One never knows how college softball’s most formidable hitting duo will celebrate their latest home run.
Megan Grant likes a shimmy followed by a Superman pose.
Jordan Woolery is into the TikTok dances suggested by the team’s freshmen.
Whatever moves the UCLA sluggers unleash this weekend, expect to see a lot of them.
The duo known as the Bruin Bombers has combined for 71 home runs this season — more than 258 NCAA Division I teams.
“I mean, what they’re doing this year is just epic,” Bruins coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said.
Grant leads the way with an NCAA-record 38 homers heading into UCLA’s NCAA Tournament Regional opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Easton Stadium against California Baptist (43-17). The Bruins (47-8) will face either South Carolina (30-26) or Cal State Fullerton (40-13) on Saturday.
Woolery’s 33 homers rank as the second-highest total by a Bruin in one season.
The best of friends, they’re nearly inseparable off the field and in the batting order.
Grant hits second, followed by Woolery. Their spots in the order are always preceded by a bat tap between the teammates and sometimes end with both players rounding the bases.
The seniors have hit back-to-back homers six times in their careers, including twice in the same game against UC Riverside in February. They’ve homered in the same game 24 times, often celebrating with chest bumps at home plate.
Woolery said she’s driven to match her teammate every time she steps to the plate.
“It’s cool to see and just cool to be able to watch her hit, honestly,” Woolery said. “I think it’s like the best show ever.”
Rather than compete with one another, they view their success as cumulative. That’s why the duo set a collective goal of 60 homers, which they obliterated before the postseason.
“I think we just bounce off of each other,” Grant said. “As long as we’re near each other, then that’s all that matters to both of us.”
Woolery is also bound for the record books after being selected the Big Ten Conference’s Player of the Year.
She is hitting a team-leading .515 with a school-record 107 RBIs, putting her on pace to become the first player in NCAA history with a .500 average, 30 homers and 100 RBIs in the same season.
“This is something that’s never been done, and I’ve played this game a long time and coached a long time,” UCLA hitting coach Lisa Fernandez said of her sluggers’ feats. “To have two athletes perform at this level is just crazy.”
Coming off a season in which Grant and Woolery combined for 49 homers, Fernandez decided to mess with success. She flip-flopped the hitters in the batting order and moved them up from the three-hole and cleanup spot to Nos. 2-3.
The thinking was that this optimized the lineup, Fernandez said, providing both sluggers more at-bats while also allowing the left-handed-hitting Grant to hit directly behind fellow lefty leadoff hitter Rylee Slimp. That would give Grant a preview of what she would face hitting from the same side of the plate.
The sluggers have the benefit of learning from a hitting coach who was a dominant two-way player as a Bruin and one of the most decorated stars in the history of the sport.
“I understand the thought process of pitchers and what they’re trying to do,” said Fernandez, a four-time All-American, “and how can we beat that as a hitter.”
It should come as no surprise that the duo doesn’t see many hittable pitches.
Grant has drawn a Big Ten-leading 64 walks, with Woolery having walked 43 times.
This is the second season for the ages within a single school year for Grant.
She was a member of UCLA’s national championship women’s basketball team until early February, cherishing her role providing energy, hustle and encouragement off the bench.
Playing college basketball fulfilled a dream for someone who once thought it would be her best sport; it also provided a reminder of why she stuck with softball.
After she homered in her first game back, Grant announced, in an almost surprised fashion, that she was kind of good at this sport.
“We all laugh at her because she’s so hard on herself, you know?” Inouye-Perez said. “Elite athletes have a high standard, but I think it gave her perspective, I think it helped her appreciate just how talented she is.”
Going a step further, Grant said playing basketball “freed” her for this historic season by allowing her to maximize her opportunities.
“I feel like this is the most free I’ve seen her be probably in our four years,” Woolery said. “Honestly, I think she’s just being herself, and it’s really cool to see her thrive in this last year.”
As expected, both players were among the top picks in the recent Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft, with Grant selected fourth overall by the Portland Cascade and Woolery going sixth to the Utah Talons.
But first things first. They’ve got some more homers to hit and celebrations to unveil as the Bruins chase their first national championship since 2019.
No one can predict what sort of joyous move they might make next, each slugger always inspiring the other.
“As long as we’re next to each other,” Woolery said, “I feel like it’s gonna be a lot of good success.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
