Disappointed. Frustrated. Embarrassed.
Those words were used by UCLA players and coaches after
Tuesday’s 1-0, eight-inning loss to Texas in which the Bruins
only mustered one hit.
“We came out flat,” said catcher Emily Zaplatosch,
who had the team’s only hit. “We need to come together
as a team. We have a lot of things we need to get done and work
on.”
The Bruins didn’t leave the field for almost an hour after
the game, staying afterward to huddle out in left field analyzing
what went wrong for them on Tuesday and what has gone wrong for
them at other times this season.
“I’m embarrassed to say that we came out flat for
the University of Texas,” Bruin coach Sue Enquist said.
“I smelled a sense of entitlement in this team. I sensed a
mentality of “˜Cat (Osterman’s) not pitching, so
we’ll win.'”
Osterman is not only Texas’ top starter, but was one of
the main pitchers for the U.S. National Team that won the gold
medal in the 2004 Olympics.
It was seldom-used Megan Denny who took the mound for the
Longhorns on Tuesday in a battle of two of the top five teams in
the nation. Making only her fifth career start, Denny took a
no-hitter into the fifth inning before being replaced by
Osterman.
Denny walked six UCLA hitters, but the Bruins couldn’t get
a single hit to bring in a run and at times couldn’t even
bunt properly to move the runners over.
“What have they done that makes them feel so
complacent?” Enquist asked about her team. “Please tell
me it wasn’t winning back-to-back championships. This is a
new year. We need a new attitude.”
Not starting Osterman was a controversial decision by Texas
coach Connie Clark.
“I have a lot of confidence in Denny,” Clark said.
“I wanted to give her the opportunity.”
Clark also said she didn’t want to start Osterman because
she pitched in the previous meeting between the two teams a month
ago. Clark also said Denny was on a tight leash, which was evident
in the fifth inning, when Denny was taken out of the game despite
not having given up a hit.
“I’m not surprised at all that they didn’t
start Cat,” Enquist said. “What have we done that makes
them think they needed to throw Cat?”
UCLA (16-6) has struggled to score runs early on this
season.
“I want a team that loves the game unconditionally,”
Enquist said. “It’s easy to love the game when
you’re executing and clubbing it up. We have to enjoy the
struggles of not hitting. If we don’t learn our lesson, this
season will have a tragic ending.”
The Bruins again wasted a gem from freshman pitcher Anjelica
Selden, who shut out the Longhorns through seven innings, allowing
a run in the eighth inning with a tiebreaker rule in effect that
allows teams to start the inning off with a runner on second
base.
UCLA couldn’t score in the bottom of the eighth, stranding
its runner on second despite having its heart of the batting order
up in the inning.