Softball motivated after hard-fought series win against Cal

The UCLA softball team was only scheduled to play three games this weekend against California, but ended up playing enough softball for four.

Each game went to extra innings, totaling seven extra frames over the course of three days, the length of a regular softball game.

For a team that has been fighting to stay alive in the Pac-12 conference, it was an exhausting measure to secure two out of three games against the Bears.

“It’s draining in the sense that it just literally wears on you a little bit, but there’s a lot of adrenaline that kicks in that allow you to continue to compete,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “It was a great weekend, it was a long weekend, … no team letup, and it was going to come down to who was going to get the timely hit.”

Sophomore pitcher Ally Carda threw 15 2/3 of a possible 28 innings, throwing a total of 268 pitches over the weekend.

“Mentally, I’m trying to be tougher than I feel physically,” said Carda, her pitching arm wrapped in ice.

UCLA has 13 games remaining in the regular season, nine against conference opponents.

In the Pac-12, the team will first face rival Arizona, followed by the conference leader, Oregon, and lastly the team with the worst conference record, Oregon State.

Between those matchups, they will see non-conference opponents UC Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount and CSU Bakersfield.

With a 5-10 record in Pac-12 play, the Bruins will see if their success against the Golden Bears can spark them for the rest of the season.

“We’re halfway through Pac-12s, so I think it’s a good time to kind of be flipping it now,” said junior pitcher Jessica Hall. “I think we can end strong in Pac-12s and get our momentum rolling for the postseason.”

The Bruins realize that they are reaching a critical part of their schedule that will determine whether or not they will be playing for a national championship in early June.

“Every game is a big game. That’s all it is,” Inouye-Perez said. “From this point forward, we’re in the never-let-up phase of our season. It’s never let up, so every game, every pitch, every inning, every out is a big one.”

With a series win over Cal in its back pocket, the team is optimistic that it has yet to play to its full capabilities but knows it will need to do so if the Bruins are to make a run at a championship.

“I truly believe that the best for this team has yet to come. We haven’t played our best softball yet as we’re coming back together (from injuries),” Inouye-Perez said. “Our best softball has yet to come, so I’m really excited about that.”