When a team composed of the same players has improved results
from one season to the next, there is often an X-factor that boosts
that team up a notch. For this season’s UCLA softball team,
which has won 13 of its first 14 games this year after winning 11
of its first 14 games last season, that X-factor has been Lisa
Dodd. The junior pitcher/first baseman has gotten off to a much
better start this season than last season, particularly with the
bat. Last season through 14 games, Dodd was hitting .159 with no
home runs and three RBIs in 42 at-bats. While Dodd did improve as
the season went on, she still finished the year with a dismal .211
batting average. This season, however, through 14 games, Dodd is
hitting .316 with four homers and 13 RBIs. “This past summer,
I went back to my old hitting coach and I just kind of got back to
the way I used to play,” Dodd said. “UCLA does things a
little bit different than I have in the past. It works for a lot of
people but it may not be the best outcome for me, so I just went
back to what I used to do.” Dodd has also improved her
results on the mound from the start of the season last year. Last
year, Dodd started off 4-3 with a 2.03 ERA and 21 strikeouts in
38.0 innings pitched in the team’s first 14 games. This
season, she has improved in all those stats, currently sporting a
1.39 ERA with 40 strikeouts and an undefeated 5-0 record in 40.1
innings pitched. But for coach Sue Enquist, Dodd’s
improvement as a pitcher goes beyond the stat sheet. It is
Dodd’s ability to battle in clutch situations that has best
fit in with the attitude that the coach is trying to establish on
the team. “I’m so pleased with her presence on the
mound,” Enquist said. “I am extremely pleased with how
she is able to execute and deliver the pitches that we need when
she’s in the cooker.” Dodd’s performance against
UC Riverside is a perfect example of what Enquist is talking about.
With her team up 2-0 and the Highlanders up with the bases loaded
and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Dodd was able
to get two ground-outs and a strike to squash the Riverside rally
and preserve a much needed victory for UCLA. In a 2-0 victory
against Fresno State two weeks ago, Dodd tossed a 2-hit,
10-strikeout complete game shut-out while hitting a home run and
driving in both of UCLA’s runs. As for Dodd’s
performance with the bat, she has no doubt that she can keep up the
early pace that she’s set for herself. “I’m
actually hoping for better production,” Dodd said.
BENYI HURT: Star UCLA second baseman Caitlin
Benyi turned an ankle last weekend during a game against Kansas and
was held out of the Bruin victories against Texas A&M and
Oklahoma. Newcomer junior second baseman Celina Rubalcaba, a
transfer from Fullerton College, filled in for Benyi in the two
wins and will continue to fill in if the senior Benyi, who is
day-to-day, cannot compete in this weekend’s games. Benyi,
who was wearing a protective boot at practice on Tuesday, is
hitting .343 with three home runs and 10 RBIs this season as the
Bruins’ third hitter in the lineup.
BRUINS HONORED: Senior third baseman Andrea
Duran and sophomore pitcher Anjelica Selden were honored as the
Pac-10 player and pitcher of the week, respectively. Duran, the
team’s leadoff hitter, hit .400 with five runs scored and
four RBIs in the Bruins’ 5-0 trip to Palm Springs last
weekend, while Selden went 4-0, allowing just one run in 23.2
innings and striking out 41 hitters.
UPCOMING GAMES: The Bruins play three
double-headers as part of the Stacy Winsberg Tournament at Easton
Field this weekend. The team plays against Cal Poly on Friday at 3
p.m. and 5:30 p.m., San Jose State on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 12:30
p.m., and Santa Clara on Sunday at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.