All year long, the UCLA softball team had sailed confidently
ahead with a light wind behind its back.
After a tumultuous 2005, the Bruins had an outstanding 2006
regular season and a flawless postseason, heading into the
Women’s College World Series as the favorite to win it
all.
But the World Series brought new stormy conditions with it, and
despite a furious battle the Bruins did not prevail.
Just one day after ending the seasons of Alabama and Texas with
inspiring wins, UCLA fell to Northwestern 3-1 in eight innings on
Sunday, ending the season prematurely for the top-ranked team in
the nation.
“It just wasn’t our day today,” senior third
baseman Andrea Duran said. “We always talk about how the game
doesn’t know who’s supposed to win. (Northwestern) is a
great team, and we knew it was going to be a battle with every
single play.”
Perhaps the most crushing element was not just that UCLA (50-9,
15-5 Pac-10) lost before getting a chance to compete in the title
series. It was the way the Bruins lost.
When the first pitch was thrown in the UCLA-Tennessee game on
Thursday, it was the beginning of an emotional four days that
intensified with each minute.
“It was just crazy,” senior catcher Emily Zaplatosch
said. “It was up and down all weekend.”
The Bruins took a 2-0 lead against Tennessee in the sixth
inning, before a costly error and four consecutive Volunteer hits
off sophomore pitcher Anjelica Selden produced three Tennessee
runs. Selden gave up another run in the top of the seventh, which
would prove to be the difference in the game as the Bruins fell
4-3.
UCLA coach Sue Enquist wasn’t happy with Selden after the
game.
“I was disappointed when they started to mount that
comeback that she was not able to catch herself and regroup,”
Enquist said after the Tennessee game. “At this level, at
this point in the season, you’re not going to be perfect, and
when you’re not perfect you’ve got to recover right
away.”
But a rejuvenated Selden came back to pitch two brilliant games
on Saturday. Selden allowed just one run on six hits to win 4-1.
The nightcap saw the Bruins fend off elimination once again, this
time sending one of college softball’s all-time greats,
senior Texas pitcher Cat Osterman, home without a ring in her
college career.
But in Sunday’s showdown with Northwestern, the Bruins
found themselves in a thrilling clash that ended in despair.
The Wildcats struck first against the Bruins, with a solo home
run by Wildcat catcher Jamie Dotson to lead off the top of the
second inning. After Selden recovered to get out of the inning, the
Bruins rallied in the bottom of the second.
A walk and a single by juniors Jodie Legaspi and Lisa Dodd, and
a walk by sophomore pinch hitter Danielle Peterson loaded the bases
for the Bruins with two outs. But junior Tara Henry grounded out,
ending the Bruin rally without putting a dent in the
scoreboard.
After that, Selden and Northwestern pitcher Eileen Canney put up
zeros on the board, and the Bruins entered the bottom of the
seventh inning three outs away from elimination.
Legaspi led off the seventh with a double down the left-field
line and was advanced to third with one out after a Dodd sacrifice
bunt.
When junior Whitney Holum struck out, Enquist called on a
pinch-hitter, junior Kristen Dedmon, to deliver for the Bruins.
Dedmon had been relegated to the bench most of this season and had
just 15 at-bats prior to Sunday.
After falling behind in the count 0-2, Dedmon put the UCLA bench
in a frenzy with a game-tying RBI single to left center field.
“As a player, you love being thrown into the
cooker,” Dedmon said. “It was a great feeling to come
through.”
But the Wildcats quickly took back any momentum that UCLA had
gained when Selden gave up a home run to Wildcat shortstop Tammy
Williams to lead off the top of the eighth.
A flustered Selden then threw two pitches way out of the strike
zone before giving up another home run to Northwestern first
baseman Garland Cooper. The Bruin offense went out quietly in the
bottom of the eighth inning, securing the win for Northwestern.
“We get a hit to tie the game, and then it all gets taken
away in less than five minutes,” Zaplatosch said. “I
was pretty shocked. It put a dagger in all of us.”
An emotionally and physically drained Selden didn’t have
much to say after the game.
“They capitalized on our mistakes,” she said.
As for Northwestern, they move on to play UCLA’s Pac-10
rival Arizona in the title series on Monday. But before looking
ahead to Arizona, the Northwestern team couldn’t help but
reflect how meaningful it was to beat a team like UCLA.
“UCLA is the standard in college softball,”
Northwestern coach Kate Drohan said. “They have the tradition
and the weapons. I am so proud of the way that my team felt that
they didn’t need to beat that today.”
Meanwhile for the Bruins, a great season came to a heartbreaking
end.