This postseason, the UCLA softball team has shown that it doesn’t need any help scoring runs, but a little help from the other team never hurts.
The Bruins took advantage of six illegal pitch calls against Florida, and continued to hit the ball out of the park, setting a school record for most runs in a postseason game in its 16-3 blowout win over the No. 4 seed Gators in the opening round of the Women’s College World Series. The victory was the third consecutive mercy rule win for the No. 5 seed Bruins, who now play No. 16 seed Hawaii today.
The Bruins benefited from the illegal pitch call early and often. Florida starting pitcher Stephanie Brombacher was called for four before being taken out in the top of the third. When an illegal pitch is called, a ball is awarded to the batter, and any base runners advance one base.
Sophomore left fielder Andrea Harrison hit a three-run home run in the top of the first, giving the Bruins a 3-0 lead. After Florida tied the game in the second, Bruins starting pitcher sophomore Aleah Macon was pulled for senior Megan Langenfeld, who went on to pitch four and two thirds scoreless innings and struck out three to improve her record to 12-1.
Not only did Langenfeld earn the victory in the circle, she also helped to seal the deal at the plate. Langenfeld went 4-4 with four RBI and a home run in the sixth.
“I was just trying to do whatever I could to help the team and luckily I was just seeing the ball today,” Langenfeld said. “My pitches were working. Luckily, my teammates had my back and when maybe the pitch wasn’t quite where it needed to be, we were able to make some plays. The hitting kind of just came for everyone. It wasn’t just me; everyone seemed to have a great game today.”
In the sixth, several Bruins got involved in the scoring. The team put up nine runs to ensure the win, including another Andrea Harrison three-run home run, which gave her six RBI for the game.
UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said her team is peaking at the right time.
“This team started off this year on a mission,” Inouye-Perez said. “They were ready to compete against the game and I’m very proud of their ability to come out and not play the scoreboard and just continue to compete until the game was over. They played as one, it was a team effort and it’s a great time to be playing your best ball.”