OKLAHOMA CITY — Jordan Woolery's moment was so big, she could barely recall the details of what happened.
For everyone watching the UCLA sophomore's heroics at the late, it was an unforgettable start to this year's Women's College World Series
Woolery's three-run homer in the sixth inning lifted the Bruins to a 4-1 win over Alabama in the first of four games set for Thursday at OGE Energy Field as the eight-team event to determine NCAA Division I softball's national champion got underway.
"I think I blacked out after I hit it," Woolery said. "I don't really remember, honestly."
Woolery's blast against Crimson Tide starter Kayla Beaver (18-10) came with two outs and broke a 1-1 tie.
Taylor Tinsley (18-8) was the winning pitcher for UCLA after throwing three scoreless innings in relief. She stepped in for Kaitlyn Terry, who allowed one run on four hits in four innings.
Maya Brady had two hits as UCLA earned its 14th straight victory, a winning streak that started after an 8-4 home loss to Arizona in Pac-12 regular-season play on April 27. The Bruins (43-10), whose 12 NCAA titles at the WCWS are four more than any other program, will next play three-time reigning champion Oklahoma (55-6) on Saturday in the second round of the double-elimination bracket that sets up next week's best-of-three title series.
UCLA is the overall No. 6 seed for the NCAA tournament, which began three weeks ago with a 64-team field. The Bruins will face the second-seeded Sooners for the first time since a regular-season tournament matchup in February 2023, when Oklahoma won 14-0 in a game shortened to five innings by the run rule.
AP photo by Brandon Wade / UCLA's Jordan Woolery celebrates after hitting a three-run homer to give the Bruins a 4-1 lead over Alabama in the sixth inning of the Women's College World Series opener Thursday in Oklahoma City.Beaver went the distance and gave up four runs on four hits in six innings for sixth-seeded Alabama (38-19), which will face 10th-seeded Duke (52-8) in Friday's first elimination game. The Blue Devils, making the first WCWS appearance for a program that began competing in 2018, lost 9-1 in six innings to Oklahoma in Thursday's second game.
The Tide survived back-to-back elimination games against No. 3 Tennessee last weekend to win the best-of-three Knoxville Super Regional and secure the 15th WCWS berth in Alabama softball history, which includes the 2012 national title and a runner-up finish in 2014. They'll try to avoid a second straight 0-2 showing in Oklahoma City after a quick exit last year.
"We're going to look forward to tomorrow," Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. "We've been here before. Our backs have been against the wall, so it's no big deal. We're going to fight like hell."
Thursday's game started 1 1/2 hours late after lightning and rain delays.
Beaver retired the first seven batters she faced before hitting Janelle Meono with a pitch. Brady singled, then Jadelyn Allchin did the same to knock in Meono for the game's first run.
Alabama's Bailey Dowling singled to start the fifth, and UCLA pulled Terry. The Tide loaded the bases against Tinsley with one out. Kenleigh Cahalan's hard RBI single to right field tied the score, but UCLA right fielder Megan Grant threw out Kali Heivilin at home to end the inning.
"Of course, you've got to send the runner," UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. "I'm kind of glad they did because Megan was in position. She's got a good arm. The ball was hit right to her. I felt really good, if we were able to play catch, that she was going to be out at the plate."
In the sixth, Brady singled and Alabama intentionally walked Sharlize Palacios to put runners on first and second with one out. Beaver struck out Grant looking for the second out before Woolery cranked her 10th homer of the season.
"It was a well-played game," Murphy said. "They had an opportunity to win it, they did it. One good swing."