Like she does on every home run, Megan Grant put her head down and ran as hard as she could to first base.
UCLA’s Megan Grant celebrates after becoming the NCAA single-season home run champion Saturday. University Images via Getty Images Grant’s solo homer in the third inning against Nebraska on Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament title game made the UCLA slugger the NCAA single-season home run champion.
Grant’s 38th homer of the season broke the 31-year-old record of 37 set by Arizona’s Laura Espinoza in 1995.
“It’s surreal,” Grant told reporters afterward. “I’m just so grateful for the opportunity that I was blessed with and just to follow the people that were before me, it’s just an honor.”
Grant’s homer — on an 0-2 pitch off Cornhuskers ace Jordy Frahm — gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead in the top of the third.
The Cornhuskers scored the next seven runs en route to a 7-2 victory at College Park, Md., in a battle between elite pitching and epic power.
Grant watches her record-breaking home run sail over the fence Saturday against Nebraska. University Images via Getty Images UCLA’s big moment came on Grant’s homer, which sparked a wild celebration with teammates.
“I think they were more focused on the record, and I was more focused on just, everyone get back in the dugout and know that we’re here to win,” Grant said. “You know, this is just a milestone and I hit that, and now we can fully just focus on the game and all I was saying was, ‘Let’s win it. Let’s win it.’ ”
The Cornhuskers’ rally centered around a controversial call in the bottom of the third.
After loading the bases off UCLA ace Taylor Tinsley (28-6) with one out, Nebraska’s Hannah Coor hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Kaniya Bragg. Frahm, who was on first base, collided with Bragg on her way to second base and was ruled out because of interference.
UCLA challenged the play, seeking a malicious contact call that would have resulted in Frahm’s ejection and the removal of the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year. But the umpires ruled in Nebraska’s favor, allowing Frahm to remain in the game.
Nebraska’s Hannah Camenzind followed with a two-run single up the middle, with a third run scoring on an errant throw. The Cornhuskers added to their lead with Kacie Hoffmann’s two-run homer in the fourth and two more insurance runs in the sixth.
Frahm (18-4) shut down the Bruins after giving up Grant’s homer, helping the Cornhuskers stretch their winning streak to 21 games.
UCLA, which is expected to host an NCAA Tournament Regional at Easton Stadium, will learn its postseason pairing Sunday.
Grant was given the home run ball with an inscription documenting the feat. She placed it in her backpack and said she planned to give it to her grandmother.
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