Langenfeld does it all, leads UCLA softball in sweep of Stanford
By Min Kang
April 25, 2010 9:42 p.m.
Almost single-handedly, Megan Langenfeld brewed up a perfect storm in Palo Alto.
On Friday, it was a pair of home runs that led the way; on Saturday, three shutout innings in relief.
And on Sunday, it was a blend of both bat and arm, this time the senior going yard twice more at the plate and pitching five scoreless innings.
And so, behind Langenfeld’s brilliant performance, No. 6 UCLA (33-9, 7-5 Pac-10) completed the trifecta, defeating No. 10 Stanford (30-12, 4-8) by scores of 10-0, 7-3 and 10-1, in that order, over the span of three days.
It’s no wonder that coach Kelly Inouye-Perez had some glowing remarks for her do-it-all player after Sunday’s win.
“This weekend, (Langenfeld) showed everybody what she’s capable of, and it was outstanding to watch,” Inouye-Perez said. “She went straight at hitters and attacked; she is the epitome of a closer. And then with hitting, I don’t think I’ve seen a Bruin hit with opposite-field power as well as she has, probably ever. It’s impressive.”
UCLA left no doubt as to which team would take game one as they Bruins tied a season high with 15 hits. Junior pitcher Donna Kerr did her part as well, blanking the Cardinal with a one-hit, complete-game outing.
Come Saturday, the Bruins found themselves playing from behind.
The Cardinal held onto a 3-1 lead after two innings, but the Bruins would take the tie things up in the third with a two-run home run by sophomore left fielder Andrea Harrison.
UCLA would then take the lead with senior third baseman Julie Burney’s lead-off solo shot in the fourth and would not look back from there.
In the circle, Langenfeld took over for junior pitcher Whitney Baker at the end of the fourth and tossed three hitless innings, just her second pitching appearance since March 26 after being sidelined with a right elbow injury.
“It’s great having her out there again,” Yudin said. “We couldn’t wait to have her back, and everything that she does for this team, we’re really appreciative of.”
