Keira Goerl has thrown 12 one-hitters this year, but none like
the first of the two she threw on Sunday.
The one-hitter resulted in a 1-0 loss for the No. 1 UCLA
softball team against No. 14 DePaul at the Hedrick Hallowell
Classic in Fresno.
In the Bruins’ second game on Sunday, they beat rival
Fresno State 5-0.
For the tournament, the Bruins won four out of five games and
finished tied for first with DePaul.
The loss ended the Bruins’ (26-2) 24-game winning
streak.
“It’s frustrating,” Goerl said. “But you
learn from it.”
The Blue Demons scored the only run of the game in the sixth
inning.
After two strikeouts to lead off the inning, DePaul’s Liz
Bouck reached first because of an error by shortstop Natasha
Watley. Blue Demon Sarah Martz then hit the ball a few feet in
front of home plate. Emily Zaplatosch’s throw to first was
high and Bouck scored.
“On the defensive end, we broke down,” UCLA head
coach Sue Enquist said. “Basically, we sped up our tempo and
made errant throws. When you have a pitcher like Keira, you
don’t have to make fantastic plays.”
The Bruins had six hits in the game but couldn’t
score.
“We couldn’t clutch up when we needed to,”
Enquist said. “I didn’t think we’d struggle like
we did.”
UCLA had only 20 minutes between games to get ready for Fresno
State, its long-time rival. The two programs have met each other in
three NCAA championship games, and have a combined 30 Women’s
College World Series appearances in 21 years.
Despite the short break after a tough loss, the Bruins got out
to an early lead in the first inning.
Watley led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a single
by first baseman Tairia Mims.
“The first game was one of those where you wonder,
“˜did that just happen?'” designated player Claire
Sua said. “After the run, we realized “˜Hey, we’re
OK!'”
In the third inning, the game changed completely when Sua hit a
three-run homer.
“The home run was huge,” Enquist said. “It was
vintage Claire Sua; she hits the ball so hard, her home runs are
more horizontal, not vertical.”
A sacrifice fly by Mims completed the scoring for UCLA.
Goerl pitched her second complete-game one-hitter of the day
““ this time, a shutout.
“I’m in shape to pitch both games,” Goerl
said. “I wanted to see if I can actually do it.”
The quick break between games ended up not affecting the Bruins,
which Enquist attributed to her team’s maturity.
In its other games of the weekend, UCLA beat St. John’s
8-0 (5 innings) on Friday and Cal Poly 5-0 on Saturday.