It was a fight inning after inning, but for the UCLA softball team, the goal this weekend at the NCAA Regionals was simple.
“Do whatever it takes,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said.
And with that, the second-seeded Bruins emerged Sunday three steps closer to their championship aspirations, advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals after downing Long Beach State, 4-2, on Friday and twice defeating Fresno State, 4-2 on Saturday and 9-5 on Sunday.
“The one thing that I’ve been impressed with is that everybody in the lineup is capable of being the one,” Inouye-Perez said. “And we’ve seen a great deal of success throughout our lineup.”
In Friday’s opener against Long Beach State, it was junior pitcher Megan Langenfeld who stepped up to the challenge, tossing 155 pitches and striking out seven through seven innings while going 2 for 3 at the plate and driving in the go-ahead run.
Langenfeld took to the field again on Saturday and delivered a gutsy performance against the Bulldogs, pounding the inside corner of the plate en route to another complete-game outing.
“My game plan was to try and jam (the batters) and feed (the balls put into play) to our third baseman and our shortstop,” Langenfeld said. “We were also able to mix in the outside corner and mix in both speeds when we needed to.”
And yet again, the pitcher helped her cause with the bat.
Langenfeld belted a towering two-run home run in the second inning and later led off with a bunt single in the sixth to complete her 2-for-2 performance.
“(For Langenfeld) to put us on the board with the (home run) and lead off with a bunt just shows the versatility of her game,” coach Inouye-Perez said.
After staving off Long Beach State in an elimination game on Saturday, Fresno State returned to face the Bruins again in the regional title game.
But this time, it was the UCLA offense that foiled the Bulldogs’ season.
After UCLA sophomore hurler Donna Kerr gave up three runs in the first inning, her teammates responded with a seven-run outburst in the second, highlighted by senior second baseman Amanda Kamekona’s three-run home run to right field.
“I’m very proud of our girls,” Inouye-Perez said. “At this point in the season, it comes down to timely hitting, and the girls did a great job of stepping up to the plate.”
The Bruins suffered a minor injury in the second after Langenfeld came out of the game with a bruised left ankle. Her status for next week is uncertain.
UCLA will face Missouri in this weekend’s Super Regionals held at Easton Stadium.