Though the Pac-10 is shaping up to be a competitive conference with widespread talent, softball coach Kelly Inouye-Perez has a glass-half-full approach. Inouye-Perez sees the conference foes as tests which prepare the team for crunch time.
“That’s the best part of Pac-10 (play) and being a part of the Pac-10, is you know that you’re going to be able to compete at a pretty good clip so that it prepares you for postseason,” she said.
The No. 4 Bruins (27-6, 1-2) will face another one of those tests this weekend starting Friday at Easton Stadium against the No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils (32-6, 1-2). The Sun Devils, who won the 2008 NCAA Championship, come to town with a talented pitching staff that includes sophomore Hillary Bach, who is 15-2 with a 1.86 ERA. They won the second game of their three-game series against Arizona last week but dropped the first and last game. Inouye-Perez is looking forward to playing in front of a friendly crowd.
“Just being home is a big thing,” Inouye-Perez said. “This season has been a very difficult one, we’ve been traveling a lot, and so any time we get an opportunity to sleep in our own bed, show up and come in to our own clubhouse and play our game, it’s just a great opportunity.”
The Bruins have had recent success against ASU. Last season, UCLA won the season series 2-1, and scored nine and 10 runs in the wins. However, the Sun Devils have played well at Easton, winning their last two games held at the Bruins’ home-field.
The Bruins are coming off of a three-game series in Washington last weekend in which they went 1-2. Inouye-Perez said that last weekend’s games helped the team get experience playing in a hostile and rainy setting. “To play at their house, 40-degree weather … at night on a rain delay and still stay focused and try to execute great softball, now we’re more prepared, if that’s what happens down the road somewhere, we’re a little bit more prepared and that’s why I look at that as a positive,” Inouye-Perez said.
Last weekend and throughout the season, the Bruins have had to deal with injuries to their key players. Senior pitcher Megan Langenfeld, junior outfielder Katie Schroeder, junior infielder Monica Harrison and sophomore outfielder Andrea Harrison have all missed time, but sophomore outfielder Samantha Camuso is confident that the team can continue to play through the injuries.
“Coach always says our strength is our depth,” Camuso said. “Doesn’t matter if one person, you know, can’t play in a game, we have people on the bench that can step up right away and fill their shoes. That’s what’s good about our team. Everybody is an awesome player. It’s not the best situation when, you know, one of your top players is out, but we know how to manage it, and I think that’s one of our strengths.”
The team’s depth is a valuable asset, especially in the loaded Pac-10. Junior GiOnna DiSalvatore is looking forward to the competition. “All the Pac-10 teams are really good, they all have good pitching, so it’s going to be a battle, and it’s going to be fun,” DiSalvatore said. “I can’t wait.”