LOS ANGELES – Georgia’s softball season ended with a 6-1 loss to UCLA Friday night in the Los Angeles Super Regional.
Sharlize Palacios had two home runs among her three hits, driving in four, and UCLA upped its win streak to 13 and swept 11th-seeded Georgia. UCLA advances to the Women’s College World Series for a record 30th time.
Palacios gave UCLA (42-10) a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with an RBI single, scoring Maya Brady. Georgia (43-19) scored its lone run in the bottom of the inning on a two-out single by Lyndi Rae Davis.
Brady added an RBI single with one out in the second, scoring Thessa Malau’ulu for a 2-1 lead. Palacios homered after Brady led off the fourth with a single for a 4-1 advantage. Malau’ulu added a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Palacios hit a solo shot in the sixth to complete the scoring.
Taylor Tinsley (17-8) went the distance for UCLA, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out six.
Madison Kerpics (13-4) took the loss for the Bulldogs, yielding two runs on four hits and two walks in a five-out start. Lilli Backes followed and gave up four runs — three earned — in 4-2/3 innings.
Lyndi Rae Davis had two hits, her seventh multi-hit game of the season, and drove in Georgia’s lone run in the first inning. Dallis Goodnight and Jayda Kearney each had a hit. Goodnight finished the season with a nine-game on-base streak.
“I think they’re about as complete a team as we’ve played and we’ve played a lot of good ones,” Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin said of UCLA. “They certainly executed in all phases of the game, they are well well-coached, and they play the game the right way. I really have a lot of respect for them and their players. …
“Ultimately, the outcome is what it is, but at this point, we’ll celebrate the seniors that we’ve had and the season that we had, and we’ll spend the rest of the night and weekend talking about the good times and memories that we created together.”
- The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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