Halfway through Pac-12 play, the tone of UCLA softball has changed.
The coaches and players talk less about inconsistency than they did earlier in the season, when the Bruins had lost four games in a row for the first time since 2013. Now, they speak with a newfound confidence after winning eight of their last nine games.
“We’re heading in the right direction, we’re going up,” said junior shortstop Delaney Spaulding. “I think that’s exactly where we want to be coming (midway) into Pac-12s.”
No. 13 UCLA (26-11-1, 7-3-1 Pac-12), fresh off the heels of a midweek win over Cal State Northridge (23-18, 3-3 Big West)
, is set to take on a well-rounded Oregon State team (25-12-1, 4-8) link7 on Friday at home.
Although, they have a sub-.500 record against the Pac-12, the Beavers have improved this season after going 44-57 the past two years. They will be a good test for the Bruins, whose last Pac-12 opponent was the Stanford Cardinal (13-20, 0-9).
“They’re a lot stronger, I’ve heard this year, than they’ve been in the past so it should be an interesting series,” said sophomore pitcher Johanna Grauer.
A large key to Oregon State’s success this season has been its revamped offense, which is currently hitting .329 after hitting below .300 as a team for the past five years.
Oregon State’s sophomore infielder McKenna Arriola, who is batting .406, and redshirt junior Natalie Hampton, who has 46 RBIs on the year, headline the Beavers’ offense.
However, Oregon State’s bats are coming up against a UCLA pitching staff that was lights-out in its last game and has developed into one of the team’s strengths after struggling earlier in the season.
“Selina (Ta’amilo) had a complete game this past weekend against Stanford and Johanna (Grauer) had a complete game against Stanford,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “That’s big time.”
Bruin pitchers have allowed one run over the past three games, and with redshirt junior Paige McDuffee back in the rotation after sitting out earlier in the year due to injury, Grauer and Ta’amilo have appeared calmer in the circle and have been more effective.
“It’s great having her back,” Grauer said. “It definitely takes a lot of pressure off of me and Selina.”
Meanwhile, it’s been a different story as of late for UCLA’s offense.
After scoring 21 runs combined in the first two games of the Stanford series, the Bruins’ offense scored only two runs in the final game. This offensive slump carried into UCLA’s game against CSUN, as the offense appeared sluggish over the first five innings before putting together a five-run sixth.
Bruin hitters will also face a stingy Beaver pitching staff that has an ERA of 2.85 behind freshman Meera Nelson and senior Bev Miller.
Although the Bruins’ offensive results have been mixed recently, Inouye-Perez is confident in her team’s ability to score runs, especially as the game goes on.
“I believe we have the ability to put the ball in play,” Inouye-Perez. “I’m very pleased they get better throughout the game because we need that to be successful in the end.”
UCLA and Oregon State kick off their three-game set Friday night