No. 6 UCLA softball (10-1) can hit.
Eleven games into the season, the Bruins rank second in the country in both home runs and hits, with 18 and 116, respectively.
UCLA’s offense is finding great success in the batter’s box. But looking deeper, these leading statistics reveal an integral element of the program: coaching.
The Bruins’ impressive statistics start with a dynamic duo: assistant coaches Lisa Fernandez and Kirk Walker.
“I think Kirk and Lisa spend a lot of time developing these girls and I’m very fortunate because both of them can imitate pitchers, can talk about approaches,” coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “Those two have prepared our offense to be able to execute at the level they are executing at.”
Fernandez, a four-time first-team All-American and three-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, is considered one of the greats not only at UCLA but in the history of the game. Her collegiate career is highlighted with a career ERA of 0.22, a 93-7 record and multiple offensive stats residing in UCLA’s top 10. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Walker contributes considerable experience from his past position at Oregon State. After 17 seasons as the Beavers’ softball coach, he came to UCLA in 2012 as the all-time winningest coach in Oregon State history. He led the Beavers to the postseason 10 times.
These coaches have created an environment in which eight different players have chipped in a home run. The Bruins boast a team batting average of .393.
“I think that is the sign of a great team that you have the ability to score early in the lineup, the middle, the end and that’s been in the history of this program,” Inouye-Perez said.
With the offense humming, a morale booster is bestowed upon the other end – the pitching staff.
UCLA has been stingy in the circle, ranking seventh in the NCAA with a team 0.84 ERA. Junior Johanna Grauer, owner of a 0.72 ERA through 29 innings pitched, has received 37 runs from her offense in her five appearances.
“It’s awesome to know as a pitcher … that if you give up a couple runs, my teammates have my back on the offensive side with those kinds of numbers,” Grauer said.
The Bruins’ offense hopes to keep rolling at the second weekend of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. UCLA has a five-game slate highlighted by No. 11 Georgia (12-0) on Thursday night.