Coming into Sunday’s matchup with Northwestern, UCLA sported an 0-3 record against ranked teams.
When the No. 12 Bruins (10-5) defeated the No. 7 Wildcats (10-5) on Sunday to close out the Palm Springs Classic, it gave the team a much-needed emotional lift.
The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 8-6 on the strength of senior shortstop Jodie Legaspi’s sixth inning grand slam. They finished the weekend winning three of their four games, defeating Michigan State and Maryland with ease while falling 6-1 to No. 1 Tennessee.
“If you look at our box scores, we either kill teams or get beat pretty good ourselves,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said after the Bruin’s victory over the Wildcats. “That’s riding an emotional roller coaster. This game showed that we’re getting closer to having emotional stability. The girls never let up today.”
After falling to Tennessee earlier in the week, the Bruins were at least able to savor a victory over one of the two teams that beat them in the Women’s College World Series last season.
UCLA jumped all over Northwestern senior pitcher Eileen Canney ““ the same Canney who shut them down in last year’s World Series ““ tagging her for eight runs. Senior second baseman Lisa Dodd hit her fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot, while Legaspi’s grand slam was her fourth of the year. It was the second straight game in which both Legaspi and Dodd homered.
“We’ve gone to school on (Canney’s) tendencies and learned a lot from watching film,” Legaspi said. “We were able to make adjustments.”
The offensive production against Canney was a strong indication of the strength of the Bruins’ offense this year. Canney also shut them down earlier in the regular season.
“I think that’s what makes you feel great,” Inouye-Perez said. “You lose big sticks like (Andrea) Duran and (Caitlin) Benyi, but it makes you feel great that you can replace that great talent with young talent. That’s been a tradition at UCLA.”
Through 15 games, the Bruins are hitting .346 with 25 home runs and slugging .603 as a team. The main challenge as they continue the season is to stay consistent and avoid the droughts that plagued them in some of their losses.
“With every at-bat we have, we get confidence,” Inouye-Perez said. “We lost our leadoff, our three and our four-spot. There wasn’t a clear picture of how to get it done. Now we’re starting to show how to get it done. It’s exciting for us to beat a team like Northwestern.”