The Sports Report: UCLA softball's season comes to an end (2024)

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The clock struck midnight on UCLA’s Bruin Magic.

After a season defined by miraculous wins, the No. 6 Bruins came up at least one comeback short, losing 3-1 in a Women’s College World Series elimination game to No. 8 Stanford on Sunday at Devon Park. UCLA returned to Oklahoma City for the eighth time in nine seasons but went out on a whimper with only one run in its last two games.

UCLA (43-12) had 12 wins this season when trailing or tied in the fifth inning or later, but couldn’t muster lucky No. 13 against Stanford ace NiJaree Canady. The USA Softball collegiate player of the year gave up four hits and one run with eight strikeouts in her fifth consecutive complete game.

The Bruins swept Stanford (50-16) during the regular season, eking out two close wins over Canady. UCLA took down the star sophom*ore 1-0 in nine innings to open the series then won the finale 2-0. The weekend served as a coming-out party for sophom*ore Taylor Tinsley, who pitched 15-2/3 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts.

UCLA needed Tinsley to shine again Sunday after she entered in relief in the third inning of a 1-1 game. Stanford chased UCLA starter Kaitlyn Terry with a tying RBI double by Taryn Kern, then Tinsley gave up the go-ahead hit on an RBI single by first baseman Ava Gall. The Cardinal extended their lead in the fifth, leading off with back-to-back bunts and scoring on a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Allie Clements to bring home Emily Jones.

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DODGERS

From Mike DiGiovanna: Pitching on regular four days’ rest for only the second time this season, Stone gave up four hits over five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and two walks to lead the Dodgers to a 4-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies in front of a Sunday afternoon crowd of 48,251 at Dodger Stadium.

Eleven starts into his sophom*ore season, Stone is 6-2 with a 2.90 ERA.

“You know, it’s fun to watch him grow and mature,” manager Dave Roberts said. “His poise, his commanding of the baseball, the way he kind of attacks hitters and acquires strike one … he’s just built that trust with everyone that when he takes the mound, you expect to win.”

Stone, a fifth-round pick out of the University of Central Arkansas in 2020, was a little shaky in his first four starts of the season, going 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA, but he has been dominant in seven starts since April 26, going 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA, giving up 33 hits, striking out 31 and walking nine in 44 innings.

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Dodgers injury updates: Bobby Miller, Clayton Kershaw progress but Max Muncy has setback

Dodgers box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

ANGELS

Luis Castillo threw seven shutout innings, Mitch Garver hit a three-run double and the Seattle Mariners beat the Angels 5-1 on Sunday for a sweep of their weekend series.

Angels starter Griffin Canning had his best performance of the season and nearly matched Castillo. Canning (2-5) struck out four and walked one while pitching into the seventh inning for the first time this season.

Canning’s lone mistake was a 1-2 sinker to Luke Raley in the fourth inning that stayed in the middle of the plate. Raley connected for a solo drive that barely cleared the wall in right field for his sixth homer of the season.

“He’s continuing to show progress from his start. He stood out there and was in command. Just in the seventh inning he looked like he lost his energy,” Angels manager Ron Washington said of Canning.

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Angels box score

MLB scores

MLB standings

SPARKS

Diana Taurasi made seven of nine shots from three-point range and finished with a season-high 31 points to help Phoenix beat the Sparks 87-68 on Sunday and end the Mercury’s four-game skid.

Taurasi made nine of 14 shots from the field, six of six from the free-throw line and added two steals. Natasha Cloud scored 21 points with 12 assists, her third double-double of the season, and Kahleah Copper added 12 points and Sophie Cunningham 10 for the Mercury (4-5). Natasha Mack grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds.

The Sparks made only three of 13 from the field and scored seven points in the second — their lowest-scoring quarter of the season — and Phoenix used a 15-0 run to make it 31-17 when Liz Dixon hit a jumper with 3:36 left in the first half and the Mercury led by double figures the rest of the way.

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Sparks box score

WNBA standings

NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

NBA Finals

Thursday at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Sunday at Boston, 5 p.m., ABC
Wed., June 12 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Friday, June 14 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Monday, June 17 at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Thursday, June 20 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Sunday, June 23, at Boston, 5 p.m., ABC

*-if necessary

GYMNASTICS

Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles won her ninth U.S. championship on Sunday, leaving little doubt that at 27 and a decade-plus into her run atop the sport, she is as good as ever.

Biles posted a two-day all-around total of 119.750, nearly six points clear of runner-up Skye Blakely and leaving little doubt that she appears ready to add a second all-around Olympic gold to go with the one she captured in 2016.

Biles put on a four-rotation clinic that featured all the trademarks of a typical Biles performance. There was jaw-dropping athleticism mixed with precision and more than a splash of swagger.

Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events — something she’d done only once before at nationals (2018) — to build plenty of momentum ahead of the Olympic trials later this month in Minneapolis.

Her only misstep on Sunday came on vault. She came up short on her Yurchenko double pike — two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees — during warmups and overcompensated when it counted, generating so much force she wound up on her back. She still received a 15.000 for her effort, a testament to a vault that’s never been completed in competition by another woman and only attempted by a select group of men.

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SOFTBALL

From Jad El Reda: The laughter coming from a humble home echoed in one of the empty streets of Yaxunah, a small town of about 800 in the state of Yucatán, 25 kilometers southeast of one of Mexico’s most important archaeological sites, Chichén Itzá.

A group of women had just received a surprise visit from renowned actress Yalitza Aparicio.

The Oaxacan actor burst into the show business in 2018 with the film “Roma”, a breakthrough role that made her a source of admiration among the indigenous population and beyond.

“She’s just as tall as us,” exclaimed one of the women, prompting Aparicio to laugh.

For the indigenous athletes, Aparicio, who made history by being nominated for an Oscar for her role as Cleo, was the example to follow, but the actress said she gained a lot from supporting softball players breaking down their own barriers.

The Amazona as de Yaxunah are a unique softball team comprised of Mayan women who have fought against machismo and the strict rules of their society to do what they love.

Barefoot and dressed in their traditional huipiles — indigenous skirts and blouses — Las Amazonas de Yaxunah have earned opportunities to play beyond the sandy fields of their town, delivering hits in big stadiums such as Phoenix’s Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“They are all wonderful. It’s incredible, the trajectory they have had and what they have faced to achieve their dreams,” said Aparicio in an exclusive interview with L.A. Times en Español during her visit to Yaxunah.

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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Conference finals

Western Conference
C1 Dallas vs. P2 Edmonton
Edmonton 3, at Dallas 2 (2 OT) (box score)
at Dallas 3, Edmonton 1 (box score)
Dallas 5, at Edmonton 3 (box score)
at Edmonton 5, Dallas 2 (box score)
Edmonton 3, at Dallas 1 (box score)
at Edmonton 2, Dallas 1 (box score)

Eastern Conference
M1 New York Rangers vs. A1 Florida
Florida 3, at New York 0 (box score)
at New York 2, Florida 1 (OT) (box score)
New York 5, Florida 4 (OT) (box score)
at Florida 3, New York 2 (OT) (box score)
Florida 3, at New York 2 (box score)
at Florida 2, New York 1 (box score)

Stanley Cup Final

Saturday at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
Monday, June 10 at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, June 13 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN,
Saturday June 15 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday, June 18 at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, June 21 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Monday, June 24 at Florida, TB5 p.m.D, ESPN

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1932 — Lou Gehrig becomes the first major league player to hit four consecutive home runs in a game, giving the New York Yankees a 20-13 win over the Philadelphia A’s. Gehrig’s feat, however, is overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants for 30 years.

1972 — French Open Women’s Tennis: American icon Billie Jean King wins her only French singles title; beats Evonne Goolagong of Australia 6-3, 6-3.

1980 — NY Mets draft Darryl Strawberry, 18, #1 overall.

1984 — Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA championship by a record 10 strokes over Beth Daniel and Pat Bradley.

1991 — Thomas Hearns becomes a world champion for the sixth time, capturing the World Boxing Association’s light-heavyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Virgil Hill.

1995 — Pedro Martinez of Montreal pitches nine perfect innings against San Diego before giving up a leadoff double to Bip Roberts in the 10th inning of the Expos’ 1-0 win.

2001 — Karrie Webb wins the U.S. Women’s Open in a runaway for the second year in a row. Webb shoots a 1-under 69 for an eight-stroke victory, the largest margin at a Women’s Open in 21 years.

2006 — Jeff Burton has the biggest come-from-behind win ever in a Busch race, overcoming a 36th-place starting position in the Dover 200 for his second victory of the season.

Compiled by the Associated Press