The UCLA softball team, which dominated the Los Angeles NCAA Regional last weekend, will meet Mississippi today at 6 in the Los Angeles Super Regional.

The second game will be Friday at 6 o’clock, and a third game, if necessary, will be Saturday at 6 inside Easton Stadium on the UCLA campus.

With outstanding pitching and home run hitting last weekend, the Bruins outscored their three opponents 27-3. In  the process they blasted out an eye-popping 10 home runs in three days.

If the Bruins continue these trends, they will punch their ticket to the eight-team College World Series that starts next Thursday,

“We have to continue to play our game,” said Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez after the Bruins beat Cal State Fullerton 9-1 in the Regional final last Sunday. “We are an experienced team. We have built ourselves back to where we want to be.”

The building process started in mid-March after UCLA lost a three-game home series to Utah.

Since then, the Bruins have been on a 22-5 run.

“We have just been getting stronger,” said Coach Inouye-Perez.

“We knew we were one of the best teams in the country. If you look at our lineup,  you will see good players from one through nine. There is not just one person who makes big plays.”

Another reason the Bruins are so successful is the competition in the Pac-12. Five of the 16 teams in the Super Regionals are Pac-12 schools. Arizona, Oregon, Utah and Washington also play this weekend.

If the Bruins beat Ole Miss and advance to the College World Series they have the pitching and hitting to win the championship.

The past few years UCLA has relied on one pitcher at the World Series.

This year they have three — Selina Ta’amilo, Rachel Garcia and Johanna Grauer.

Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com