The No. 5 UCLA softball team took the Palm Springs Classic by storm this weekend, continuing its strong tournament play early in the season. The Bruins finished the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, including come-from-behind wins against No. 18 Georgia and No. 2 Northwestern.
The Bruins (13-2) approached this weekend with a mentality of focusing on one game at a time, not the big picture or the rankings of opposing teams.
“Honestly, we take everything game by game, pitch by pitch,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “We respect our opponent and respect the game. Every game is an opportunity. We were excited to go into this weekend and see how good we were.”
On Friday, the Bruins started one of their toughest weekend schedules against Massachusetts. They continued their trend of jumping out to early leads, scoring two runs in the first inning on the way to 4-2 victory over the Minutewomen. Freshman Donna Kerr pitched a solid game, allowing one run on three hits while striking out seven. Kerr also kept the Bruins in the lead through some tough scoring positions on her way to her fourth win of the season. Senior Anjelica Selden earned her first save this season.
In the afternoon, the Bruins faced Georgia, where they had to come from behind to defeat the Bulldogs. Georgia jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning.
But the Bruins would battle back. Freshman GiOnna DiSalvatore came through with a clutch hit, hitting a base-clearing double with two outs in the fifth inning, putting the Bruins ahead 3-2. UCLA went on to win the game 5-2.
The fast start by Georgia didn’t put a damper on the Bruins’ spirit.
“I think it helped the momentum and belief,” Inouye-Perez said. “We talked about building a picture of what UCLA softball is going to look like. This was a great opportunity to work from behind. To think about how we were going to chip away one at a time.”
On Saturday, the Bruins defeated Baylor by a score of 6-1. DiSalvatore came through yet again for the Bruins with a two-run homer, and Selden, also known as Jelly, struck out seven batters.
Later in the evening, the Bruins defeated No. 14 Hawai’i, 3-0. Kerr won her second game of the weekend, and juniors Amanda Kamekona and Jennifer Schroeder each hit a home run.
To end their perfect weekend, the Bruins beat Northwestern in a 6-2 game. Selden recorded a career-high 17 strikeouts in seven innings, and Kamekona and sophomore Julie Burney each hit two-run home runs.
DiSalvatore’s play over the weekend was pivotal to Bruin success.
“She was the money,” Inouye-Perez said. “She’s just clutch. She’s the player that loves the big opportunity. To be a freshmen and have that mind-set is impressive.”
While DiSalvatore’s offense helped the Bruins score runs, the pitching circle kept the Bruins in the game defensively.
“This weekend wasn’t about the come-from-behind,” Inouye-Perez said. “Both Kerr and Jelly had a great weekend. They allowed us to stop the bleeding. The two of them combined were the reason the Bruins were so successful this weekend.”
Altogether, the Bruins bonded as a team.
“We walk away from this weekend more cohesive as a group,” Inouye-Perez said. “There is a lot of confidence.”