With only the World Series left on the schedule, the careers of
the four seniors on the UCLA softball team are coming to a
close.
Two of them, Tairia Mims and Natasha Watley are well known
throughout the softball community, and have won all kinds of
All-American awards and are on the U.S. National team.
But the other two, Toria Auelua and Monique Mejia, are closing
their careers without all of the accolades. Still, both Auelua and
Mejia have been fixtures in the lineup, and have contributed to the
Bruins’ success.
“What happens when you’re a senior is that you have
a heightened sense of urgency,” UCLA coach Sue Enquist said.
“We want everyone to play like a senior. The only potential
problem is not to try to hard, especially for hitting.”
Even though Auelua and Mejia are the worst hitters in the
Bruins’ everyday lineup, both have contributed when it
counts.
Auelua may only be hitting .242 on the year, but it isn’t
a gap in the armor for UCLA.
Back on April 26, Stanford thought they could pitch around Emily
Zaplatosch to get to Auelua.
They were wrong.
The game was scoreless in the bottom of the sixth with two outs.
The Cardinal, not wanting to risk Zaplatosch hitting a ball over
the fence, tried putting the potential go-ahead run on base to face
the much weaker hitter.
Auelua hit a double off the centerfield wall, scoring
Zaplatosch, and helping the Bruins win 1-0.
Tori Nyberg, Stanford’s pitcher, had allowed only one hit
and was dominant. But Auelua came through when it counted the
most.
“I haven’t hit as well as I’ve wanted to,”
Auelua said. “But I still have confidence.”
Mejia has been helping out this season, but in a different way
than she had the last couple of seasons. Last year, she batted
second in the lineup, and her role was to move Natasha Watley, the
leadoff hitter up a base.
This year, she has been demoted to eighth in the lineup, and she
has spawned a new role ““ getting on base for Watley. Despite
a batting average of only .248, Mejia has found other ways to reach
base, with an on base percentage of .339.
The Bruins’ bottom of the lineup ““ Auelua, Mejia,
and Andrea Duran ““ have combined to score 85 runs, an average
of 1.5 a game, a very impressive mark from the bottom of the
order.
“There really is no difference for me where I bat in the
order,” Mejia said. “I always try to do the same thing
““ get on base any way I can. The type of hitter I am
doesn’t change.”
They have helped Watley, who was already the nation’s
premiere leadoff hitter, turn into a complete offensive
machine.
The shortstop has 50 RBIs on the season, ranking her sixth in
the Pac-10 in a category normally reserved for cleanup hitters.
“We need everyone to keep contributing offensively,”
Auelua said. “We play our best when everyone is
hitting.”
And when everyone is hitting, watch out.
The Bruins have won their last six games, four at the NCAA
regionals, and two against No. 15 Arizona State by a combined score
of 39-2.
The hitting barrage included a home run by the most unlikely of
candidates ““ Mejia.
The senior had never hit a home run in her career, but waited
until the last day of the season to do it.
“It was kind of unbelievable after I watched it go
out,” Mejia said. “No batter goes up there trying to
hit a home run. Whether you’re Nuveman or Mejia, you
don’t know when it’s coming.”
For the seniors, they want nothing else but a World Series
title, something they haven’t won yet.
“It would be a dream come true, an answer to my
prayers,” Mejia said. “It would accomplish the goal
we’ve been focusing on every year.”