Latest news with #SamGress
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UCLA shuts out South Carolina 5-0 to advance to WCWS for record 33rd time
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – The South Carolina softball team (44-17) dropped the third game of the Super Regional matchup against UCLA (52-11) Sunday afternoon (May 25) 5-0 to end the season. The Bruins jumped to an early lead in the first after three consecutive hits to start the game. Sam Gress (14-11), who got the start for the Gamecocks kept the Bruins from adding on any more through the fourth. In the fifth, Gress finished her 4 2-3 inning outing with five runs and two hits. Jori Heard entered the circle in the fifth, finishing the last out of the inning and tossing a clean sixth inning. The Gamecocks offense had its best chance in the bottom of the sixth with Quincee Lilio and Lexi Winters on base but ultimately Carolina was unable to push across a run. Winters, Ella Chancey, Emily Vinson and Brooke Blankenship all had a hit on the day. Ultimately, UCLA added on a three-run seventh inning to give the Bruins a 5-0 lead and seal the game. The Gamecocks finished its first season under head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard with 44 wins, the most for a first-year head coach in program history. The historic season for Carolina comes to a close with their first Super Regional appearance since 2018. The team broke the single season record for RBIs, runs, walks, doubles and tied the record for sacrifice flies. Arianna Rodi set the single season program record for home runs and walks and finished third all-time for RBIs. Lexi Winters also ended the season fifth all-time for RBIs in a season. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
UCLA rolls past South Carolina, earns spot in Women's College World Series
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Oklahoma City bound. UCLA softball is heading to its 33rd Women's College World Series after rallying from a game down to win the Columbia Super Regional, defeating South Carolina 5-0 in the series decider at Beckham Field Sunday. After Jordan Woolery kept UCLA's (54-11) season alive with a walk-off home run in Game 2, she picked up right where she left off with a first inning RBI single off South Carolina (44-17) starting pitcher Sam Gress. The Bruins failed to tack on runs with the bases loaded, but Kaitlyn Terry made sure the early tally was enough. Terry threw 5 ⅔ innings of two-hit shutout ball with four strikeouts before giving way to Saturday's starting pitcher, Taylor Tinsley. Woolery delivered a critical insurance run in the fifth inning when she poked an infield single through the right side of South Carolina's infield shift to bring Jessica Clements around after her one-out double. After Tinsley pitched out of a jam with the tying runs on base in the sixth, UCLA added three runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach thanks to back-to-back RBIs from Rylee Slimp and Alexis Ramirez. UCLA will play fellow Big Ten school Oregon on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jordan Woolery helps UCLA softball rally to beat South Carolina, extends its season
UCLA's Jordan Woolery helped the Bruins rally for a win during the South Carolina Super Regional on Saturday. (John McCoy / Associated Press) Still alive, just barely. UCLA softball scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh and three down to its final out to beat South Carolina 5-4 in game two of the Columbia Super Regional, keeping its season alive and forcing a decisive game three tomorrow. Advertisement Superstar slugger Jordan Woolery delivered the big blow, hitting a two-out, two-run home run off South Carolina reliever Sam Gress over the wall in left field. UCLA (53-10) started the seventh inning trailing 4-1, needing three runs to keep the series alive. Kaitlyn Terry's one-out RBI triple brought the tying run to the plate. Savannah Pola hit a two-out RBI single to make it 4-3 and bring Woolery to the plate. South Carolina (44-16) made a pitching change, replacing Jori Heard with Sam Gress, and Woolery clobbered the first Gress offering over the wall in left to give UCLA its first and only lead of the day. Junior Taylor Tinsley pitched a complete game for UCLA, allowing four runs with seven strikeouts and two walks on 137 total pitches. Advertisement The series decider will be Sunday, with start time and broadcast information to be revealed later tonight. 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.
Los Angeles Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Jordan Woolery helps UCLA softball rally to beat South Carolina, extends its season
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Still alive, just barely. UCLA softball scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh and three down to its final out to beat South Carolina 5-4 in game two of the Columbia Super Regional, keeping its season alive and forcing a decisive game three tomorrow. Superstar slugger Jordan Woolery delivered the big blow, hitting a two-out, two-run home run off South Carolina reliever Sam Gress over the wall in left field. UCLA (53-10) started the seventh inning trailing 4-1, needing three runs to keep the series alive. Kaitlyn Terry's one-out RBI triple brought the tying run to the plate. Savannah Pola hit a two-out RBI single to make it 4-3 and bring Woolery to the plate. South Carolina (44-16) made a pitching change, replacing Jori Heard with Sam Gress, and Woolery clobbered the first Gress offering over the wall in left to give UCLA its first and only lead of the day. Junior Taylor Tinsley pitched a complete game for UCLA, allowing four runs with seven strikeouts and two walks on 137 total pitches. The series decider will be Sunday, with start time and broadcast information to be revealed later tonight.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
South Carolina rolls past UCLA 9-2 in opening game of NCAA Softball Super Regionals
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – The South Carolina softball team (44-15) opened the Columbia Super Regionals with a 9-2 win over UCLA (52-11) Friday afternoon (May 23) at Carolina Softball Stadium. The Gamecocks scored five runs in the first two innings with seven of their nine runs coming with two outs. Quincee Lilio drew a lead-off walk in the first before the Gamecocks found themselves with two outs. Lexi Winters stepped up and sent her sixth home run over the wall in center to give Carolina the early 2-0 lead. Ella Chancey reached after being hit by a pitch and stole second. Brooke Blankenship doubled down the left field to score Chancey and put the Gamecocks up by three. In the second, Karley Shelton and Lilio were on second and third for Arianna Rodi who drove a single through the gap to score both runners for a 5-0 Gamecock advantage. Jori Heard, the starter for the Gamecocks, kept the Bruins scoreless through three, striking out three in 3 2-3 innings of work. A four-hit top of the fourth for UCLA, however, gave the Bruins two runs to bring the game within three. Sam Gress (14-9) entered the circle in the fourth for Heard, surrendering no runs and four hits for the remainder of the game. Gress' two strikeouts in the fifth was the first time UCLA's Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant had been struck out back-to-back this season. Carolina added a pair insurance runs in the fifth after an Abigail Knight double scored Blankenship and Chancey for a 7-2 Gamecock lead. In the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded, Winters singled to left to score Emily Vinson. Chancey knocked in one more on a sacrifice fly to tie the program record for sac flies for the season. The 26 sacrifice flies ties the record from 1995. The two runs plated in the sixth gave the Gamecocks a 9-2 lead, before Gress shut down UCLA in the seventh to secure the win. Winters led the offense going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Rodi finished with two hits and two RBIs. Blankenship and Shelton also finished with a pair of hits, while Knight drove in a pair of runs. South Carolina had 11 hits on the day. The Gamecocks look to punch their ticket to Oklahoma City for the first time since 1997 with a win over UCLA tomorrow. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. on ESPN. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
