As the UCLA softball team learned last year, making it past the regional round of the NCAA Tournament is never a given. This year the Bruins hit a few bumps on the road to the College World Series ““ but so far, so good.
Cal State Fullerton and the University of Nevada tested second-seeded UCLA, but the Bruins emerged from the weekend with three wins. They defeated the Titans 8-3 on Friday, then beat the Nevada Wolf Pack twice, 6-4 in nine innings on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday.
There were some tense moments even in Friday’s comparatively comfortable victory. Cal State Fullerton lead-off batter Katie Gollhardt smacked a home run off of Bruin ace Anjelica Selden’s second pitch of the game, putting UCLA in an early 1-0 hole. Given that the Bruins are 40-0 when scoring first this season, and only 5-8 when the opponent scores first, it was not an ideal way to start the postseason.
But the Bruins rallied back, led by two home runs by junior Amanda Kamekona and one by senior Krista Colburn. Three other Bruins ““ Ashley Herrera, Samantha Camuso and Katie Schroeder ““ had two hits, and the Bruins got revenge for a 1-0 loss handed to them by the Titans earlier in the year.
“We have had games where we’ve come from behind and won,” Selden said. “The atmosphere may seem a little bit more pressured, but it’s nothing new for our team to come back and win a ball game.”
The Bruins had to play catch-up again on Saturday against Nevada after a rough second inning for Selden gave Nevada a 4-3 lead. Selden pitched only 1 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and two walks before being relieved by sophomore Megan Langenfeld.
From the third to the sixth inning the game went scoreless, as Langenfeld and Nevada’s Richelle Villescas battled to sit each side down until the seventh inning. Freshman Katie Schroeder took advantage of two Nevada errors and knocked in the tying run with clutch single, sending the game into extra innings.
“I’m so proud of the fight in this team; they’ve done it all year,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “They play until the last out, and that is a tradition of UCLA softball.”
A single by freshman Monica Harrison started a big rally for the Bruins that gave them a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth. Langenfeld then retired the side to finish one of her best games of the season; she registered a career-high 10 strikeouts.
“We try to practice that same type of mentality in the bullpen,” Langenfeld said. “Just knowing that you’re going to be in the fire and all you want to do is throw strikes and try to get your defense out of there without any advances, so we did a really good job of that (Saturday).”
The Bruins faced the Wolf Pack again on Sunday afternoon in the regional championship game, with both teams fighting for a berth in the Super Regionals.
A more composed and effective Selden returned to the circle allowing only five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in a full seven innings to take a 4-3 win.
“Better focus ““ it’s as simple as that,” Selden said of her stronger performance.
Camuso provided the game-changing hit in Sunday’s game, taking an outside pitch over the opposite field wall to break a 3-3 tie in the sixth. Seven Bruins recorded hits against Nevada hurlers, with two (Camuso and Langenfeld) recording two.
“So many people can step up and be the one in our lineup, and today it was Jelly Selden and Sammy Camuso,” Inouye-Perez said. “That is a big part of our strength, and we have been so successful because so many people can step up. And I couldn’t be more proud of how the team pulled (off) a big win today against a team that wouldn’t back down.”