For the second straight weekend, the UCLA softball team swept a tournament field that did not feature a single ranked opponent. And for the second straight weekend, the Bruins needed extra innings to complete the task.
In the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament at Easton Stadium, the No. 12 Bruins (11-0) had little trouble shutting down opposing batters, but at times lacked the offensive firepower necessary to finish off an opponent.
On Friday night, after a 6-0 victory over UC Davis earlier in the day, UCLA only compiled two hits in six innings against the Robert Morris Colonials. The two hits were enough to net the Bruins a 1-0 lead through six innings, but not enough to protect against a Colonial comeback.
In the top of the seventh, Robert Morris showed UCLA how unstable a one-run lead can be. With one out in the inning, Robert Morris designated hitter Kristen Gabelt sent a booming double into right center field, bringing the winning run to the plate for the Colonials. Suddenly, UCLA was on thin ice.
“Our pitch pattern just kinda got a little bit repetitive,” said UCLA sophomore starting pitcher Paige McDuffee. “So they were
just kinda just sitting (on) my curveball.”
Robert Morris outfielder Tess Apke was ready for everything McDuffee had to offer from the mound. After a long foul ball that hit the base of the left field wall, Apke connected on a two-run home run that took the life out of Easton Stadium, and gave the Colonials a 2-1 lead. While the UCLA fans may have been devastated, one UCLA player was not.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sweating too much,” said junior first baseman Stephany LaRosa. “We knew that going into the bottom of the seventh, that it was going to be a fight. We weren’t going to give it up easily.”
When the Bruins were down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh and final inning, LaRosa stepped to the plate. With runners on first and second base for UCLA, and the count at 2-2, LaRosa hit a pop-up in foul territory that appeared to spell doom for the Bruins. By the time the ball finally descended from the dark night sky, it landed on green grass, and not inside the glove of the Robert Morris first baseman, keeping the Bruins’ undefeated season alive.
On the very next pitch, LaRosa sent a line drive that sailed over the head of Robert Morris’ third baseman and skipped into left field. The single allowed UCLA junior second baseman Gracie Goulder to score from second base and tie the game. In the bottom of the eighth, the Bruins would go on to win on a walk-off single by senior utility player Jessica Hall.
From that point on, the tournament was a walk in the park for the Bruins. In their final four games of the weekend, they outscored their opponents by a combined score of 21-1. UCLA hopes to carry this momentum into next weekend’s Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, which will pit the Bruins against three different top-25 opponents.
“We’re obviously excited to go out and face some bigger opponents,” said assistant coach Kirk Walker.