All season long, the UCLA softball team has played its best when
it has absolutely needed to, excelling in big games and pressure
situations after a loss or a bad weekend puts them in danger. But
with the NCAA Super Regionals starting today at Easton Stadium, the
Bruins would rather build an early lead and not have to dig
themselves out of a hole. “It’s not like we go into a
weekend saying, “˜let’s lose, so we’ll play
better,'” said second baseman Caitlin Benyi, who has
hit eight home runs in her teams’ last 11 games. “But
we play well with our backs against the wall.” The No. 7 seed
Bruins host No. 10 Georgia today and Saturday in a best-of-three
series in which the winner will advance to the Women’s
College World Series. UCLA traveled a difficult road to advance to
the NCAA Super Regionals, having to win three straight games this
past weekend at the NCAA Regionals after suffering an early loss.
And that came after a regular season in which the Bruins (34-17)
lost more games in any year since 1998, yet still posted many wins
against top-10 teams. “This team is really coming
together,” first baseman and pitcher Lisa Dodd said.
“Everyone’s just relaxed and hitting the ball solidly.
I’m not worried about us at all.” UCLA beat Georgia in
all four games between the two teams this season. But because all
four games were played back in February, the Bruins aren’t
putting much stock in the results of the games against the Bulldogs
(54-13). “They’ve improved a lot since then, and so
have we,” Dodd said. “Just look at their record.”
Georgia won the Southeastern Conference’s regular-season
title and breezed through its regional bracket to advance to
today’s NCAA Super Regional. While the two teams have changed
significantly since February, UCLA insists those games will help
them better prepare for their opponent. “I like that we have
information on Georgia and my kids have experience against
them,” UCLA coach Sue Enquist said. “We know what their
strengths are and we have a healthy level of respect for
them.” For most of the 1980s and early 1990s, when fewer
teams made it to the NCAA Tournament in softball, the regionals
were a best-of-three format. But the tournament expanded in 1994,
with more teams competing in regionals until this year, when super
regionals were added. “I love that it’s
best-of-three,” Enquist said. “It’s hard to get
lucky more than once. The team that wins the series will have
earned it.” In the UCLA-Georgia games earlier this season,
Bruin pitcher Anjelica Selden shined, not allowing any runs in the
three games she pitched while striking out 43 batters in 21
innings. This past weekend at regionals, Selden pitched brilliantly
for UCLA, striking out 56 batters over five games, and is expected
to be in the circle for the Super Regionals. Enquist, who, like
most softball coaches, never reveals her starting pitcher before
game day, insists she may use Dodd as well.
TV: All three super regional games will be televised on ESPNU,
with Saturday’s game at 6 p.m. being simulcast on ESPN2 if
the Arizona-Oklahoma series does not go to a third game.