The UCLA softball team entered the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas this weekend preaching consistency.
After a weekend that featured flashes of brilliance and one disappointing loss, the No. 9 Bruins still find themselves searching in the early part of the season.
UCLA (7-4) won four of their five games and set a new school record for home runs in a game with seven against Wright State on Sunday.
But UCLA’s 8-1 loss to unranked Oklahoma State put a little bit of a damper on what otherwise was a successful weekend.
The Bruins started off the weekend strong with a 10-2 five-inning run-rules victory over Colorado State on Friday.
UCLA put up nine runs in the first inning and eight Bruins had hits in the rout.
In the Bruins’ second game against Central Florida on Friday, the offense wasn’t quite as hot, but freshman first baseman/pitcher Megan Langenfeld tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and overcoming four UCLA errors.
Senior second baseman/pitcher Lisa Dodd’s three-run home run was all the run support Langenfeld needed as the Bruins won 3-0.
On Saturday, UCLA started off on a bad note against Oklahoma State.
Normally sure-handed senior shortstop Jodie Legaspi made a costly error in the second inning that led to two Cowgirl runs. Three unearned runs damaged what was an otherwise solid four innings by freshman pitcher Whitney Baker.
Junior pitcher Anjelica Selden struggled in relief of Baker, allowing four earned runs in her three innings.
Meanwhile, the UCLA offense struggled to convert on opportunities, leaving 11 runners stranded on the bases.
The Bruins quickly recovered though, defeating the host school UNLV 8-0 in five innings in the nightcap.
Senior outfielder Whitney Holum had a home run and three RBIs while Selden recovered to toss five shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out eight.
On Sunday, UCLA had no trouble with Wright State, winning 12-2 in five innings. The Bruins’ record seven home runs included multiple home-run efforts from a pair of freshmen: Langenfeld and Kaila Shull.
Dodd also hit her third home run while Holum hit her second home run and junior outfielder Krista Colburn hit her first.
The Bruins head to Palm Springs next weekend, where stiffer competition awaits.
Among UCLA’s five opponents include the two teams that defeated them in the Women’s College World Series last season: No. 1 Tennessee and No. 6 Northwestern.
EXTRA BASES: After the loss to Oklahoma State, Langenfeld was dropped from third to fifth in the batting order.
Langenfeld, who had been hitting .269 with no home runs in 26 at-bats from the No. 3 slot in the order, went 4-4 with two doubles, two home runs and a walk.
Meanwhile, Dodd, who moved up from No. 5 to No. 3 in the order, continued her hot hitting with three hits and a home run in six at-bats from the No. 3 spot.
She is hitting .393 with a team-leading 14 RBI’s so far.
Dodd also saw her first action on the mound this season. Used as the No. 2 pitcher behind Selden in her sophomore and junior seasons, Dodd had fallen behind Baker and Langenfeld on the depth chart at the beginning of this season.
Dodd threw three innings against Wright State, allowing just one hit (a solo home run) and no walks to record her first win of the season.