Liberty Eliminates No. 2 UCLA in NCAA Softball Tournament Stunner

Liberty University upset No. 2 UCLA in the 2023 NCAA softball regionals on Saturday, 2-1, ending the Bruins’ season in surprising fashion.

UCLA finished the regular season with a 52-5 record, one of three teams with 50 wins and behind just No. 1 Oklahoma (51-1 in regular season) for the best record in the country. The Bruins are hosting a regional that also includes San Diego State, Liberty and Grand Canyon, but they lost to the Antelopes on Friday, 3-2, and the Flames on Saturday, becoming the first regional host eliminated from this year’s tournament.

Liberty beat Grand Canyon late Saturday night, 5-1, and will play San Diego State to decide who advances out of the Los Angeles Region.

The Bruins were anchored by Maya Brady, retired NFL star Tom Brady’s niece, who had 18 home runs and a .450 batting average in the regular season on her way to Pac-12 Player of the Year honors. UCLA also had ace Megan Faraimo, whose 1.42 ERA ranks among top 20 in the country.

UCLA boasted a 25-game winning streak from March 25 to May 12 but finished its season with three consecutive losses—one to concluse the Pac-12 tournament and two in the NCAA regional. The Bruins have made the NCAA tournament every year since 2015, but this is the first time during that span they have not advanced to the Super Regionals. 

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