Bad weather may have cancelled the game, but it did not stop the UCLA softball team from taking the field for practice on Wednesday.
After the Bruins’ much anticipated matchup with Loyola Marymount was cancelled due to rain, the Bruin softball squad headed to Easton Stadium to prepare for this weekend’s Palm Springs Classic in Cathedral City.
“We are a little disappointed because it turned out to be a nice day and we could have played,” sophomore pitcher and first baseman Megan Langenfeld said. “But (it was) a good day for practice, we got stuff accomplished that we needed to get accomplished for this weekend, and now were ready to go out to Palm Springs and have a great tournament overall.”
The team will need all the practice they can get as they face some stiff competition this weekend, with four out of their five competitors ranked in the top 20.
Early Friday morning, the No. 5 Bruins (8-2) will look to maintain their undefeated record against Massachusetts. The Bruins are 3-0 all-time against the Minutewomen. The team will face the No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs later that afternoon.
The Bruins are 7-1 against the Bulldogs, with the team’s only loss coming in the 2005 Super Regional. The Bruins later avenged that loss with two wins over the Bulldogs, advancing UCLA to the College World Series.
“Game one is our most important game,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “We really need to focus on Friday before we start thinking any further or about Sunday. We just need to find our consistency and good things will happen.”
Saturday will kick off with a 12:30 p.m. game against the No. 10 Baylor Bears, who made their first appearance in the College World Series just last year. The Bruins were victorious in their only meeting against the Bears at the 2004 Palm Springs Classic but should keep an eye out for Baylor senior Jordan Daniels, who was 9-14 with three home runs and seven RBIs last weekend.
Later that night, the Bruins will take on No. 14 Hawai’i, which jump-started its season with a 5-1 record in its home tournament. Last season against the Bruins in the NCAA Regionals at Easton Stadium, Hawai’i prevailed in extra innings, winning by a score of 3-1.
Prior to that, UCLA had beaten Hawaii by eight runs in their last three meetings, and still hold a record of 11-4 against them all time.
“We’re definitely facing tougher competition than the past two weekends because the past two weekends we have not seen the best competition,” freshman second baseman GiOnna DiSalvatore said. “But it has been getting better, and this weekend is supposed to be the best tournament because all of these really good teams will be there so it is really exciting.”
One of the biggest challenges the Bruins will face this weekend will come on Sunday when they face the No. 2 Northwestern Wildcats. The Wildcats have hit 0.390 while belting seven home runs and scoring 38 runs in their first four games, beating No. 1 Arizona and No. 3 Texas A&M.
“I don’t really put Northwestern in any different caliber than any other opponent,” Inouye-Perez said. “They play aggressive ball, but many other teams that we have played have come out and played aggressive, so we will treat it like any other game.”
Northwestern beat UCLA to advance to the 2006 College World Series Championship Series, and may be looking for revenge after UCLA knocked them out of the Palm Springs Invitational last season.
“We play great teams this weekend, and almost any day any team can beat anybody so there all going to be great games,” Langenfeld said. “We just have to take it one game at a time.”