As UCLA softball freshman Danielle Peterson sat on the bench
during Saturday afternoon’s game, she knew she wanted to help
her team, but didn’t know if an opportunity would be afforded
to her. The seldom-used pinch hitter hadn’t received much
playing time for the UCLA softball team, entering Saturday with
only one hit in eight at-bats for the year. But as the nip-and-tuck
contest went into the late innings, Peterson would go into the
bullpen to swing a bat, keeping loose just in case that chance
came. Peterson was given her opportunity in the sixth inning of
Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regionals on Saturday against Georgia,
when she was called on to pinch hit with the game tied at 4-4 and a
runner on second base. And in UCLA’s most important at-bat of
the season up to that point, Peterson delivered, smacking an RBI
double, only the second hit of her career, to give the Bruins the
lead. UCLA held on for a 5-4 win and would win Game 3 later that
night to advance to the Women’s College World Series, where
the team will face second-seeded California in its first game on
Thursday. “Are you kidding? Of course that’s the very
top moment of my career,” Peterson said. “I was so
excited. I was just praying it would happen.” As Peterson
strode onto second base, she pointed toward the dugout and good
friend Anjelica Selden, yelling, “That one is for you.”
Peterson’s double officially got Selden, who had allowed four
runs early in the game, off the hook. “That pumped me
up,” Selden said. “It gave me a lot of energy.”
“That wasn’t just for her,” Peterson said.
“It was for everyone on the team and in that dugout.”
Because UCLA coach Sue Enquist seldom uses more than one pinch
hitter in a game, Peterson rarely found opportunities to be put
into the game. But since no Bruin had shone in the pinch-hitting
role all season long, and with Enquist being very impressed with
Peterson’s work ethic toward the end of the year, the
freshman became UCLA’s main pinch hitter in the last week of
the season. Though she went 0-for-3 in the NCAA Regionals, Peterson
worked the count in each at-bat, narrowly missing doubles down the
line by inches. “She doesn’t know fear,” Enquist
said. “She can wear down a pitcher. She had so many good
at-bats last weekend but finally got something to show for it. The
game paid her back.”
SPEED DEMON: Another freshman who made her first big impact for
the Bruins on Saturday was pinch runner Danesha Adams. While Adams
was standing on second base in the sixth inning of Game 2 with the
Bruins down 4-3 and one out, teammate Ashley Herrera hit a ground
ball to the shortstop. The traditional rule in softball for a
runner on second is to not advance on a ground ball hit on the left
side of the infield. But it was a relatively slow grounder, and the
speedy Adams decided to take a chance and run to third. A bad throw
by Georgia shortstop Katie Vickers meant not only that Adams was
safe at third, but that she could run home and score the tying run.
“Speed kills,” Enquist said. “She went for it.
You’ve got to tip your cap to her. She has great
instincts.” Adams, who is also a starting forward on the
women’s soccer team, just joined the team three weeks ago,
and has been used as the second pinch runner off the bench after
Alissa Eno. The run was Adams’ first as a Bruin.