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Woolery’s walk-off homer stuns South Carolina, sets up rubber match

Screenshot 2025-02-05 152517by: Cooper Taylor05/24/25
Screenshot 2025-05-24 at 12.58.42 PM
Crash Kamon/Softball America

Bruin Magic found its way to Columbia. Jordan Woolery’s two-run walk-off blast capped a four-run seventh inning as UCLA beat South Carolina 5-4 to keep their season alive.

For the second straight day, South Carolina jumped on the board in the first inning. This time, against UCLA starter Taylor Tinsley. Quincee Lilio singled to lead off the game, followed by a walk. Then, a clutch one-out RBI single from Lexi Winters put the Gamecocks in front 1-0 after the first inning. Sam Gress earned the start for South Carolina and sat down the Bruins’ side in order in the bottom half.

The next three innings featured a pitcher’s duel between Tinsley and Gress. Tinsley struck out three batters over the next three frames. Meanwhile, Gress stranded three runners across the next three innings, keeping the score at 1-0 through four innings.

In the top of the fifth, the Gamecocks padded the lead with some two-out magic. After Tinsley struck out the first two batters of the inning, Lilio reached on an error. Then, a hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases for Winters. Once again, the Gamecocks’ senior catcher came up clutch. Winters smacked a two-run single to left field and extended South Carolina’s lead to 3-0.

South Carolina head coach Ashley Chastain-Woodard decided to turn the ball over to Jori Heard in the circle, relieving Gress after four shutout innings. After striking out the first batter she faced, Heard surrendered the first UCLA run of the game on a solo homer from Sofia Mujica. A free pass brought the tying run to the plate, but Heard induced a groundout to end the fifth inning.

For a consecutive inning, the Gamecocks loaded the bases. Two singles and Tinsley’s second hit batter of the game turned it over to the top of the order with one out. Lilio then slapped an infield single two feet in front of home plate, scoring the Gamecocks’ fourth run of the game. A base running miscue for the Gamecocks ended the inning, but South Carolina carried a 4-1 lead into the home half of the sixth. Heard continued to keep the Bruins’ bats at bay, sitting down the heart of the UCLA lineup.

A scoreless top half of the seventh kept the deficit at three with three outs left in UCLA’s season. Heard walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh, but then responded with a strikeout of Mujica for the first out of the inning. The next pitch, Kaitlyn Terry ripped an RBI triple to right center, bringing the tying run to the plate. Facing the top of the lineup, Heard struck out Jess Clements for the second out.

Following the strikeout, Savy Pola singled on the first pitch she saw, cutting the deficit to 4-3. South Carolina then re-entered Gress in the circle with Woolery coming to the plate. Woolery was hitless on the weekend before one big swing changed that. On the first pitch from Gress, Woolery launched the walk-off, two-run blast to stun the Gamecocks and force a Game 3 on Sunday.

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