It was supposed to be a pitcher’s duel, with aces Anjelica Selden and Candice Baker reenacting the year-old, 10-inning, one-run marathon between UCLA and Cal State Fullerton.
What a difference a year makes.
The 16th-ranked Bruins (16-6) beat the Titans (14-9) 8-1 on Wednesday in an inversion of last year’s run-scarce performances.
In 2006, the Bruins scored in the bottom of the 10th after having one base runner each inning; the Titans had three hits.
This year, junior left fielder Krista Colburn took offense at Baker’s winning the National Player of the Week award. She led off with a homer to left on a 2-2 count.
“It was a packed house,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “It’s always a pretty big game (against Fullerton). Krista Colburn set a tone for the rest of the day. When you have a leader like that, it makes everybody else’s job easier.”
Colburn finished the day 3-for-5 with two singles in addition to the home run, noting that she and the entire team had felt prepared to face Baker.
“We knew what we were facing,” she said.
Each team threatened the other in the subsequent innings. But long counts worked in the Bruins’ favor, and Baker (8-4) faced 12 batters in the first two innings.
The Bruins struck in the third, pouncing on Baker and banishing the offensive demons of the last year. After freshman Megan Langenfeld walked and scored, fellow freshman Julie Burney knocked a three-run dinger, also to left.
“For the bottom of our lineup to manufacture three runs, that’s what creates eight runs against a quality team like Fullerton,” Inouye-Perez said. “Burney’s (home run) was timely.”
Adding their own lumber to the pile in left field, freshmen Langenfeld and Kaila Shull contributed to the Bruin lead in the fourth. The solo shots caused Fullerton coach Michelle Gromacki to put in Brooke Weekley (2-3), who promptly surrendered another round-tripper to senior Jaisa Creps. Creps and Langenfeld hit back-to-back shots.
Offense wasn’t the only Bruin success. Junior Selden (9-3) pitched a gem, striking out 12 and only allowing one run on two hits. She climbed out of self-dug holes in the second and fourth innings and dodged most of the mud, including a run after a pair of walks to open the fourth.
“(Selden) pitched great tonight,” Colburn said. “With the run support, she felt like she could go after some hitters. She was in her game and not worrying about the other team.”
For Fullerton, Weekley recovered from Creps’ home run to retire five Bruins in a row before senior Lisa Dodd’s single in the sixth.
But the greatest achievement of the win was not the offense ““ a hit for each batter and five home runs ““ the inerrant defense or the ice-cold pitching. Rather, it was their improved consistency.
“We’re playing it one inning at a time,” Inouye-Perez said. “The girls are getting closer and closer to playing consistent softball. We’re building momentum … and excited for Long Beach.”