Keira Goerl threw her 10th one-hitter of the year on Thursday,
as the No. 1 UCLA softball team beat BYU 6-0.
The hit didn’t reach the outfield.
“It was just an infield hit, and I don’t like to
think of them as hits,” Goerl said. “If you’re
going to get a hit, hit it in the outfield.”
She’ll just have to settle for another shutout.
In the bottom of the first, a sacrifice fly by Tairia Mims
brought in Natasha Watley, to give Goerl all the run support she
would need.
Watley had singled to start off the inning, stole second, and
advanced to third off of a bunt by right fielder Caitlin Benyi.
In the second, UCLA made two quick outs. Then, third baseman
Toria Auelua, catcher Emily Zaplatosch, and left fielder Andrea
Duran all hit singles. With the bases full, Watley then hit a
three-run triple, breaking the game wide open.
“I was waiting for my pitch, kept fouling off pitches,
just trying to put it in play and not hitting the long ball,”
Watley said.
The Bruins (23-1) have had numerous two-out rallies on their
current 22-game winning streak.
“Hitting with two outs is really important, Watley said.
“We had a rally going, and we had to keep the momentum on our
side.”
In the third, center fielder Stephanie Ramos hit a two-run homer
to finish the scoring for UCLA.
Goerl shut the Cougars out the rest of the way, recording 13
strikeouts in the complete game.
“When Keira’s doing well, we’re locked on, we
all do well,” Watley said. “She was doing really well,
balls breaking good.”
Still, Goerl wasn’t thrilled with her performance.
“There’s always room for improvement,” she
said. “walking four didn’t make me too happy.
The Bruins will face St. John’s on Friday, Cal Poly on
Saturday, and No. 14 DePaul and host Fresno State on Sunday.