OKLAHOMA CITY “”mdash; Sooner or later, someone will let the
Bruins know that this is supposed to be the hardest part of their
title defense.
Second-seeded UCLA throttled No. 7 seed Stanford 8-2 in their
Women’s College World Series opener, notching their 10th
consecutive victory.
After trailing 2-1, the Bruins blew the game open in the fourth
inning for their third straight victory over Stanford.
The Bruins advance to face LSU in a winner’s bracket game
today at noon after finally getting off to a good start in the
WCWS.
“In recent history, we really haven’t played good
Bruin softball on day one,” coach Sue Enquist said.
In the key inning, the Bruins scored six runs and sent 11
batters to the plate, with only a few solid hits.
It started when first baseman Claire Sua drew a seemingly
innocent walk. Center-fielder Stephanie Ramos followed with a
single in left, and shortstop Jodie Legaspi came up with a
game-tying bloop single to right.
With one out, designated player Ashley Herrera chopped the ball
through the circle over second base and past the infielders,
scoring Ramos and Legaspi to give UCLA a 4-2 lead.
Two batters later, second baseman Caitlin Benyi put the game out
of reach with a three-run homer, giving the Bruins a 7-2 lead.
“Luckily for me, she left it up there,” Benyi said
about the pitch she hammered over the centerfield fence for her
23rd homer of the season.
UCLA’s big inning came against Laura Severson,
Stanford’s No. 2 starter.
Cardinal coach John Rittman took out All-American Dana Sorensen
after the second inning. She allowed only one run on three hits at
that time.
“She was not 100 percent” Rittman said. “UCLA
has seen her three times this season, and I felt like Laura
Severson could give us some strong innings. I don’t think I
would change my decision there.”
Sorensen’s history in those three meetings was mixed. She
shut out the Bruins in Stanford’s only win of the season
series but got hammered when the teams faced off late in the
season.
Although Severson got the nod Thursday, she hadn’t fared
much better against UCLA, and it only got worse.
At one point in the fourth inning, Sorensen was warming up to
re-enter the game but did not return.
Meanwhile, the Bruins knew they could turn to senior pitcher
Keira Goerl for stability in the circle.
Last year’s WCWS Most Outstanding Player was not dominant,
but she did enough to give her team a chance to win.
“It may not have been her A-plus game, but she was getting
it done when she had to,” Enquist said.
While the final score made it look like an easy victory, the
picture wasn’t always so upbeat for UCLA.
Stanford took the lead at the top of the first inning on a
two-out double by Jessica Allister, but the Bruins tied it in the
bottom of the inning on Lisa Dodd’s single.
But the key was the fourth inning, when nearly every Bruin
chipped in. UCLA has been able to bat around multiple times in the
last few weeks generating blow-out wins.
“I think they do a good job of feeding off each other, and
hitting is momentum,” Enquist said.