Despite an unusually rocky start to the season, the UCLA softball team seems to have hit its stride, and just in the nick of time.
“I like the way we’ve been playing, I like the way that we compete, and I like the way that we finish out ball games,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “You don’t have to be perfect, but people figure out a way to have each other’s backs.”
A team generally wants to be playing its best ball when it has to face the best squad in the country, and UCLA may be at that point right now. The No. 9 Bruins (30-6, 5-1 Pac-12) have won 16 of their past 17 games heading into a three-game showdown against the No.1 Oregon Ducks (30-4, 8-1).
One thing working against the Bruins, however, is that the Ducks are playing arguably their best softball of the season as well, having won 15 of their last 17.
“I had no idea we were on that run,” said senior pitcher Ally Carda. “I think that’s a good thing, where we are just playing and winning. No one is thinking about the outcome or the scores. We’re just playing.”
The Bruins admitted that part of the reason they are playing so well is because they overcame the early growing pains of getting to know how to play with one another and doing away with the inconsistency that marred the beginning of their season.
“Every day we learn more and more about each other,” said junior outfielder Allexis Bennett. “So I think the more games we put under our belt, the more we get to add on to being consistent. “
UCLA knows it will have its hands full with Oregon pitcher Cheridan Hawkins, who enters the series with a 15-2 record and leads the nation with a 0.43 ERA.
“We know a lot about their team,” Inouye-Perez said. “Cheridan Hawkins is their go-to (player). She throws a curve-rise so there’s move of an approach in the top half (of the strike zone).”
Even though Oregon has largely dominated UCLA over the past few years, winning four series in a row, the Bruins were able to have some success against the normally stout Hawkins last year. UCLA scored nine runs against Hawkins in her two starts during last year’s series.
Similarly, the Bruins have relied on star pitcher Carda, who went 9-0 in the month of March, posting a 0.79 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 62 innings. But akin to Hawkins, Carda struggled in the Oregon-UCLA series up in Eugene, Ore., last year, allowing 10 earned runs in three games – two of which were UCLA losses.
“Ally Carda has really been able to settle in and be Ally Carda,” Inouye-Perez said. “(She) and (senior catcher Stephany LaRosa) have pulled together and built a lot of confidence for this team. She’s working ahead, throwing all parts of her game and as result the team plays better.”
Given the struggles of the two aces in the series last year, there is a great possibility this series could turn into a shootout.
The Bruins will need the pitching staff to come up big, as the Ducks have one of the best offenses in the country, ranking No. 3 in the nation for batting average with .369, which also tops in the Pac-12. The Ducks blitzed the Bruins for 22 runs over three games in last year’s series up in Eugene.
“I believe we have the pitchers to counter that, and I believe there is a way to get anyone out,” Inouye-Perez said. “Every team is stoppable.”