Palacios leads UCLA to 13th straight win, sweep of Georgia in super regional

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sharlize Palacios had two home runs among her three hits, driving in four, and UCLA upped its win streak to 13 and finished off a sweep of 11th-seeded Georgia with a 6-1 victory on Friday night, capturing the Los Angeles Super Regional and earning the Bruins a spot in the Women’s College World Series for a record 30th time.

Palacios gave UCLA (42-10) a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with an RBI single, scoring Maya Brady. Georgia (43-19) scored its lone run in the bottom of the inning on a two-out single by Lyndi Rae Davis.

Brady added an RBI single with one out in the second, scoring Thessa Malau’ulu for a 2-1 lead. Palacios homered after Brady led off the fourth with a single for a 4-1 advantage. Malau’ulu added a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Palacios hit a solo shot in the sixth to complete the scoring.

Taylor Tinsley (17-8) went the distance for UCLA, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out six.

Madison Kerpics (13-4) took the loss for the Bulldogs, yielding two runs on four hits and two walks in a five-out start. Lilli Backes followed and gave up four runs — three earned — in 4 2/3 innings.

UCLA has advanced to the championship game of the WCWS 20 times, winning 13 of them.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports