(May 18, 2002)

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2002 Division I Softball East Regional
 UCLA 2 Defeats Georgia 1 (8 inn.)

COLUMBIA SC (May 18, 2002) A walk-off solo home run by UCLA's Tairia Mims lifted the No. 1-ranked Bruins to a 2-1, eight-inning victory over No. 25 Georgia in the NCAA softball tournament at Beckham field on Saturday night.

Georgia (59-16) meets South Carolina in an elimination game at 9:30 p.m. Saturday night for the chance to play UCLA (53-6) at 12 p.m. on Sunday for the regional championship.

Michelle Green (20-5) started for the Bulldogs and worked all seven-plus innings. One day after no-hitting South Carolina, the freshman from Duluth, Ga., no-hit UCLA through five and one-third and finished with a line of four hits, two runs, five walks and four strikeouts. Her streak of 42 batters faced without allowing a hit ended in the sixth inning.

Georgia broke the scoreless tie in the top of the sixth when Nicole Barber reached base on an infield error and scored on Shannon McKeon's bases-loaded fielder's choice. In the bottom half, Natasha Watley broke Green's streak of 42 consecutive batters faced without allowing a hit and laced a double to left field that was just out of the reach of a diving Julie Milner. Mims followed two batters later with a double to center that tied the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the eighth Mims led off the inning and worked a 2-0 count on Green. The third pitch cleared the right-field fence for the walk-off win.

UCLA will play South Carolina on Sunday, May 19, 2002 in the Regional Championship.  The winner will advance to the World Series in Oklahoma City.

[Source: NCAA]