Ucla Senior Megan Grant Ties Ncaa Softball Home Run Record; Bruins Reach Title Game

UCLA elder Megan Grant deed her 37th location tally of nan season, tying nan NCAA single-season grounds during nan Bruins’ 19-5 triumph complete Wisconsin during nan Big Ten tourney semifinal Friday successful College Park, Md.

The grounds was group successful 1995 by Arizona’s Lauren Espinoza, but Grant and Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells person deed homers astatine a blistering gait each play and are battling to adjacent nan play arsenic nan caller title holder. Wells has 36 location runs, but her squad was eliminated from nan Southeastern Conference tourney Friday and she’ll person to hold until nan NCAA tourney originates to adhd to her tally.

Grant, meanwhile, will beryllium successful nan lineup erstwhile UCLA plays regular-season Big Ten champion Nebraska for nan convention tourney title astatine 10 a.m. Saturday successful College Park, Md. The crippled will aerial connected nan Big Ten Network. First transportation was shifted earlier pinch nan dream of avoiding storms successful Maryland.

Grant’s teammates celebrated blast No. 37 and shouted down her while she was interviewed connected nan Big Ten Network.

“I was conscionable focusing arsenic overmuch arsenic I can, conscionable competing wrong that at-bat,” Grant said erstwhile asked astir her record-tying blast. “... A one-on-one conflict is each I deliberation about. It benignant of had a bully payout.”

During their semifinal triumph complete Wisconsin, nan Bruins deed 4 location runs and pushed their NCAA grounds single-season squad location tally full to 181.

Earlier Friday, UCLA elder Jordan Woolery was named Big Ten subordinate of nan twelvemonth by nan league’s 17 caput coaches.

Woolery leads nan federation successful RBIs (107) and is nan 5th subordinate successful NCAA Division I history to grounds much than 100 RBIs successful a season.

Bri Alejandre, Aleena Garcia, Rylee Slimp and Grant joined Woolery connected nan All-Big Ten first team. Bruins Kaniya Bragg, Alexis Ramirez and Taylor Tinsley earned second-team honors.