The No. 1 UCLA softball team went into the weekend a perfect 7-0 in the Pac-10 and 35-3 overall, hoping to keep the momentum going.
The Bruins faced their toughest competition yet this season against Arizona State and Arizona and fell for the first time in Pac-10 play. On Friday, the Bruins lost to Arizona State 3-0, then they also dropped the first game of the series against Arizona on Saturday, 8-0. But the team rebounded on Sunday, avenging the previous night’s loss and beat the Wildcats 2-1.
In Friday’s 3-0 loss to Arizona State, UCLA senior Anjelica Selden threw a four-hit complete game, yet the Bruins were unable to come out on top. The Sun Devils scored single runs in the first, fourth and sixth innings, all with two outs. Meanwhile, the Bruins failed to capitalize on scoring chances and struggled offensively.
Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez saw the game as a learning experience.
“Friday was a good little battle,” Inouye-Perez said. “When it came down to it, we did a good job playing defense. The loss on Friday was something we felt we walked away from having learned something.”
The team as a whole kept a good attitude for the rest of the weekend.
“After the loss we pretty much slushed it,” catcher Jennifer Schroeder said. “We just went out there like nothing had happened.”
Yet the Bruins were unable to change the result on Saturday against Arizona, losing to the Wildcats 8-0 in six innings.
Freshmen Donna Kerr and sophomore Megan Langenfeld struggled in the circle, while the rest of the team struggled both offensively and defensively.
“Frustration” was the word Inouye-Perez used to describe Saturday’s game.
“We know that we’re better than that,” she said. “We were out of our game. We made mental mistakes that were costly.”
Freshmen Katie Schroeder shared similar sentiments about the team’s play.
“We got beat by ourselves,” Schroeder said.
The Bruins finished the weekend on a high note with the 2-1 win at Arizona.
“We weren’t going to go home swept by Arizona,” Jennifer Schroeder said. “It is the competition we know the best, and this team lives on competition. We were just anticipating the game.”
With the score knotted at one in the seventh inning, Jennifer Schroeder hit a one-out home run, powering the Bruins to a 2-1 win.
“I was just trying to get the run back,” she said. “Somebody was going to do it. Today it just happened to be me.”
Overall, the Bruins used the weekend to reflect on the team’s play so far this season, as well as adjustments the team needs to make in the future.
“We just learned a lot about ourselves, learning a lot about how it is to play away from home, playing in a different atmosphere and a different fan base,” freshman Katie Schroeder said. “We’ve been doing well this whole year, but losing the two games was kind of like a reality check. I think it just made us a better team.”