Before the UCLA women’s softball team took the field in Oklahoma City for their first game of the Women’s College World Series, ESPN’s cameras caught junior Amanda Kamekona juggling softballs.
Just like Kamekona juggling, the Bruins never lost focus against Arizona, even if they did let a few balls drop. Aside from a couple miscues in the early innings, second-seeded UCLA (51-7) cruised to 1-0 victory over seventh-seeded Arizona (41-18).
The Bruins’ focus was tested in the first two innings. Senior outfielder Krista Colburn made her first error of the season on the first play of the game, a fly ball to left, but senior pitcher Anjelica Selden (29-3) got out of the jam.
In the second, Selden created her own sticky situation with two outs, when she threw in the dirt to first. It didn’t help that freshman Samantha Camuso fell down in right trying to recover the errant throw, allowing Wildcat batter Lauren Schutzler to reach third, but Selden struck out Wildcat Cyndi Duran to end the inning.
Bruins coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said that Colburn had lost the ball in the lights but wasn’t bothered by the play.
“She knows that she can’t be emotional about it,” Inouye-Perez said. “We have to be unshakable (in our play), not perfect.”
The Bruins showed their stoicism in the bottom of the first. Freshman Katie Schroeder started the game with a drag bunt that Arizona pitcher Taryne Mowatt fielded cleanly. But Mowatt hurried the throw past first and into right field. Colburn then made up for her error with a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move Schroeder to second. Kamekona then drove in Schroeder with a single to center field.
From there the game stayed close, but both offenses found little momentum. UCLA is undefeated when it scored first.
“It was a typical UCLA-Arizona softball game,” Inouye-Perez said. “Whatever it takes to rap it out. We got to Mowatt early, then she did a great job of settling in, and Selden did the same.
“It was a pitcher’s duel.”
After those first-inning jitters, Selden and Mowatt showed why they are among the two most dominant pitchers in Division I softball. Selden struck out nine while allowing only three hits, while Mowatt struck out five and allowed just one additional hit after Kamekona’s single.
With the win, the Bruins will move on to play sixth-seeded Arizona State today, thirty minutes after the conclusion of the other winner’s bracket game between Texas A&M and Louisiana-Lafayette, at approximately 6 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY ROUND-UP: The UCLA-Arizona pitcher’s duel was not much of a change of pace from the day’s earlier games. Top-seeded Florida was knocked off by unseeded Louisiana-Lafayette, 3-2, in eight innings.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will take on Texas A&M, which defeated Virginia Tech, and Player of the Year pitcher Angela Tincher, 1-0.
Arizona State defeated third-seeded Alabama, 3-1.
The Women’s College World Series is a double-elimintation tournament, so by losing to the Bruins, Arizona falls into the loser’s bracket, where it will take on Alabama on Saturday. Florida will play Virginia Tech.