Softball: Performing under pressure

This year’s UCLA softball team hasn’t displayed the
offensive firepower that won back-to-back NCAA titles the past two
years. It has lacked the defensive prowess those teams had. And it
hasn’t had the proven and consistent presence in the pitching
circle that those teams had, either. Nevertheless, the Bruins are
still one of the eight teams that made it to the Women’s
College World Series, which begins today for UCLA when it faces Cal
(12 p.m. PST, ESPN2). The Bruins have relied on their resiliency to
get them this far, and they hope to ride it to a third straight
national championship. “When you compare this team to the
last two years, we’re mentally stronger,” UCLA second
baseman Caitlin Benyi said. “We don’t have the physical
strength like we did the last two years, but this is the most
mentally seasoned team I’ve been on. We know how to perform
in pressure situations. We know how to come back.” The Bruins
have played in an unusual number of pressure situations this
season, having lost the second most games of any team in UCLA
history and, more recently, having to win five elimination games
the past two weeks just to stay alive in the postseason. “You
can try as a coach to instill confidence in a team,” UCLA
coach Sue Enquist said. “But this team doesn’t need it.
They’ve lived it. They have all the confidence they
need.” Today, the No. 7 seed Bruins will face a familiar
opponent: No. 2 Cal. On top of playing each other three times
during the season, the teams have faced off in the last two NCAA
Championship games, with UCLA winning both of them. “I like
playing Cal for two reasons,” Enquist said, “because
they’re a great challenge for us and because I love knowing
all about them as they do us.” All three games this season
were close, with UCLA (36-18) winning its game by a score of 3-1
and Cal (52-13) winning its games by scores of 3-2 and 2-1.
“Cal is a very good team,” UCLA catcher Emily
Zaplatosch said. “We’ve seen them a lot, and it’s
going to be interesting. We know their weaknesses and strengths,
and they know ours. We’ve just got to stick to our
plan.” And UCLA’s plan has worked recently, but it has
been much more effective after a loss. That doesn’t mean the
Bruins want to lose today’s game. They recognize that the
road to a championship would be much smoother if they could open
with a win. A loss today would mean the Bruins would have to win
four straight games over a two-day span to advance to the
best-of-three NCAA Championship Series. That’s the road
UCLA’s 2003 NCAA Championship squad took on its way to a
title, but this year’s squad would prefer not to take it.
“Losing our first game certainly isn’t the road we want
to go down,” Enquist said. “I’m hopeful my team
comes out and plays like the way it did when our backs were against
the wall so our backs don’t have to be against the
wall.” A win today would give the team an easier path to the
championship series, as UCLA would have two chances at finishing
off either Cal, Tennessee or Arizona on the last day. “It
would be a big thing for us to win the first game,”
Zaplatosch said. “It would be a big win, to set ourselves up
for the rest of the tournament. But if we fall short, it’s
obvious I have full confidence in ourselves to come back from
that.” And that confidence is what has gotten UCLA this far.
“Going through what we have gone through is very helpful for
us,” Zaplatosch said. “It’s incredible. We always
believe in ourselves.”

SHORT HOPS: From Thursday-Sunday, the World Series is played as
a double-elimination tournament, with the two teams left standing
playing a best-of-three championship series starting on Monday. …
UCLA will face either No. 3 Arizona or No. 11 Tennessee in its
second game, and will play Friday if it beats Cal or Saturday if it
loses. … No. 1 Michigan, DePaul, No. 4 Texas and No. 12 Alabama
are the other teams competing at the World Series. … All games at
the World Series will be televised live on either ESPN or
ESPN2.

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