The UCLA softball team was not at its best offensively during
this past weekend’s NCAA Regionals. But the Bruins put
together clutch hits and multiple two-out rallies when they needed
them most to help them advance to the NCAA Super Regionals this
weekend, where they host Georgia in a best-of-three series. On
Sunday, when UCLA needed to beat Cal State Fullerton twice to win
the regional, the Bruins scored four runs with two outs, took
advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position, and
moved runners over with great success to sweep the Titans and
extend their postseason. “It’s going to come down to
timely hitting, because when you get to the end, the good pitching
ends up facing each other,” UCLA coach Sue Enquist said.
“The .350 hitting team isn’t going to hit .350.
They’re going to have to clutch up.” Though UCLA lacks
the offensive firepower of the past two years when the team won
back-to-back NCAA championships, this year’s squad has beaten
good teams with clutch hits and two-out rallies ““ something
it didn’t do when its offense was stagnant for most of the
season. “We really don’t scare anyone on paper,”
Enquist said. Enquist hasn’t been afraid to change her
strategy or do something unconventional ““ she had Caitlin
Benyi, who a year ago led the nation in home runs and is one of
UCLA’s hottest hitters of late, lay down a sacrifice bunt in
the first inning of Sunday’s first game. And later in the
game, the Bruin coach had Emily Zaplatosch, who had hit a three-run
homer earlier, square around for a bunt before drawing a walk.
Another hot hitter, Jodie Legaspi, also had a sacrifice bunt, which
led to key runs. “I feel we never played to the
scoreboard,” Enquist said. “They really capitalized on
their opportunities.”
SELDEN’S MARATHON WEEKEND: What made freshman pitcher
Anjelica Selden’s performance special was that she had not
been asked to do anything like it so far at UCLA. Selden pitched 32
innings in four games over Saturday and Sunday, allowing only four
runs and striking out 46 batters. Yet before this weekend, Selden
hadn’t been asked to pitch two full games in one day at all
this season. Selden downplayed the feat, saying her arm felt fine
after both days, especially after getting rubbed down and icing her
arm. “I needed to just go out there and stay poised in this
situation and not let anything affect me,” Selden said.
“I definitely felt like I had something to prove.”
While it was hard to tell since she pitched so effectively, Enquist
said her pitches were slightly slower toward the end of
Sunday’s second game. But Cal State Fullerton’s pitcher
and shortstop Candice Baker said Selden’s pitches had just as
much movement in the first inning as they did in the last.
“Her ball moves regardless,” said Baker, who went
1-for-9 with four strikeouts against Selden over the weekend.
“Her drop ball is very effective. As long as you have a ball
that moves, you’re going to get batters out no matter
what.” Despite Selden’s success, Enquist stresses that
the Bruins are a two-pitcher team, leaving open the option of
pitching Lisa Dodd in the NCAA Super Regionals. But if Selden
continues to pitch the way she has been, it is likely that Enquist
will continue trotting Selden out to the circle. The way the
postseason format is set, UCLA could play up to three more
doubleheaders ““ with two of them on back-to-back days ““
if the Bruins keep winning.
SHORT HOPS: All three games at this weekend’s Super
Regionals (Friday, 6 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.) will be
televised on ESPNU. Saturday’s games will be simulcasted on
ESPN2 if the Arizona-Oklahoma series does not go to a third game.
… For the first time since the 2004 NCAA Regionals, lights will
be installed and in use at Easton Stadium this weekend. … Benyi
hit her 12th home run of the year on Sunday, giving her seven over
the past three weeks. … Five Pac-10 teams are playing in the NCAA
Super Regionals, with Cal, Arizona, Stanford and Washington joining
UCLA in advancing from regionals.