UCLA Is Almost Perfect

After taking a 5-0 lead in the third inning, the only drama remaining for the UCLA softball team in its NCAA regional opener against Alabama Thursday was whether Courtney Dale would throw a perfect game.

After five innings without a baserunner, Dale committed a throwing error to allow Suzanne Olcott to reach base, then Kelley Askew led off the seventh with a single to break up the no-hitter. It wasn’t nearly enough for the Crimson Tide (39-25), who lost to the No. 1 Bruins, 7-0, at Easton Stadium.

UCLA (56-6) will play Creighton today at 12:30 p.m. in the second round of the double-elimination tournament. Creighton lost to Minnesota, 2-0.

“I was just trying to get my pitches to move and hit my spots and let my defense take care of the rest,” Dale said.

Third baseman Julie Adams was two for three with two two-run home runs and five runs batted in to lead UCLA’s charge.

Dale struck out 10 and walked none, and no Alabama runner got past first base.

In the first game at Easton, Cal State Northridge scored six runs in the second inning and held off No. 23 Missouri, 7-3.

Northridge (30-22) plays Minnesota at 3 p.m.

In other regional games, Melanie Muniz had two hits and drove in a run but Long Beach State (33-20) lost to Oklahoma (40-14), 3-1, at Baton Rouge, La. Long Beach will play Southern, which lost to Louisiana State, 12-0, in five innings.

Stephanie Little, Yasmin Mossadeghi and Stacy Pierson hit home runs as Cal State Fullerton (35-27) defeated Tennessee (44-26), 12-1, in a game shortened to five innings because of the 10-run rule at Seattle. Fullerton will play Texas A&M;, which defeated Hawaii, 4-3.