By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor
While the offense and pitching usually get the headlines,
UCLA’s stellar defense and aggressive baserunning garnered a
lot of awe at last weekend’s NCAA Regional games at Easton
Stadium.
The Bruins’ explosive offense and the pitching trio of
Amanda Freed, Keira Goerl and Courtney Dale gave UCLA a berth in
the Women’s College World Series for the 18th time in 20
years.
But the glue that held it all together was a superior defense.
The Bruins had no errors and made both routine and spectacular
plays to stunt rallies and keep momentum on their side.
“This club knows that any pressure they feel from me is
really from the defensive end because in general we don’t put
those kind of numbers up on the board offensively. I was just so
pleased with how we were executing,” said Head Coach Sue
Enquist.
A perfect example of the solid defense came Saturday against San
Diego State. In the fourth inning of a 1-0 game, the Bruins robbed
the Aztecs on consecutive plays.
The first play had Natasha Watley going deep into the hole and
making a strong throw while first baseman Tairia Mims stretched to
get runner Tiffany Goudy out by a step. Aztec Kellie Nordhagen
followed with a sharp grounder to second baseman Crissy Buck, who
gloved it and threw to first for the second out.
Neither of those plays were important on their own, but the next
hitter, Janna Kovensky, hit a home run off the scoreboard in left
field to tie the game. The home run was a solo shot instead of a
two or three-run at-bat.
The defense continued Sunday when another Aztec rally was
thwarted. Leading off the third inning, Monique Mejia robbed Sarah
Hershman of a single with a diving stop and strong throw, allowing
the Bruins to maintain their momentum.
In the fourth inning, Freed, after a rare lead-off walk, induced
a ground ball to Watley, who threw to Mejia, who completed the
double play with an accurate throw to Mims at first, snuffing
another Aztec rally. Double plays are rare in softball because of
the short base paths, but the Bruins managed to make it look
easy.
“What we as a team can’t ever break down on is
defense, because that’s what wins and loses games,”
Mejia said. “That’s our mentality out there and
it’s been working lately, so that’s great.”
Combined with the defense was the aggressive baserunning used by
the Bruins throughout the year, which was especially evident this
past weekend. They were 9-for-9 on steals, but the most obvious
example of their baserunning talents once again came in
Saturday’s 3-1 win.
In the fifth inning, with the game tied at 1-1, Crissy Buck
singled with one out and moved over on Watley’s sacrifice
bunt. Next, freshman Stephanie Ramos singled to right field. Erin
Rahn, running for Buck, was waved home and made an incredible slide
at the plate to avoid the tag. A strong throw from rightfielder
Goudy beat her by a good five feet, but Rahn used a looping wide
turn at third and a headfirst slide to narrowly avoid the tag and
put UCLA on top for good.
“I knew it was going to be close. I knew I’d have to
slide around the catcher to get in there,” Rahn said.
UCLA was pinch-running the whole weekend, pushing for single
runs instead of waiting for the big innings, which they still
managed to get several times. With the level of play increasing,
however, the Bruins know they have to get runs whenever they can in
close games.
“I think all of this is just our team getting ready to go
to the next level. Everyone is playing that last out like
it’s their last one, trying to get everything they can out of
it for the team,” Mejia said.
The Bruins know they have a great offense but they also know
that effective pitching can neutralize any offense. Solid defense
and aggressive baserunning could be the difference in bringing a
10th national softball championship to Westwood from Oklahoma this
weekend.