After last weekend, it finally seemed like UCLA softball might have found a groove. On Wednesday, the wheels fell off again.
This time, the Washington Huskies (30-12, 7-5 Pac-10) applied the leverage en route to an 8-3 victory. With the loss, the Bruins (30-13, 6-6 Pac-10) dropped to fifth place in the conference.
“The game isn’t always going to pay you back,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “In the Pac-10, you are not going to get away with the little things. There’s no margin for error.”
Bruin starting pitcher Anjelica Selden (16-8) had a rough time, as she was unable to strike a Husky out in one of the shortest starts of her career. In an uncharacteristic performance, she walked four and gave up three runs, two unearned on Selden’s throwing error in the first. She walked Alyson McWherter in the second before Inouye-Perez substituted her for senior Lisa Dodd.
“(Selden) did not have the sharpness that she needed,” Inouye-Perez said. “She had one too many walks that put pressure on the defense, (and) that allowed them to collect on the error.” Statistically, Dodd fared worse. The senior gave up a two-run home run to Washington’s Ashley Charterschecked upon entering (McWherter was charged to Selden), faced six batters, and got one out. Still, Inouye-Perez praised her senior’s effort.
“I made a decision to go to with (Dodd),” she said. “She did exactly what I asked her to do, which was to throw strikes and use her changeup. (Washington was) able to roll up quite a number of runs and take control of the game, but (Dodd) did a great job.”
Inouye-Perez tightened the tourniquet with freshman pitcher Megan Langenfeld,checked who entered with one out, the bases loaded and the score 5-0. She finished the second after allowing two of Dodd’s runners to cross the plate. However, Langenfeld only allowed one more run to cross, in the fourth.
“Megan does a great job,” Inouye-Perez said. “She comes in and she throws strikes, almost to a fault. (She was) putting pressure back on the offense.”
“I just come in and try to stop the bleeding,” Langenfeld said. “I try to get outs as fast as possible.”
The Bruin offense responded as well and as quickly as they could, pushing two runs across in the top of the third. Then, Washington coach Heather Tarr switched Danielle Lawrie for starter Caitlin Noble (12-4). Lawrie ended the rally.all names checked Inouye-Perez was proud of her offense, nonetheless.
“I think we did a great job, especially against a pitcher like Danielle Lawrie,” she said. “We can’t give them those runs and think that (we) can get away with it.”
Bruin senior center fielder Tara Henrychecked managed to score in the top of the seventh, but the damage was already done.
“The whole point of a 56-game season is that you’re going to learn from each one,” Inouye-Perez said.