Senior Megan Grant led the No. 6 UCLA softball team with three home runs during two games at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational on Friday at Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida. The Bruins lost their first game to Oklahoma State, 4-3, in eight innings but came back to defeat Missouri, 6-5.
Grant increased her season total to eight home runs through seven games, making her the national leader in this category. She hit a solo home run against Oklahoma State and added two more against Missouri, marking her sixth career multi-homer game. Over her last ten at-bats since UCLA’s win over UC Riverside on February 8, Grant has hit six home runs. Her performance moved her into sixth place on UCLA’s all-time home run list with 57 and raised her career slugging percentage to .769, which is second in program history behind Stacey Nuveman (.945).
Grant’s contributions were critical for the Bruins. Her first home run against Missouri cut the Tigers’ lead to 5-3 in the fifth inning and helped energize the offense. In the seventh inning, she hit a solo home run to right-center field that proved to be the game-winner.
Senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley set a personal record by pitching twelve innings across both games and struck out sixteen batters—eight in each contest. After giving up a three-run homer in the first inning against Oklahoma State’s Rosie Davis, Tinsley kept them scoreless for six innings before extra play began. In relief against Missouri, she pitched 4.2 shutout innings and allowed only four baserunners.
Freshman Bri Alejandre also played a key role with game-tying home runs in both matchups. Against Missouri, she followed Grant’s fifth-inning homer with a two-run shot that tied the score at 5-5. Earlier versus Oklahoma State, Alejandre homered in the sixth inning to tie that game as well. Through seven games of her collegiate career, Alejandre has five home runs.
In Game 1 against Oklahoma State, after falling behind early due to Davis’ three-run blast, UCLA responded with a run in the second inning following an error that allowed Aleena Garcia to score from first base on Alexis Ramirez’s ground ball. Grant narrowed the deficit further with a solo homer in the third inning.
Oklahoma State threatened again in later innings but was held off by defensive plays from Alejandre and pitching from Tinsley. The teams remained tied until extra innings when Jayden Jones drove in Oklahoma State’s winning run on a fielder’s choice.
In Game 2 against Missouri, UCLA trailed by four runs entering the fifth inning after Missouri scored through multiple home runs and RBI doubles. The Bruins evened things up with a four-run fifth inning featuring two-run homers from both Grant and Alejandre.
Pitcher Brynne Nally started for UCLA but was replaced after allowing four runs; Sydney Somerndike provided relief before Tinsley closed out the final frames without allowing any additional runs.
UCLA will continue play at the Clearwater Invitational on Saturday with games scheduled against No. 3 Tennessee at 1 p.m. Pacific Time on ESPNU and No. 7 Florida State at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.
