After a hot offensive start to the season, UCLA softball has cooled off considerably at the plate.
As the Bruins head to Salt Lake City this weekend, they do so with the hope that their dormant bats will awaken against a Utah Utes team (14-19-1, 1-8 Pac-12) that has struggled to slow down opponents.
After averaging .317 as a team in non-conference games, the Bruins are hitting just .223 since opening conference play. UCLA realizes, however, that games are won and lost on both sides of the ball and has not let its recent struggles at the plate affect its play on defense.
“What’s great about this team is that we realize that there are two sides to the game,” said sophomore shortstop Stephany LaRosa. “By not coming through offensively, we know that defense is another side of the game. We have to come out there strong. We have each other’s back.”
Entering their recent series against Washington, the Bruins ranked third nationally in fielding percentage, and they have committed just 17 errors in 240.1 innings of play this season.
UCLA displayed solid defense throughout the three midweek games, and delivered several highlight reel plays, none bigger than outfielder Allexis Bennett’s diving catch in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game against Washington.
The freshman known as “Chip” showed off her speed and athleticism in laying out to snare the line drive and rob Washington of an extra base hit which would have, in all likelihood, scored two more runs. Bennett’s catch was one of a series of web gems displayed by the Bruins over the series, and the team’s play with the glove has not been lost on coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who praised her team’s effort.
“The most impressive part of this team is the defense,” said Inouye-Perez. “We lead the Pac-12 in fielding percentage. Defensively, Chip has come up with some big plays, Steph has made some huge plays, Gracie (Goulder) continues to play solid second base with her glove. She has done a phenomenal job, she is just a legit little ball player.”
The Bruins have overcome both injury and inexperience this season in producing one of the top defensive squads in the nation.
Several regular starters have missed time to injury, while ten underclassmen, including five freshmen, have made starts for UCLA this season. The result has been a unit that has made itself into a strength of the team.
“Defensively we’re solid, we’re making plays, and getting outs,” said Bennett, who has made 33 starts for the Bruins in center field. “Yeah, we go up and down (on offense), but we always come back and play great defense, and as we say, defense wins championships.”
However, as the Bruins head into their fourth series of Pac-12 play, the possibility of a conference championship appears less likely than it did two weeks ago. UCLA has dropped seven of the team’s first nine games in conference play, losing each of the last three series, despite the effort put forth on defense. Inouye-Perez said she believes that the Bruins are not lacking in ability, but rather need to be more consistent if the team is to reverse its fortunes in conference play.
“I told them this: We’ve had amazing offense, we’ve had some solid pitching, and huge, clutch, defensive plays, it is just pulling it all together,” Inouye-Perez said.
“That’s what the test is right now, At this point we just have to keep on fighting, because the game is testing us, that’s all it is.”