OKLAHOMA CITY “”mdash; Over the weekend, a few inches on a line
drive, a misplayed grounder or a throw over the fielder’s
head could end a team’s season.
Mistakes cost teams as much as great plays win games, and the
pressure increased throughout the weekend as teams moved into
elimination games.
With this in mind, UCLA’s veteran coach Sue Enquist tried
to get her young team to emotionally detach themselves from what
happens in the game.
“If they don’t get too attached to their failure and
they don’t get too attached to their success, we’re
going to win a lot of ballgames,” Enquist said.
Her strategy worked throughout the tournament. Of the eight
teams in Oklahoma City, the Bruins appeared to be the least
emotional team, approaching their games with a professional
demeanor.
With this mindset, the Bruins were able to peak in the last few
weeks of the season. They won 12 games in a row to advance to the
championship game, appearing every bit like the defending national
champions.
No player has seemed to carry this mindset more than pitcher
Keira Goerl. Last year’s Women’s College World Series
Most Outstanding Player had a trying off-season, when she was one
of the last players cut from the United States Olympic Team.
She has had to distance herself from the off-season
disappointment and from a string of tough losses in Pac-10
play.
But in the postseason she has responded. Goerl was named Most
Outstanding Player of the UCLA regional after giving up only one
earned run in four games. Her ERA was under 1.00 in the
Women’s College World Series, and she pitched every game in
the postseason.
“I just think it’s about peaking and peaking at the
right time,” Goerl said.
After Sunday’s win over Stanford, Enquist described how
the rest of the team has followed Goerl’s leadership.
Everyone on the team had to deal with the high expectations that
come with playing for UCLA. The Bruins have played in 17 of the 23
NCAA national championship title games.
That means the team is not satisfied just by having a chance to
win a championship. They were always focused on winning it all,
which made Enquist happy.
“The greatest thing is they enjoy the moment, but I can
tell there wasn’t that satisfaction,” Enquist said
after UCLA clinched a spot in the title game. “They’re
not done.”
After big plays and wins, the Bruins have held a relatively even
keel and focused on the next inning or the next game. They have
done the same after making occasional mistakes down the
stretch.
This helps to explain why UCLA got out of tough situations and
won another championship, while other teams could not overcome
their mistakes.
The approach is particularly important with the Bruins’
young team, and it has been very successful for three of the
freshmen.
Right fielder Lisa Dodd and shortstop Jodie Legaspi have been
two of UCLA’s best hitters in their first Women’s
College World Series, each delivering clutch RBI.
It also showed during the championship winning hit, as freshman
Kristen Dedmon was inserted into a game with two outs and two on
““ a classic pressure situation.
“I was very peaceful up there,” Dedmon said.
“It was a great feeling.”