The Bruins have been able to pile up the runs for most of the
season, but Saturday they were reminded that softball is typically
a low-scoring game.
Sophomore Caitlin Benyi broke a scoreless tie against San Diego
State with a single in the bottom of the tenth, scoring freshman
Ashley Herrera from second base for a 1-0 victory.
“My first job was to get the bunt down, but I didn’t
do that,” Benyi said. “I talked to coach (Sue Enquist).
She said “˜get it done,’ and I went out and did
it.”
UCLA, the nation’s top-ranked team, won all five games of
this weekend’s San Diego State Softball Tournament,
preserving the Bruins’ undefeated record of 21-0.
The Aztecs (14-11), playing before their home crowd, mounted the
biggest challenge the Bruins have faced so far this season.
SDSU pitcher Deanna Richards (4-4) held the Bruins to a
season-low one run. UCLA had a number of good chances to break the
game open, but the Bruins could not get the clutch hit to drive in
a run.
In the pitching circle, Keira Goerl (12-0) had one of her best
outings of the season, keeping her team in the game until they
could score.
“I had complete confidence in (Goerl) and the rest of our
team that we would get the job done; it was just matter of
time,” Benyi said.
With no score after seven innings, the teams adopted the
international tiebreaker rule and started each extra inning with a
runner on second base.
After two more innings, Aztec runner Meagan Hartung advanced to
third on a wild pitch from Goerl.
But Goerl pitched out of her only jam and the Bruins capitalized
immediately with Benyi’s hit in the bottom of the inning.
Goerl picked up a season-high 12 strikeouts while allowing only
four baserunners.
It was the team’s first extra inning game of the season,
and could be a preview for conference play.
“It was good to get that exposure because we’re
going to see that during the Pac-10 season and the World
Series,” shortstop Jedie Legaspi said.
UCLA’s pitching was dominant throughout the tournament.
Goerl allowed a run in the tournament opener against Syracuse, a
4-1 win.
It was the only run UCLA gave up in the five-game
tournament.
Freshman Lisa Dodd threw a pair of shutouts, a 4-0 win over Cal
Poly on Friday and a 3-0 victory against Nevada on Sunday.
In the last game of the tournament Goerl threw a 4-0 shutout
against Cal Poly.
Offensively, the Bruins were led by Benyi, who also had a pair
of home runs Sunday, and Legaspi.
After going three-for-three with a home run and three RBI
against Syracuse, Legaspi was moved up to the No. 5 spot in the
lineup for the rest of the weekend. She finished hitting 10-for-17
with two home runs and seven RBI.
Despite winning all five games, the Bruins were not dominant,
and they will need to improve before conference play begins.
“We didn’t play our best this weekend, and
there’s no room for that when we get into Pac-10,”
Benyi said.