A two-out single off the bat of sophomore Kinsley Washington gave UCLA a walk-off 5-4 win over Oklahoma Tuesday night in the best-of-three WCWS Championship Series.
The dramatic win was UCLA's 13th national championship, 12th NCAA Championship and 118th title in the school athletics history.
Oklahoma tied the second game of the series with a two-out solo home run in the top of the seventh. Freshman Colleen Sullivan reached base on a one-out fielder's choice for UCLA in the bottom of the frame, then advanced to second when a pitch got away from Oklahoma's catcher.
Junior Jacqui Prober came in to pinch run. Washington drove the next pitch to left for the game-winning RBI.
"They were convicted, they bought into the process, and they had each other's back," said UCLA head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. "There were so many selfless teammates, as far as not everyone got to get what they wanted, but they were committed to doing whatever they could to help this team. They're a really gutsy, relentless team, and I'm so proud that they enjoyed it. They had fun, they had each others' backs. We knew Oklahoma would throw punches today, and we had to punch back, and they literally got it done on this stage."
Senior Brianna Tautalafua was 3-for-3 in the deciding game. Washington and redshirt sophomore Aaliyah Jordan had two hits apiece.
Redshirt junior Rachel Garcia (29-1) struck out four over seven innings, allowing four runs, eight hits and three walks. Garcia was named the WCWS Most Outstanding Player.
