As the UCLA softball team prepares to begin play in its final regular season tournament, the Long Beach State Invitational, the team has reason to be proud.
The Bruins have won 20 of their first 22 games and rocketed up the polls to the No. 2 national ranking. The team is currently riding a 14-game winning streak, and freshman Donna Kerr has already recorded a perfect game.
Today, they’ll take on No. 25 Virginia Tech, and Sunday they’ll battle with No. 8 Northwestern for the second time this season.
But to coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, all the numbers are more or less irrelevant.
“All those streaks and rankings and opponents are external factors and nothing we can control,” Inouye-Perez said.
“Our ability to just play consistent softball, and take it one pitch at a time, honestly is what I’m so proud of these girls for.
“Wins and losses aren’t going to be able to determine whether we’re playing good softball. There are things that are out of our control and we’re prepared for that.”
Despite the success, the team is doing its best to continue to take everything one game at a time. Senior pitcher Anjelica Selden said that the team needs to take the field motivated and focused every game, because opponents will be doing their very best to knock off a highly ranked squad like the Bruins.
“This weekend isn’t any bigger than any other weekend or game or tournament,” Selden said.
“Since we’ve been doing so well, we expect teams to come out with their best game, whoever it is. We have a target on our back, and we’re ready to play anybody.”
In addition, Inouye-Perez credits the upperclassmen for ensuring that the freshman-heavy team doesn’t get too comfortable with its winning ways.
“(The upperclassmen) are doing a good job of knowing we have some younger kids and doing a good job of leading,” Inouye-Perez said. “There’s looseness about them, but then there is a focus.”
UCLA won its first matchup with Northwestern 6-2 in February thanks in large part to a career-high 17 strikeout performance from Selden. Freshman Samantha Camuso is sure the Wildcats will want some revenge.
“They’ll definitely want a piece of us,” Camuso said.
But Inouye-Perez and the rest of the team are most focused on the first match of the tournament.
“(Virginia Tech) is going to be a big game,” she said. “They have a thrower, and the expectation is to get by game one. I’m not really focusing on Northwestern just yet because to me they’re just another club.
“We have proven that if you show up and play UCLA softball, you can beat anybody. If you don’t show up and leave a crack in the door, anyone can come in and beat you.”