On a dramatic Sunday afternoon at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers edged out the UCLA Bruins 5-4 in a gripping Women’s College World Series elimination game. The victory propels Tennessee into the semifinals, where they will face the No. 6 seed Texas Longhorns, needing to win twice to advance to the championship series.
The game was an emotional rollercoaster, featuring clutch hitting, stellar pitching performances, and a controversial moment that sparked intense debate among players, coaches, and fans alike. Tennessee senior shortstop Laura Mealer emerged as the hero, delivering a walk-off single with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring home Taylor Pannell and seal the win.
Tennessee entered the contest as the No. 7 seed with a 47-16 record, while UCLA boasted a strong 55-13 record as the No. 9 seed. Both teams had fought hard to reach this elimination round, with Tennessee having recently crushed Florida by an 11-3 run-rule victory and UCLA coming off a tough 3-1 loss to Texas Tech.
The game started with Tennessee taking an early lead in the first inning. After Gabby Leach struck out, Taylor Pannell singled to right, followed by Ella Dodge’s single to left. With two runners on, the Bruins intentionally walked McKenna Gibson to load the bases. Laura Mealer capitalized, hitting a two-RBI single to center field, giving Tennessee a 2-0 advantage. UCLA threatened in the top of the inning but was stifled by a double play after an infield fly call.
UCLA answered back in the second inning with a pair of solo home runs that tied the game at 2-2. Alexis Ramirez launched a solo shot to left field, followed by a towering blast from Sofia Mujica to left-center. Tennessee starter Karlyn Pickens, the team’s ace, allowed these two solo homers but otherwise settled down, striking out five and walking two through four innings.
Pickens was impressive throughout, pitching the entire game and finishing with 148 pitches. Despite allowing 11 hits and three home runs, she kept her composure and battled through every inning. “I’m feeling pretty good,” Pickens said postgame. “Yeah, I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll get as much in the tank as I need to be. So I’m good to go.” Her resilience was a key factor in Tennessee’s eventual victory.
Meanwhile, UCLA starter Kaitlyn Terry struggled early but found her rhythm after the second inning, retiring seven consecutive batters at one point. She pitched five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Reliever Taylor Tinsley came in to close, tossing 3.1 innings and allowing just three hits and one earned run, striking out no batters but keeping Tennessee’s offense at bay late in the game.
Tennessee regained the lead in the fifth inning when Taylor Pannell crushed a two-run homer to left field, following a single by Gabby Leach. The home run traveled at 69.5 mph off the bat and gave Tennessee a 4-2 edge. Pannell was a standout performer, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run.
UCLA refused to back down, though, and in the seventh inning, Megan Grant delivered a dramatic two-run home run to right-center field off Pickens with two outs, tying the game at 4-4. The blast came after a single by Jordan Woolery, setting the stage for one of the most talked-about moments of the tournament.
After hitting the homer, Grant initially missed touching home plate, stepping over it in celebration. She was then assisted back by teammate Alexis Ramirez to properly touch the plate. Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly immediately protested, arguing that if a runner misses home plate and is assisted, the runner should be called out, which would have ended the inning and given Tennessee the win.
The umpires conducted a lengthy 13-minute review, referencing Appendix G of the NCAA Softball Rule Book, which outlines what plays are reviewable by video. Ultimately, the officials ruled that while Grant had missed home plate and was assisted by a teammate, the play was not reviewable under NCAA rules and thus upheld the home run. This decision sent the game into extra innings and sparked outrage across softball social media.
Coach Weekly expressed her frustration but praised her players’ resilience. “That was one of the most exciting, intense, emotional games I have ever been part of in all my years of coaching, and I couldn’t be more proud of our young women hanging in there, not letting what happened in the seventh inning cost us the game,” she said. “That’s a real battle, and I have to give a ton of credit to the young ladies in our dugout, the young ladies on our bench pouring energy into the team that entire game. They’re the MVP that nobody knows about.”
With the game tied, Tennessee’s offense battled fiercely in the late innings. In the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded and one out, Laura Mealer stepped into the batter’s box. Calm and focused, she connected on a line-drive single to left field, driving in Taylor Pannell for the walk-off run. “I worked my whole life in that moment,” Mealer said. “But in that moment, it felt like 25 of us against the pitcher. Coach Karen even kept walking over to me and was like, ‘The pressure is not on you in this moment.’”
The victory means Tennessee advances to face No. 6 Texas on Monday at 11 a.m. ET, needing to win twice to reach the best-of-three championship series that begins June 4. UCLA’s season ends with a hard-fought 5-4 loss, concluding a tournament run that saw them defeat Oregon and South Carolina before falling to Texas Tech and Tennessee.
The game showcased the intensity and drama that define the Women’s College World Series, with stellar individual performances, strategic pitching duels, and moments of controversy. Tennessee’s perseverance and clutch hitting, combined with Pickens’ endurance on the mound, earned them a hard-fought victory and a chance to continue their quest for a national title.
