This year’s goal for UCLA’s softball team is the
same as always: to win another championship.
But with four freshmen in the starting lineup, the team will
need to overcome its youth to repeat as College World Series
champions.
“As we stand out there right now, are we in line for a
banner?” head coach Sue Enquist asked. “It’s a
big fat no. “But do we have that potential? It’s a big
fat yes.”
The top-ranked Bruins will start their title defense this
weekend in the Long Beach State Tournament without four starters
from last year’s championship team, including Olympians
Natasha Watley and Tairia Flowers (formerly Tairia Mims).
But the team will still have a bevy of strong returnees,
including senior pitcher Keira Goerl, MVP of last year’s
Women’s College World Series, and senior All-American first
baseman Claire Sua.
It also features six players who competed for Team USA’s
19-and-under team in the off-season. No other university sent more
than two players.
Goerl, one of five seniors on this year’s team, knows she
and her teammates will have to endure their opponent’s best
efforts all season.
“Just because I have a national championship doesn’t
mean that they’re going to lock and turn over for us,”
Goerl said. “They’re aiming for us, so (we) need to
come out stronger this year.”
In addition to the returning core of veterans, Enquist has
landed the largest freshman class she’s had while coaching at
UCLA. More than half of the eight newcomers are going to be
contributors right away, she said.
Lisa Dodd will step in as the second pitcher, balancing her
finesse pitching with Goerl’s powerful arm.
“The nice thing about our pitchers on staff is they truly
compliment each other,” Enquist said.
This will allow more time for the hitters to be patient and get
used to a new season, because it takes longer for hitters to get
adjusted to a new season.
Freshmen Jodie Legaspi and Tara Henry will take over the
positions Watley and Flowers had in the field, but Enquist does not
expect any individual player to take over the vacated roles on the
team.
Sophomores Caitlin Benyi and Emily Zaplatosch are returning from
major roles on Team USA’s Junior World Championship team.
Benyi was the team’s leading hitter with a .519 batting
average, and Zaplatosch led with 11 RBI.
But Benyi said this does not change her role on the team this
season.
“If anything, I’ll be more in the spotlight but …
they’re not expecting any more from me,” Benyi
said.
Enquist is also confident in her team’s depth, and said
the Bruins are prepared for injuries that may occur during the
season.
But she is afraid the team may lose games because it is not
concentrating, based on what she has seen her players do at
practice.
“I am prepared for us to shoot ourselves in the
foot,” Enquist said. “If they practice like this, then
we’ll be like every other young team.”
UCLA’s primary competition for the national championship
will come from its conference rivals. Four of the top five teams
and seven of the top 20 teams in pre-season rankings are from the
Pac-10.
Arizona is ranked No. 2 in the nation, Cal is No. 3, and
Washington, one of the Bruins’ opponents on Saturday, is
ranked fifth.
Enquist said some players on the team may accept losing early on
in the season when they realize how young the team is, and young
teams typically have problems early in the season.
But she refuses to lower her standards for the team, and expects
the freshmen who are starting to adjust to being starters for the
defending national champions.
Goerl said the youth of the team should not be an issue.
“People are going to say we’re young, but I
don’t care,” Goerl said. “It doesn’t matter
if we have a team full of seniors or a team full of freshmen. I
don’t think our mentality should change.”