All year long, UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist kept saying that
what pitcher Anjelica Selden was doing in the circle had never been
done before by a Bruin freshman. And even before UCLA takes to the
field in its first game at the Women’s College World Series
on Thursday against Cal, Selden’s season will have already
moved into historical status for a pitcher of any age. After her
three complete games at the NCAA Super Regionals this past weekend
against Georgia, Selden now ranks second in UCLA history for
innings pitched in a season with 280 and appearances with 44. She
broke the school’s single-season strikeout record two weeks
ago, surpassing the old record by 67, and is on the verge of
breaking many other UCLA single-season records. And when
considering the history of the softball program at UCLA, through
which many of the top pitchers in the sport have passed through, it
makes Selden’s accomplishments all the more impressive.
“What she’s doing in this new era of softball with more
parity than ever before, it says even more about her,”
Enquist said. “She’s carried the team.” Selden
has said all year long she is aware of the records, but only
because her teammates keep reminding her of them. “My main
focus is just to win,” Selden said. Of the eight teams in the
World Series, only UCLA uses a freshman as its primary pitcher.
Typically, most of the great pitchers in UCLA’s history were
brought in slowly as freshmen, with a more seasoned veteran usually
carrying a bulk of the load. But that has not been the case for
Selden. The Bruin freshman, who was originally supposed to split
pitching time with Lisa Dodd, has pitched every inning in the
postseason and started the bulk of UCLA’s games during the
regular season. Despite all of Selden’s success though,
Enquist maintains UCLA is a two-pitcher team, and she will likely
have to count on Dodd to pitch some innings during the World
Series. Then again, the Bruin coach said the same thing before both
the Super Regionals and regionals, but left Selden in to pitch
every game.
PINCH RUNNERS: Alissa Eno, UCLA’s first pinch runner off
the bench, is on crutches after suffering an undisclosed injury and
is listed as doubtful to compete in the World Series. That leaves
Danesha Adams, a starting forward on the women’s soccer team,
and Jaisa Creps as the two avaliable options to pinch run from the
bench. Adams, however, who joined the team with one week left in
the regular season, will miss Thursday’s game because of an
agreement she made with Enquist that she would not have to miss
class to compete for the team. Adams will be available to pinch run
in games over the weekend.
HITTING WHEN IT MATTERS: Lisa Dodd leads the team in postseason
hitting with a .375 batting average and five RBI after hitting only
.168 during the regular season. Throughout the year, Dodd kept
saying she believed she would be hitting well by the end of the
season, and she has been right so far. “She’s been a
huge punch for us in the bottom of the lineup,” Enquist said.
“It says a lot about her competitive drive. She’s
adapted and made the adjustments.”