Softball finishes Citrus Classic with major win against Hofstra
Freshman infielder Stephany LaRosa and the Bruins defeated Hofstra 9-4 in the final game of the Citrus Classic on Sunday.
By Tyler Drohan
March 5, 2012 7:45 p.m.
Freshman Stephany LaRosa described it as unreal.
Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez described it as an ESPN moment as well as a momentum breaker.
Redshirt senior Katie Schroeder said, of her home run-saving catch from center field in which she ran through the outfield fence, landing on the other side of the wall, “Just part of my job.”
Clinging to a two-run lead in the top of the fourth inning, Schroeder’s saving grab of what would have been a home run allowed the Bruins to keep their 6-4 advantage until senior Andrea Harrison’s three-run homer gave the Bruins the distance they needed in a 9-4 win over Hofstra on Sunday. The win, in the finale of the Citrus Classic in Florida, capped off a 3-2 finish overall in the tournament as No. 14 UCLA improved to 14-6 on the season.
“In the moment in time, you’re just trying to get a good beat on the ball, and all we’re doing is running to the ball and that’s the job ““ to catch it,” Schroeder said.
“We say (it) a lot in the outfield that nothing’s going to drop so if it gets to the outfield, it is not going to the drop. There is no fear of going into (the wall); the other outfielders would do it. We’ll go to the wall.”
Schroeder’s catch was just one of many ways the center fielder helped the team during the Florida trip. Hitting lead-off, Schroeder finished with a team-high eight runs scored and collected seven hits during the weekend, adding to her team-high batting average of .492.
“She has been roaming the outfield defensively and that was a ball that could’ve flown out of the park, but she never hesitated, she never wavered, she dropped her shoulder and just sprinted to the ball and never stopped,” Inouye-Perez said. “She caught the ball, hit the fence, landed on the other side, knocked it over and came up with the catch.”
“She stole a home run and then jumped back up and threw it back in like it was nothing,” Inouye-Perez added.
The Bruins were energized by Schroeder’s acrobatic and fearless play as a recharged team took three of the final four in the tournament.
“Katie is an unbelievable softball player. … Definitely someone I look up to on the team,” LaRosa said. “That type of effort, to go through a wall like that, just for the team shows how much she truly cares about the team itself.”
“Seeing something like that definitely pumps you up and makes you want to make a play like that as well and you (try to) go and put in the same effort that she did which was unreal.”
LaRosa finished with nine hits and seven runs batted in, including a 4-for-4, three-RBI effort in the team’s 10-6 win over No. 10 Baylor on Saturday. Harrison added to her team-lead in home runs (six) with two on the weekend, including the three-run homer to put the Bruins on top, 9-4, on Sunday.
“(Harrison) has the reputation across the country as being one of the best hitters,” Inouye-Perez said. “She has a mentality, she has an approach and she has the experience. It’s one thing to hit, it’s another thing to do (so) when everyone is expecting you to hit and not only to get a hit, but to come up big.”
After giving up over five runs in her first three appearances, two of which were starts, in the tournament, sophomore Jessica Hall came back strong in relief on Sunday, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit to improve her record to 6-3 on the year.
“It was awesome to see Jessica Hall come back out and just be herself. She did a great job,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder’s fourth-inning catch helped keep Hall’s scoreless outing intact.
“I think it’s a lot of fun to go through fences, especially for our pitchers who are working very hard,” Schroeder said. “We have this saying that if you miss the ball, you’re always really sore and if you catch it, you feel nothing. It’s just the best feeling in the world.”
