So far, the only thing that can stop the Bruins is the
weather.
UCLA swept the first four games of the Palm Springs Classic,
remaining undefeated at 13-0.
But Sunday’s showdown against No. 6 Georgia ““ the
toughest test for the Bruins in the tournament ““ was
cancelled because of the weather.
The weekend’s rain didn’t affect the team’s
play against its other four opponents, as the Bruins outscored the
opposition by a combined score of 22-3.
In their only game against a ranked opponent, UCLA defeated No.
12 Tennessee 3-0 on Friday.
UCLA pitching ace Keira Goerl (7-0) dominated the Lady Vols,
striking out a season-high 11 batters while allowing only two
hits.
By the time Tennessee got a hit, the Bruins had already scored
all the runs they would need, as sophomore Caitlin Benyi led off
the game with her fifth home run of the season.
“We really set the tone in a lot of ballgames by getting
on the board early,” coach Sue Enquist said.
UCLA scored in the first inning in three of the four games.
The team scored five runs in their first inning of the
tournament against Baylor, four of them coming when freshman Lisa
Dodd hit her first career grand slam.
They scored two more runs in the second inning of the 9-0 mercy
rule victory.
Sophomore Andrea Duran went 3-for-3, scoring all three times.
She scored a total of six runs in the tournament
“Some of our key hitters were struggling a little bit, so
I felt I would have to step up to help the team,” Duran
said.
On Saturday, sophomore pitcher Michelle Turner made her first
start of the season, against Penn State, after recovering from
off-season shoulder surgery.
“In the beginning of the year I expected to be back by the
first weekend, but I had a couple of setbacks,” Turner
said.
She started off strong, giving up only one hit in the first four
innings.
But she struggled in the beginning of the fifth inning, giving
up a single and then a two-run homer to Penn State’s cleanup
hitter Katie Stauffer.
Turner came back strong, striking out the next two batters
before Goerl was brought in to close out the game, a 5-2 UCLA
win.
“I felt she threw an ample number of innings to feel
comfortable with her play,” Enquist said.
Goerl had already pitched a complete game earlier in the day, a
5-1 win over Northwestern.
The Wildcats’ only run was unearned, the result of one of
UCLA’s six errors during the tournament.
Enquist said the weekend’s wet weather was not a factor in
her team’s mistakes.
“It’s not like we have a problem,” Enquist
said. “It’s just a part of our game that we’re
trying to improve on.”