After seven consecutive Pac-10 games on the road, the UCLA softball team will search for some stability as it plays its next six conference games at home.
The home stand begins today as No. 12 UCLA (30-13, 6-6 Pac-10) takes on No. 17 Oregon (39-11, 4-8). The Bruins will also take on No. 14 Oregon State (34-16, 6-6) in a two-game series on Saturday and Sunday.
UCLA is coming off an 8-3 loss to No. 13 Washington on Wednesday, which zapped momentum from a Bruin team that had won four of its previous five games. The Bruins beat themselves with two costly errors that led to four unearned runs in the first two innings of the game. The loss ran the Bruins’ conference record on weekday games to 1-4.
But if the results from just two weekends ago were indicative of anything, the appearance of Oregon at Easton Stadium might be the perfect remedy for the Bruins’ woes.
UCLA dominated a two-game set with the Ducks in Eugene, outscoring them 18-4 for the series. The Bruins won the first meeting between the two teams 13-3, jumping all over the Oregon pitchers, sophomore Melissa Rice and junior Alicia Cook. UCLA freshman catcher/outfielder Kaila Shull led the charge with three hits and three RBIs while seniors Lisa Dodd and Jodie Legaspi each had two hits and two RBIs in the win.
The Bruin offense pounded out nine more hits in a 5-1 victory the next day with home runs by Dodd and junior outfielder Krista Colburn.
But in the first game on their trip to Oregon, the Bruins fell hard at the hands of Oregon State’s starting senior pitcher Brianne McGowan 7-0. In that game, the Beavers tagged Bruin freshman pitcher Whitney Baker for seven runs (five earned runs) in the first three innings, which was more than enough support for McGowan.
McGowan, whose tremendous 2006 season made her the owner of just about every Oregon State single-season pitching record, limited the Bruins to just four hits, throwing a complete game shutout against a UCLA offense that has only been shut out two other times this season.
For the season, McGowan owns a 20-9 record and a 1.85 ERA. But she has struggled mightily in her last two outings. Against Arizona State on Sunday, McGowan faced six Arizona State batters without getting an out, giving up four hits, a walk, a hit batsmen and three earned runs before being removed from the game.
In her last outing on Wednesday against rival Oregon, the Ducks tagged McGowan for 15 hits and six runs in her six 1/3 innings of work and handed her the loss.
SEARCHING FOR THE RECORD: A rough performance against Washington left UCLA junior pitcher Anjelica Selden still short of the all-time Bruin record for career strikeouts.
Selden did not strike out anybody and was removed after just one inning of work against the Huskies, in which she gave up one hit, four walks and one earned run and committed a throwing error that led to two unearned Husky runs.
Selden has 1,092 career strikeouts, three short of former Bruin great Keira Goerl, who owns the record with 1,095 strikeouts.