Softball: Consistency key to Pac-10 home opener

The Bruins open up their Pac-10 home schedule today at Easton
Stadium, but they do so in a position that surprises many as they
sit in last place in the conference.

UCLA (27-5, 0-4 Pac-10) has dropped to No. 3 in the nation after
holding the No. 1 spot throughout preseason tournaments. Ever since
the Pac-10 schedule has started, the squad has been unable to put
together a consistent effort.

“I think that one thing that I want them to stay focused
on is that we are a good team, and we just haven’t put the
pitching, the offense and the defense together,” coach Sue
Enquist said.

The Bruins hope to get their game together this weekend when
they play Oregon State on Friday and No. 15 Oregon on Saturday and
Sunday. These games will be UCLA’s first meetings with the
Ducks (30-10, 4-2 Pac-10).

No. 14 Oregon State (36-12, 2-4 Pac-10) handed UCLA its first
loss on March 14 during tournament play in Fresno, and the loss has
irked the Bruins.

“I think it’s more motivation because they beat us,
so it motivates us to work harder and try and beat them,”
sophomore Andrea Duran said.

The Bruins may have the motivation, but they have not been
stringing together all parts of their game recently.

Their pitching is struggling for the first time all season, as
senior ace Keira Goerl has had a tough time with the Pac-10
schedule, allowing 18 earned runs in her last three games.

Enquist, who does not expect this losing streak to continue this
weekend, recognized that the pitching has to improve, but she gave
Goerl a vote of confidence, as she has done throughout the
season.

Goerl has yet to show her former dominating self during the
Pac-10 schedule, but she is not solely responsible for UCLA’s
recent woes.

“We have a tendency to leave too many runners on late in
the game,” Enquist said. “So on a technical side, we
need to collect RBI in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, and we
need to shore up our pitching.”

All the freshmen that fill the UCLA roster may point to Pac-10
inexperience. However, a team that won 27 out of 28 games can
hardly be blamed for its youth.

“Because this is my first time in the Pac-10, I
didn’t come in knowing what to expect,” freshman Jodie
Legaspi said. “For the most part, it’s been a huge
learning experience.”

The four-game losing streak may serve as added motivation for
the Bruins and may be helpful in the development of younger
players, but UCLA has little time to turn its season back on a
winning pace.

Pac-10 teams are some of the toughest in the nation, and UCLA
needs to figure out how to start beating them if it is to be
successful in defending its national title.

And if there is any team that can reverse its own fortunes at
will, it may very well be UCLA. Enquist constantly expresses how
impressed she is with her team’s resiliency.

“I think what makes this team strong is they really are
united and that impresses me, knowing that this is a time where
everyone would be pointing fingers at each other,” Enquist
said.