In a tale of two weekends, the UCLA softball team has flipped the script of the way it wins ballgames over its current 10-game win streak.
At the Easton Desert Classic last weekend, the Bruins smashed 20 homers and won four of their five victories by the mercy rule.
This weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, UCLA won all five games, but only one ended in a mercy rule victory. Dominant pitching and timely hits, rather than home runs, made the difference.
“We’re coming out here and we’re taking what the game gives us. We’re respecting it; we’re not coming out here, stepping in the box looking to drop bombs,” said sophomore shortstop Stephany LaRosa.
“It’s about that little base hit or that sac bunt that moves the runner and that timely sac fly that we’re looking for. That’s what we’re doing, we’re coming together as a team, which is nice.”
Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, however, was most impressed with the team’s defense.
“It was all about defense. (They) did a great job of making plays,” Inouye-Perez said.
“In the infield, in the outfield, in the circle, behind the plate. That’s the key to championship play. Defense wins championships.”
The Bruins were very effective in the circle, allowing only five earned runs all weekend.
Sophomore pitcher Ally Carda, who posted three victories and 20 strikeouts, led that effort for the Bruins.
“I’m just trying to mix it up, throw a lot of change-ups, off-speed, up in the zone, lateral (pitches),” Carda said.
“I’m trying to mix all of my pitches in and keep them off balance.”
Carda also led the Bruins with the bat as she hit two home runs and had five runs batted in.
“I’m seeing the ball really well,” Carda said.
“It’s nice to have the rest of the team seeing the ball as well, so it kind of propels everyone else to keep hitting.”
Another pitching standout was freshman Paige McDuffee. She posted a shutout victory and picked up a save on the weekend.
“We’ve all been really working as one,” McDuffee said. “(The offense) getting us up early in the game is just giving us a chance to pitch well.”
The Bruins have only dropped one game so far this season, but their coach has already noticed several improvements in their performance since opening weekend.
“We’re continuing to learn weekend to weekend. Last weekend in Vegas, we pulled together a pretty impressive offense that showed there’s lots of potential in the lineup one through nine,” Inouye-Perez said.
“This weekend was about defense. The team defense allowed us to stay in the ballgame and create some W’s against some quality opponents.”