It is said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, but applying this metaphor to a No. 3 UCLA softball team in the NCAA Super Regionals may prove difficult.
After the Bruins shut out all three of their opponents to win the Los Angeles Regional last weekend, they have yet to expose any major weak links.
The Bruins said they are feeling more connected than ever and that they do not expect the seams keeping their unit intact to fray anytime soon.
“We have depth and we’re coming out playing these games seven innings strong, and we only get stronger as it goes on (and) we learn our opponents,” said senior pitcher Jessica Hall.
UCLA’s apparent lack of a weakest link is not to be mistaken for perfect play. The Bruins are human and errors will occur. However, their shortcomings are difficult to pinpoint as they continuously look out for one another.
The Bruins said that if a player slips up on the field, she can trust that her teammates will prevent the outlying vulnerability from being exploited. Junior utility player Stephany LaRosa said that the fact that players have each other’s backs at all times gives UCLA the ability to execute when it really matters.
“We’ve had those defensive plays that turn the game around, and we’ve had those clutch at-bats, which I think is key to winning,” LaRosa said.
One of these pivotal moments occurred during game three of the NCAA regionals: In the bottom of the third, Notre Dame managed to poke enough holes in the UCLA defense to place its runners in scoring position when a hard line drive was hit.
The bullet that easily could’ve been a game changer shot along the third baseline in a rising angle that seemed to be heading over the head of sophomore infielder Mysha Sataraka.
Sataraka leapt and made the clutch backhanded catch, marking the first of three crucial outs in that vital inning.
“Mysha is a quality athlete and those are the kind of things I think she lives for: being able to make those ‘one-shot’ moments, and we’re very confident in her (and all our players’) ability to do that,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez.
Ironically, it is during pressure situations such as these – when the Bruins’ opponent seems to be on the verge of exposing a weakness – that they appear stronger than ever.
“Everyone just feeds off each other and we just get pumped up at all the little things we accomplish,” Hall said.
Those little accomplishments are paying off: UCLA finds itself hosting an NCAA Super Regional for the first time in years. Inouye-Perez said she is very proud of her players, but mainly, she is proud of her team.
“What I love is that they’re really executing as a team,” Inouye-Perez said. “There is no one individual on this team; as a team, they compete, get quality at-bats and solid pitching.”
The increasing amount of pressure has yet to cause any weak link in the Bruins’ seemingly unbreakable chain to bust. UCLA will find out this weekend if it can continue to hold when it hosts Kentucky Saturday at 5 p.m. for its first game of the NCAA Super Regionals.