournament games, and Gress only allowed one hit over the final two innings to carry South Carolina to its first Super Regional victory in program history. Read more: Bombs away: UCLA's Jordan Woolery, Megan Grant are a power duo unlike any other This is just the fourth time in 15 Super Regional appearances UCLA has lost game one of the series. In all three instances UCLA at least won Game 2 and rallied to win the series during the past two appearances. UCLA took the final two games from Virginia Tech in 2021 and advanced to the Women's College World Series after losing Game 1 at Oregon in 2016, the only time the program has been in this situation away from home. Advertisement 'We have a saying that you can only live in one time zone,' Inouye-Perez said. 'The past is as old as dirt and has no control over tomorrow. We have to be where our feet are. The plan was to come out and win two ballgames, and that plan hasn't changed.' Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 10 a.m. PDT on Saturday and will air on ESPN. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
NCAA Coaching Carousel: Maryland Hires Buzz Williams From Texas A&M
The Kevin Willard Era at Maryland is over, and the Buzz Williams Era has begun. Williams, 52, has agreed to a six-year deal to coach at the Big Ten school, per ESPN. He leaves Texas A&M, where has coached since 2019, and replaces Kevin Willard, who left to take the Villanova job among much consternation from the Maryland fanbase. Williams will be introduced at a press conference at Noon on Wednesday on the main court at XFINITY Center. Williams has led his programs to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and 13 20-win seasons in 18 years as a head coach. "It is an honor and privilege to be named the head coach of the University of Maryland men's basketball team," said Williams. "I want to thank President Pines and Colleen Sorem for this opportunity to lead one of the most prestigious programs in the country. In leading this program, I promise to uphold the history of Maryland basketball and make Terp Nation proud with the men who represent this institution." "We are thrilled to bring a coach of the caliber of Buzz Williams to the University of Maryland," said Sorem. "His incredible record of success at three prominent basketball programs speaks for itself, but we were equally impressed with his tireless work ethic and his dedication to building a program the right way. He embraces the high expectations here at Maryland and we are all excited to get started on this new era in Maryland basketball." "Maryland Athletics is an important part of the University of Maryland community," said President Darryll J. Pines. "Finding the right person to lead Maryland Men's Basketball was critical to the continued success of our program, both on and off the court. With an exemplary record of competitive success and a demonstrated commitment to providing leadership and development to our student-athletes, Coach Buzz Williams is the ideal coach to lead us forward. We could not be more thrilled to welcome him to College Park." Most recently, Williams served as the head coach for six seasons at Texas A&M from 2019-2025, leading the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. He was named SEC Coach of the Year twice, in 2019-20 and 2022-23. Williams served as head coach at Virginia Tech (five years, 2014-19), Marquette (six years, 2008-14) and New Orleans (one year, 2006-07). His overall record after 18 seasons as a head coach is 373-228 (.621). Williams has won at least 100 games at Marquette, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. He is seeking to become just the third coach in Division I head coach to win at least 100 games at four different institutions, along with Maryland Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell (Davidson, Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State) and Steve Alford (Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA, Nevada). This past season, Williams led the Aggies to a 23-11 record as they advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. A&M was ranked as high as No. 7 during the 2024-25 season. Williams is one of 12 active Division I head coaches to win at least one NCAA Tournament game at three different programs. He's coached in 23 NCAA Tournament games, winning 12, both of which rank among the Top 25 among all Division I head coaches. For his age (52) and his number of years as a head coach (18), Williams is the active leader in total victories and ranks No. 2 in NCAA Tournament games and NCAA Tournament victories. His teams averaged nearly 21 wins per season for his career. Williams' teams have suffered just two losing conference records – his first season at Virginia Tech in 2014-15 and his second squad at Texas A&M in the COVID-19-marred 2020-21 season. With a 25-23 record on the road under Williams, Texas A&M has the second-highest road winning percentage among SEC teams since 2019-20 and are one of only four programs with winning road records in that span. Over his last 17 seasons as a head coach, his teams have advanced to the postseason 13 times with 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT invitations, including four career NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (three at Marquette, one at Virginia Tech), one Elite Eight appearance (2013 Marquette) and one appearance in the NIT Championship game.
