Kelly Inouye-Perez breaks down UCLA's approach against Oklahoma in Women's College World Series

Through the first four innings of UCLA’s game against Oklahoma in the Women’s College World Series, Kaitlyn Terry had one blemish on her stat line. The freshman pitcher allowed a solo home run to Tiare Jennings in the third inning, but was otherwise finding success against a tough Sooners lineup.

To Bruins head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, though, it wasn’t a bad pitch. Terry just got beat by a talented hitter.

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“I wouldn’t even call that a mistake,” Inouye-Perez told ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “I think Tiare’s just a great hitter. The plan was to stretch the zone, but you’ve got to credit great hitters. She’s doing a great job just battling, coming up with some great pitches.

“We know they’re very offensive. But she’s just taking her game pitch by pitch and I love what she’s doing.”

UCLA also faced a tall task going against Kelly Maxwell, the Oklahoma ace who brought a 1.96 ERA into Saturday’s game. Inouye-Perez said the Bruins had a plan against Maxwell, but pointed out they might’ve gotten away from it a bit to start the game.

But between some big plays from the defense and looming in-game adjustments, she got the sense UCLA was going to have opportunities to break through. It just comes down to patience.

“We’ve got to be able to get a good pitch to hit,” Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “There’s a plan in place – I can tell you, we’re not really doing a great job. But that’s one thing, the best part about it is we tend to get stronger through the game, so I’m looking forward to us making some adjustments, getting some barrel on some ball and just getting better contact. But right now, our defense is doing a great job, KT’s doing a great job.”

Saturday’s matchup is even more interesting considering Oklahoma and UCLA have won the last four WCWS titles. The Bruins – led by standout pitcher Rachel Garcia in the circle – defeated the Sooners in the 2019 championship series for their second title under Inouye-Perez’s leadership.

Then, after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OU rattled off three straight titles from 2021-23 to join UCLA as the only teams to three-peat. Patty Gasso’s group is in search of a fourth straight title, which would be the first four-peat in WCWS history, and it’s only fitting the Bruins stand in Oklahoma’s way.